CATCH A CLASSIC
The Ten Commandments ABC, 6 p.m.
Nearly every year since 1973, with a few exceptions, ABC has re-aired this gigantic 1956 Best Picture Oscar-nominated religious epic on or around Easter — even though it relates more to the Passover holiday, given that its story comes from the Old Testament book of Exodus about Moses’ (Charlton Heston) deliverance of the Israelites from slavery at the hands of Egyptian pharaoh Rameses II (Yul Brynner). That tradition continues this year, as the network airs director Cecil B. DeMille’s thrilling achievement the night before Easter. Already a very lengthy film in its original format, the TV broadcast somehow seems to keep getting longer each year thanks to commercials, so if you’re recording the movie this year, be aware that your DVR will get quite a workout — ABC has it scheduled in a four-hour-and-44-minute time slot! But with a moviegoing experience this grand, the time flies by. It’s easy to say “they don’t make ’em like that anymore” regarding such films, but in the case of The Ten Commandments, that is literally true — with its massive live crowd shots (of both people and animals) and spectacular set designs, the cost of creating a film like this in the manner in which it was produced would certainly be viewed as prohibitive by any studio today. From an era in which biblical epics were fairly common in Hollywood, DeMille’s work is one of the few that remain so highly watched and beloved to this day. Along with Heston in his iconic role as Moses (and as the voice of God via the burning bush) and Brynner, the film is also star-studded with the likes of Anne Baxter, an oddly cast Edward G. Robinson, Yvonne De Carlo, Debra Paget, John Derek, Vincent Price, John Carradine and more. DeMille is at the height of his directorial powers here as he wrangles so much into a captivating, if melodramatic, presentation. Among the film’s other technical achievements are its Oscar-winning special effects, and it also boasts a grand musical score by Elmer Bernstein. —