Like a huge dump after an Easter dinner of cheese, crackers & salami as an appetizer, then a huge slab of prime rib, potato cakes, and shredded asiago on broccoli, Brussel sprouts & green beans, with chocolate chip cookies for dessert: The Ten Commandments is a lot to get through but is ultimately rewarding and makes you feel better (if a little worn out) when it's over.

The Ten Commandments is a classic for good reason. The (award winning) special effects are especially impressive for 1956 and the pacing of a work with such scope is surprisingly balanced.

The performances, on the other hand, are pre-'method' so feel overly dramatic but the all-star cast (including Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner, but also acting anachronisms Edward G. Robinson and Vincent Office as ancient Egyptians, and even has future Lily Munster Yvonne De Carlo) is fun to watch, even if that fun comes from 'laughable' at times.

The Ten Commandments' black & white storyline can't hold a candle to other classics like Gone with the Wind (1939!), but provides pure entertainment that's a lot to bite off but easy to digest.