There are as many different kinds of Easter movies as there are colours on the most psychedelic Ukrainian Easter egg. From kid-friendly romps like Hop, this weekend’s comedy about an errant Easter Bunny, to the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar to all-singing-all-dancing spectaculars like Easter Parade to sword-and-sandal epics like Ben Hur and solemn retellings of the biblical Easter story like The Greatest Story Ever Told.
Then there are horror films like Easter Bunny, Kill Kill and the terrifying Easter Bunny from Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey… so many diverse takes on Easter, but since there’s no way to watch all these movies on Easter weekend, let’s hippity-hop through a list of the bunny’s greatest hits.
Controversial in its time—fundamentalist Bob Jones III denounced it as “blasphemy” without actually watching the film—Jesus of Nazareth, director Franco Zeffirelli’s epic 1977 mini-series, is now considered a classic. Clocking in at a whopping 382 minutes, it’s a reverent look at Jesus’s life from his birth to resurrection starring heavyweights like Laurence Olivier, Anthony Quinn, Anne Bancroft and Christopher Plummer.
From the sacred to the sublime, It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown continues Charles Schultz’s tradition of providing a story for every holiday, both secular and spiritual. The twelfth Peanuts cartoon special sees Linus try to hype up the arrival of the Easter Beagle but only Sally believes him. The rest of the gang is still unsure in light of Linus’s Great Pumpkin Halloween fiasco. This special, now available on DVD, features one of the only times Snoopy ever spoke on screen. He shouts “Hey!” before dancing with bunnies in a fantasy sequence.
Fred Astaire, the legendary song-and-dance-man was no stranger to holiday entertainment. His Christmas special, Santa Claus Is Comin’ to Town, is a Yuletide favorite but he also appeared in no less than three Easter-themed movies and TV shows. Astaire’s movie, Holiday Inn, the 1942 story of a singer who turns his farm house into a dinner theatre on the holidays, is best known for introducing Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, but also produced the tune Easter Parade, which, six years later turned up in the hoofer’s film of the same name.
Finally, years later he played the narrator in the Rankin/Bass stop-motion animated The Easter Bunny’s Coming to Town. Set in Kidville, the most child-friendly place on earth, it is the story of how the Easter Bunny came to be.
I appear on “CTV News at 11:30” with anchor Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend, including the Apple TV+ bio “Steve (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces,” the Crave bio “In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon” and the Prime Video show “Davey & Jonesie’s Locker.”
I appear on “CTV News at 6” with Andria Case to talk about the best movies and television to watch this weekend. I’ll tell you about the Kristen Wiig Apple TV+ series “Palm Royale,” the Dock Wolf Netflix true crime series “Homicide: New York,” and the creepy found footage movie “Late Night With the Devil.”
Sad to hear of the passing of Academy Award winner Louis Gossett Jr. Had a great chat with him for my old web series. Have a look, and enjoy spending some time with the late, great Mr. Gossett.
Check out episode twenty-six of Richard’s web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet My guest today joins me on zoom from his home in atlanta. You know him from his Academy Award winning role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the film An Officer and a Gentleman and his Emmy Award winning role as Fiddler in the television miniseries Roots. From Broadway Louis Gossett Jr made the movie to film, starring in A Raisin in the Sun in 1961, and has been busy ever since. With nearly 70 years as an actor and activist under his belt, he’s still working, starring on the critically acclaimed television series Watchmen and starring in a new film called The Cuban. In it he plays an elderly man in the late stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. Nearly catatonic, he is non-communicative, staring blankly into space, until his nurse hums a familiar jazz tune. He responds, and soon she creates her own brand of musical therapy to help Luis remember his past. And what a past. He tells her of his career as a famous musician in Cuba and the love of his life Elana. Louis Gossett Jr., who is silent for much of the running time, finds multitudes in the character. The character’s life is scarred by loss and loneliness, and he carries that with him, but the sheer joy that he exudes when he hears or makes music shows the profound effect it has had on his life. The actor finds poignancy in the performance and never overdoes it.
On this episode of The Richard Crouse Show we meet #1 New York Times bestselling novelist, Karen Kingsbury. She is North America’s favorite inspirational storyteller, with more than twenty-five million copies of her award-winning books in print. Her last dozen titles have topped bestseller lists and many of her novels are under development with Hallmark Films and as major motion pictures. Today we’ll talk about how she found her way from journalism to writing best-selling fiction and the new film, “Someone Like You,” which she produced, based on one of her books.
Then, Roger Mooking stop[s by. As a celebrity chef, restaurateur, television host, author, and award-winning recording artist Roger has earned an international reputation as a multi-media artist and entertainer showcasing a globally inspired vision that reflects his rich family heritage, love for people and travel. He does lots of things… and has even won a special All-Star Chopped celebrity chef episode… today we talk about his career in food and music, and how he combined all of his interests in a new book called “Curious Sounds.”
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Chris Pratt, Elvis Costello, Baz Luhrmann, Martin Freeman, David Cronenberg, Mayim Bialik, The Kids in the Hall and many more!
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I join CTV NewsChannel anchor Roger Peterson to talk about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil” and the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to brush your teeth! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil,” the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
I sit in with NewsTalk 1010 host Jim Richards on the coast-to-coast-to-coast late night “NewsTalk Tonight” to play the game “Did Richard Crouse Like This?” This week we talk about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil” and the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
I join “CTV News Toronto at Five” with host Zuraidah Alman, to talk about the Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em action of “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” the found footage scares of “Late Night with the Devil” and the Liam Neeson actioner “The Land of Saints and Sinners.”
There are as many different kinds of Easter movies as there are colours on the most psychedelic Ukrainian Easter egg. From kid-friendly romps like Hop, this weekend’s comedy about an errant Easter Bunny, to the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar to all-singing-all-dancing spectaculars like Easter Parade to sword-and-sandal epics like Ben Hur and solemn retellings of the biblical Easter story like The Greatest Story Ever Told.
