Three Classics for Easter, Passover

Long before there was Spielberg or Lucas, spectacle in Hollywood was spelled Cecil B. DeMille. The director’s most ambitious, lavish epic, “The Ten Commandments,” has been released in a 35th-anniversary commemorative edition ($65) by Paramount/Pioneer that many will want to glimpse--or even watch all three hours and 39 minutes of--during this Passover/Easter holiday week.

For good measure, DeMille himself, as close to the voice of God as ever imagined by Hollywood, introduces the film. “The theme of this picture is whether man ought to be ruled by God’s law or whether they are to be ruled by the whims of a dictator like Rameses,” he exhorts. “Are men the property of the state or are they free souls under God? This same battle continues throughout the world today.”

While some might not put it quite so simplistically and others might question just which god one has in mind, there is no question that this is one film with a scope that demands the kind of laser presentation it receives in this new edition, released late last year. The 1956 film is offered in a letterboxed format with relatively narrow bands that preserve the original VistaVision theatrical aspect ratio.

The three discs come with three sides in the standard-play, CLV, format, and three in the full-feature, extended-play, CAV, format. This means that you can use freeze-frame and slow motion to catch the Oscar-winning special effects that part the Red Sea and fire-slice the Ten Commandments into stone.

The colors in this transfer from a low-contrast print made from the original VistaVision EK negative are rich, full and vibrant, oftentimes as overwhelming as the populated sets, said to be filled with 25,000 extras. Charlton Heston in his signature role as Moses heads the cast of thousands that include Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, Edward G. Robinson and John Derek.

Chapter stops are well-delineated, and bonus material includes the original theatrical trailer, the 1966 re-release television trailer, plus trailers for other DeMille epics, including “Samson and Delilah,” “The Greatest Show on Earth” and “The Buccaneer.”

Other classics available on laser include George Stevens’ production of “The Greatest Story Ever Told” ($40, MGM/UA Home Video). This UltraPanavision release comes with relatively wide bands to preserve the original aspect ratio of this three-hour, 19-minute epic of the life of Jesus Christ.

The 1965 film, in its translation to laser, presents a much subtler image than “The Ten Commandments,” with beautifully composed shots.

Another all-star cast, featuring Max Von Sydow as Jesus, and including Heston as John the Baptist, Telly Savalas as Pontius Pilate and John Wayne as the Centurion, coexists with appropriate celestial music by Alfred Newman that is also well-served in this edition.

No less an epic is the laser release of the Andrew Lloyd Webber/Tim Rice retelling of Christ’s life in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” The 1973 Norman Jewison production released by MCA Universal Home Video ($35) offers, at one hour, 48 minutes, a rousing edition of the stage play opened up for the big screen. Jewison’s locales and creative staging are fully realized in the letterboxed presentation.

The packaging is disappointing, however, with little production information about the film. Twenty-four chapter stops make it possible to navigate through the nonstop music conducted by Andre Previn. The stereo digital sound helps bring the music to life.

Coming Soon: “Glengarry Glen Ross” is due from LIVE Entertainment/Pioneer on May 19 in both wide-screen and pan-and-scan versions at $35. “Chaplin,” featuring the Oscar-nominated Robert Downey Jr. performance as the Little Tramp, also will be available in both wide-screen and pan-and-scan versions from LIVE/Pioneer on Aug. 18, at $40.