Have you seen “The Ten Commandments” with Charlton Heston? Did you know that in 1923 Cecil B. DeMille made a silent version of the movie? Because Egypt was far away from the studio and estimated to be much too costly, DeMille shot the film in Santa Barbara County, California, about 150 miles north of Hollywood, and built an enormous ‘City of the Pharaoh’ set, literally taking over the economy of the surrounding community and creating a fantastic spectacle. Designed by Paul Iribe, the “father of Art Deco,” it was the largest set in motion picture history. Consisting of 20 sphinxes and four 35-ton statues of Ramses, and too daunting to be constructed inside a 1920’s-era studio soundstage, DeMille and his production staff found their “faux-Egypt” on the beaches of Santa Barbara County. When they finished shooting, rather than leave the sets to be repurposed by second-rate hacks hoping to steal a little of his thunder, DeMille had the sets buried in the sand, counting on time and coastal elements to eventually destroy them. When filming wrapped, the city mysteriously vanished.
THE LOST CITY OF CECIL B. DEMILLE documentary is the story behind the excavation, highlighting Peter Brosnan’s multiple agonizing years of starts and stops, as funding, red tape and weather halted the well-publicized story that wouldn’t die, even when Brosnan was ready to walk away, over and over again. It concurrently interweaves the history of famed director Cecil B. DeMille with fascinating firsthand accounts from dozens of people who were involved in the groundbreaking 1923 production, including studio executives, extras, spectators and the filmmaker’s granddaughter Cecilia DeMille Presley.
In 1982, Peter Brosnan was sitting in a bar when someone told him that there were ancient Egyptian Sphinxes buried somewhere in the California Dunes. It sparked his imagination and he embarked on what turned out to be a thirty year battle to prove the existence of these Sphinxes and the discovery of the Lost City. After searching in the California desert, Brosnan located what he believed was the site of the 1923 filming.
Over 33 years in the making, “The Lost City of Cecil B. DeMille” is an extraordinary tribute to a director whose innovative and fearless style continues to inspire modern-day filmmakers, almost 60 years after his death.
THE LOST CITY OF CECIL B. DEMILLE explores the spirit of a man, Peter Brosnan, who walked away from this project three times in frustration, only to be called back a fourth time. The result is an iconic tale of a reluctant hero, who finally surrenders to his destiny and accepts that he was chosen to follow this quest and tell this story.
The Mystery Debuts on Digital & VOD – October 3, 2017!
https://www.lostcitydemille.com/
