‘The Ten Commandments’ to Air on New Network

ABC has aired the 1956 religious epic The Ten Commandments for over 50 years now, always programmed around the Easter season and known as a perennial favorite. This year, UPtv, the cable/satellite television home for uplifting entertainment, has scheduled The Ten Commandments ahead of ABC’s annual ritual. UPtv will air The Ten Commandments on Palm Sunday (March 29 at 9/8c) and again on Good Friday (April 3 at 4/3c). ABC has it slotted for Saturday, April 4 at 7/6c.

ABC first aired the film on Feb. 18, 1973, where 24 million people tuned in to legendary director Cecil B. DeMille‘s nearly four-hour masterpiece starring Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Yvonne De Carlo, and Edward G. Robinson. The film’s airing on the broadcaster became an annual ritual from 1973 to today, where they only missed one year in 1999, and holy Moses, did they hear from viewers!

UPtv was thrilled to add the title to their robust Easter lineup of uplifting programming, which includes nearly 100 hours of films and Bible favorites that run on Palm Sunday (March 29), Good Friday (April 3), Holy Saturday (April 4), and Easter Sunday (April 5). For the complete UPtv Easter lineup, visit here.

“For many of our viewers, watching these films is an Easter tradition,” said Crissie Miller, vice president, content strategy, at UPtv. “By pairing iconic Bible favorites with heartfelt new premieres, we’re creating a viewing experience that honors the season’s message of faith and hope while continuing to offer fresh, uplifting stories our audience craves.”

To find out where to watch UPtv on cable or satellite, or to stream, go to the network’s website and enter your zip code. The network is available to over 60 million homes through Xfinity, Cox, Spectrum, Optimum, DirecTV, DISH and others.

Everett Collection

The film is, of course, legendary for being the most expensive film ever made at the time, with a budget of approximately $13 million. It wasn’t DeMille’s first attempt at the title either, as in 1923 he made a silent film, only to resurrect the idea three decades later in glorious Technicolor and with two Hollywood icons — Heston as Moses, the leader of the Hebrews, and Brynner as Rameses II, a pharaoh.

The Ten Commandments would become one of the most popular movies ever made, nominated for seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture (but winning only for Special Effects), as well as one of the most financially successful for its time. Forbes did the math for us on this one, citing: “It was also one of the most financially successful, grossing approximately $122.7 million, around $1.2 billion in today’s money, at the box office in its initial run alone.”

Heston’s son Fraser Heston, who played the infant Moses in the film, helped with marketing the 2021 remastered film, which was re-released in spectacular 4K Ultra HD. “In many ways, it’s the first modern Hollywood epic,” Fraser Heston said. “I do think people look at that movie and go, ‘Wow, this is what cinema can do.’ It became the benchmark for epic films.”

And even today, it still stands as a true Hollywood epic, reminding audiences just how amazingly powerful and larger-than-life cinema can truly be.

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April 2021

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