The Bible

Two of filmdom's greatest egos, producer Dino DeLaurentiis and director John Huston, teamed for this wildly uneven Cliff Notes take on the Old Testament. From its kick-off in Eden, with an English-accented Adam and Eve, through its account of Noah and the Great Flood (which brings to mind Bill Cosby's classic monologue), to its unexpectedly powerful ending (with an impressive turn by George C. Scott as the beleaguered but ever obedient Abraham), this is filmmaking of a type and scale that you don't see anymore. And, some would argue, gratefully so. But not necessarily me. Granted, you could carve yourself a better film with a steak knife ("Let's see, 10 minutes from there, 45 from there. Looking better already!"), and as it clocks in at nearly three hours you'll no doubt wish someone had tried, but you can't help but admire the, if nothing else, sheer audacity of the filmmakers in undertaking such a task. As you roll your eyes, as I know you will at many points, just repeat after me: "But it's John Huston. But it's John Huston." Recommended, defiantly so. (S. C. Sickles)