Easter Films

This is the time of the year when the TV stations pull their Easter movies out of their film vaults, those films they never show any other time of the year because they are either so bad or so specific to Easter that the stations don't think many people will watch them.  I am not a frequent viewer of either TV or movies at the cinema, but I do remember many of the older Easter films I saw as a kid in those days that I did watch a lot of TV. So I thought I would mention a few and write about why it might be worth seeking out on line, downloading and viewing them.

The biggest class of Easter films are those related to the story of the crucifixion of Christ. This makes sense because that is what the Christian celebration of Easter is about. The best of those, I think, might be the 1965 classic 'The Greatest Story Ever Told'.  Max Von Sydow, whose career was a sort of one trick pony,  that pony being this film. In the movie he plays the part of Jesus Christ (I wasn't available for the part so they picked the next Christ like fellow for the part) in this chronicle of Jesus' life story. It's quite an epic that can make even non believers wonder, a fascinating retelling of those Biblical stories we sometimes hear or wonder about, but it has a running time of over 3 hours. I wonder if that is longer than it took to create the earth?

If that doesn't sound like an Easter religious film that appeals to you (are you a heathen?), how about my other choice for an Easter religious film. It's the campy 'The Robe" staring Richard Burton as a cynical non believing  guy who wins Christ's crucifixion robe while gambling, but then loses it to his slave, Victor Mature. The film is about Burton tracking down slave Mature to get the robe back because Burton begins to have hallucinations and violent outbursts which he is convinced are a curse received from the robe. The acting is worth a look, at times good (Burton) and at other times awful (Mature). The story has nothing to do with the Bible, instead being adapted from a fictitious novel that had long been ignored before the movie was made. This one is so ridiculous it's good.

Besides the Easter religious films there are other Easter movies that have little to do with Easter tradition. From the musical genre my favorite is the Irving Berlin (he is regarded as the greatest American songwriter)  1948 'Easter Parade'.  Judy Garland and Fred Astaire sing and dance their way through garishly choreographed and visually extravagant numbers as they prepare for an upcoming Easter parade. I don't even think we have Easter parades anymore, but that film shows what they were like when we did...the Easter bonnets and beautiful gowns women wore at the parade,  the formal society showing it's best on a traditional holiday etc. When I see this I wonder why movies like it aren't made anymore. And why we can't again have Easter parades. If they made films like this today I might actually pay attention to contemporary movies.

There are Easter comedy or satire films too. My top one is 'The Life of Brian', a 1979 Monty Python's Flying Circus satire that follows Brian, mistakenly believed to be the Messiah after he is born in the stable next door. He stumbles through young adulthood while the movie pokes fun at everything from the Romans to the crucifixion, pairing Brian's time on the cross with the absurd song 'Always Look On the Bright Side of Life' as he is crucified.  If you hate religion, Christianity, like to laugh at the absurd or just like seeing the the Bible made fun of, see 'The Life of Brian'.

And finally, since Easter (and everything else) is about kids, there are a few Easter films made for kids. The best in my view is the Peanuts classic from the 60's called,  'It's the Easter Beagle, Charley Brown'.  The plot of that one is...well...there isn't really one. It's just "cute' like all the Peanut movies, with this one built around Easter traditions, like Peppermint Patty trying to learn to die Easter Eggs.  If a cynic like me still likes that film, you will too.

So take part of Sunday to watch one of those Easter films. It will neither  make you a believer nor turn you into a non believer if you already believe in the story of Christ.  Instead, it will show you why some of us think they just don't make movies as well as they used to.