Clearly not a feelgood movie ... The Passion of the Christ
Despite the religious significance, Easter hardly affords TV schedulers the same armchair comfort as that other ratings saviour, Christmas. Kids and parents who have no problem sitting through back to back showings of It's a Wonderful Life and Miracle on 34th St tend to baulk at the prospect of Jesus getting literally hammered for hours on end. Powerful it may be, comfortable family entertainment it surely ain't.
This year the feelgood gloves are certainly off with The Passion of the Christ on the box, a film that could have been titled Kill Jesus: Volume 1 and has the cumulative effect of making even devout viewers yearn for a less harrowing, and less credible, version of the story.
So what are your favourite Easter epics? As a lapsed Catholic who used to love this stuff more than branding fellow altar boys with molten candle wax, here's my top five.
Quo Vadis Arguably the first ever epic, this 1912 silent movie milestone was revisited several times (most famously by Mervyn LeRoy in 1951) but never achieved the same power or majesty achieved by director Enrico Guazzoni. Sadly, now rarely shown and predictably overlooked on DVD, few can vouch for its colossal impact on early movie-goers.
Ben Hur Easily my favourite of the bunch, despite the big J hogging less than 1% of its 212 minutes - allowing Charlton Heston and some chariots to steal the show. Notably, the Messiah's face is only seen reflected in the awe of those around him, a trick that might have saved many imitators from totally misrepresenting the very subject they sought to venerate.
The Greatest Story Ever Told A fitting riposte to those who claim "the curse of Christ" ensures that no one playing the Messiah ever gets a long term movie career. This haunting epic may not have made a leading man out of Max Von Sydow, but it proved he could play just about anything - something that has stood him in good stead ever since.
Jesus of Nazareth AKA the longest story ever told, this six-and-a-half hour marathon dominated ITV schedules when first released. Although taking few risks with the traditional blue-eyed, lamb-carrying Jesus (impressively underplayed by Robert Powell) - its real strength lay in the stunning supporting cast including James Earl Jones, Laurence Olivier and James Mason.
The Colour of the Cross Not the first movie to voice the ultimate heresy that Jesus may not have been English or RADA-trained after all, but the first to suggest the crucifixion was a racially motivated hate crime against a black Jesus. It bombed at the box-office, but nevertheless carries a far more subversive message than Mel's Jew-baiting bloodlust.
