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Plot: In the time of Christ, a Jew suffers mightily under the Romans.
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Recent Reviews
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MCT:August 8, 2008A Epic within itself it shows in the performances of Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd. The winner of 11 Oscars. including Best Picture.
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MCT:August 3, 2008Awesome...I loved that racing scene and the crucification very much! Must watch for ever movie lovers!
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MCT:July 31, 2008
The best film version of this classic story with two outstanding set-pieces - the sea battle and the epic chariot race.
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MCT:July 29, 2008
I watched this in the 7th grade with my dad. Besides the raw chariot race scene (imagine what the pre stunt man days would be like?), I'll never forget how a burp after dinner shows one's appreciation of the bountiful meal (not disagreement)!
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MCT:July 23, 2008
Personally not my favorite movie, but definitively worth watching (although extremly long, too long) . I don't think it deserves the 11 oscars it won, but that's just my opinion...
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MCT:July 20, 2008I just don't know what to think anymore. On the one side, there's a 20 minute chariot race which never seems to end, but on the other, I understand that everyone must be seeing something I don't and that first impressions are not always accurate. So, henceforth, this will be marked as 'Want to see' until I my final judgement is passed.
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MCT:July 16, 2008
Ben-Hur tells the story of a man, Jonah Ben-Hur, who has been arrested along with his sister and mother. The story tells his journey to try and find his family. It is sort of like The Odyssey in the sense there is a long, epic journey across thousands of miles to do this. At nearly four hours in length, it is rather difficult to keep the plot going and this film does feel a little slow at times, especially in the first half of the film. After the entr'acte the film begins to pick up quite a bit.
The film stars Charlton Heston and a cast of several others. As is typical for an epic film, the lead has a very complex role to play and I'd say Heston played it well. The other actors, when present, also do a good job. While Heston deservedly won the Academy Award for best actor, I am a little surprised that Hugh Griffith won for Best Supporting Actor. While he did a good enough job in this film, he hardly had any screen time and even for a supporting actor his role seemed kind of minor. Then again, it seems like every time I see a film with a best supporting actor I question the decision so I'm probably not the best judge of who is deserving of that award or what a supporting actor actually is.
One area of the film worth mentioning specifically is the famous chariot race scene which runs for around eleven minutes. This scene, one of the most memorable in cinema history, is very well-done and along with the chase scene in Bullitt is probably one of the best race scenes I've ever seen. Even more amazing is the fact that there was no CGI or anything of the sort in 1959.
While I am not a religious person at all, I think the religion was presented in a subtle enough way as to not be distracting. I didn't really like the miracle at the end of the movie, but it is a religious story so I can't really complain too much about that.
Overall, this was significantly better than the only other Heston film I've seen, Soylent Green. Despite the fact the first half was tedious at times and it got a little overly-preachy at times for my liking, this is still a good movie overall and definitely worth seeing.
84/100
B
UP NEXT: Either I'll continue with Best Picture winners and move to the following year's winner, The Apartment or I'll go with Witness for the Prosecution. -
MCT:July 13, 2008
When looking at this film its hard to believe that MGM was about to go bankrupt. And yet they were and they banked everything they had on Ben-Hur to save the studio, and luckily for them it worked.
William Wyler has been a favorite of mine ever since I saw Jezebel (1938). The man was a superb director, not something we see often in this day and age. Fellows like him seemed to have all but died out, with only a few fledgling directors capable of carrying on the once great legacy of the silver screen. He did a tremendous job here, he knew exactly how he wanted to make this film and he went out and made it come true. He was a perfectionist that demanded the very best from everyone involved in the film, if more of the youngsters in Hollowood would take that stance, we wouldn't end up with some the awful dreck we usually get. Of course if more directors today were like that, many many actors would be out of the job.
As for the cast, they were perfect for their roles, Heston was a masterful actor, something people tend to forget while hating him for his stance on gun control. Its hard to imagine anyone but him as Judah Ben-Hur, and there were alot of choices at the time.
Stephan Boyd was suitably menacing as Messala, Judah's boyhood friend turned enemy. After a certain point, every word he uttered simply dripped with venom. You could just feel his hatred. Very well done, they made the right choice with him.
Everyone was perfectly suited for their parts, Sam Jaffe, Haya Harareet, Jack Hawkins, all of them. I'm glad this was such a success, because the cast is now immortalized in cinema history, and they worked hard for that and deserve it.
As for the film itself, its simply magnificent. They spent millions on set design and creation, they built whole stuctures specifically for this film, including the Circus for the chariot race. If MGM was having financial trouble you'd never know it from this film, they spared no expense. If this gamble hadn't paid off, MGM would have been finished for good. I think the story is well told and has a pretty good pace about it. The most outstanding part about this film is that its all real, no cgi making everything so easy. This film took alot of hard work from every single person involved to make it this great. See this film and you can really appreciate what a great film can be made without computers taking all of the work out it
being a Heathen, you'd think this would be one of the last movies I'd ever like, let alone love. Its clearly a Christian movie, although most of the film has not much to do with Christ at all, just some cameo moments for the most part. However, One doesn't tend to think about it while watching it, The religious aspects were pretty toned down in comparison with the source material. This film can certainly appeal to anyone regardless of faith or beliefs. Its a tremendous story even without the Christian parts, and thats what matters.
The thing besides the religious undertones that would put young folks off is the length, its 3 hours long. But in this reviewers opinion its 3 hours very well spent. -
MCT:July 11, 2008
one of the great epics of all time. re-watchability is effected by its 3 1/2 hour length, but other than this the film is nearly perfect. the chariot race is a stagering feat, the performances, locations, and cinematography are astounding, and the story is inspiring. great reverence is paid to Christ in making him voiceless and faceless and the imagery of his death bringing life is perfectly painted. worthy of its 11 oscars, this film is wonderful.
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MCT:July 10, 2008
i could see it 100 times and never get bored!!! his has been for a long time my favourite movie....a story of belief,friendship,betrail,surpassing hardship,changing faith and revenge.....and a wonderful silver lining awating for you at the end
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MCT:July 7, 2008
Ben-Hur is an amazing film, but I just can't give it4 stars because it dragged on and on all throughout. There were tons of enjoyable and entertaining parts. The best part was obviously the chariot scene. The stunts and the difficulty level were top notch and outstanding.
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MCT:July 6, 2008Charlton Heston plays in this brilliant epic movie, which defined epic gladiator flicks, and an era.
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MCT:June 19, 2008
Brilliant film about a man's long, arduous, and eventual self-rewarding journey to find inner peace as he struggles with Roman imperialism and the decision between vengeance or forgiveness. Truly wonderful, not a dull scene in the whole picture.
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MCT:June 10, 2008
If you want size, action, spectacle, thrills, good triumphing over evil, and romance, this one is for you and por moi.
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MCT:June 8, 2008
Ok, so the very best part of this movie is when Ben Hur comes into the room after he's sent the knife in ahead of him. Masala's like, why would someone give me this? Enter Ben Hur... "You're wrong Masala!" Nice.
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MCT:June 4, 2008
really long movie, in fact, a bit longer than i usually like, but still pretty good. a must see if u like Roman Empire epics.
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MCT:May 18, 2008
I just could not stop peeing all over myself for some reason when I watched this movie. It's a good movie but wear a raincoat if you watch it with me.
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MCT:May 12, 2008Although there are some decent parts, the beginning is boring and there's a lot of dated Christian propaganda, which is a bit annoying. There are also major factual and historical errors in the movie.
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MCT:May 10, 2008
William Wyler?s epic adaptation of the famous Lew Wallace novel is an amazing event and given the perfect lead in Charlton Heston who was at the top of his game during this period. The chariot is a knockout and the incredibly lush sets are brilliant to see on the big-screen. Miklós Rózsa expansive score is also amazing to listen to. Everything meshes and the film is amazing to watch each time. I will admit that the full version is quite long, but each scene adds so much to the film.
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MCT:May 5, 2008
''Your eyes are full of hate, forty-one. That's good. Hate keeps a man alive. It gives him strength.''
When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Charlton Heston: Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins: Quintus Arrius
Ben-Hur won 11 Academy Awards, and deserved all, plus more. The script and Stephen Boyd should have won. Actually everyone in the cast is superb. Boyd gives the performance of a lifetime and makes an excellent adversary, for Ben-Hur.
Their early scenes, scripted by Gore Vidal, exhibit a most settle homo-erotic behavior, featuring Boyd's eye glances, a "toast" scene where they wrap their arms around each other, culminating in a scene of two arrows in a wall as phallic symbols. Later the relationship sours, Heston is a slave who becomes a hero, but his mother and sister are in prison, and he returns to see Boyd. A towering chariot race ensues, ending their relationship, but sending Ben-Hur on a daring mission to locate his family, now in a leper colony.
Haya Harareet transcends in and out as a lovely potential love interest, but special mention must be made of Martha Scott, riveting as the mother, and Cathy O'Donnell, a sweet attribute as the daughter.
Any doubts about Heston's acting abilities are forever erased with his sensitive, gripping portrayal of a man who finds Christ. And it is very touching that he's not looking for love, but his loved and special family.
The 40-minute race took three months to shoot, in an arena that was a year in the making, and was one of the most ambitious sets ever staged by a major Hollywood studio. It forms the focal point of the movie.
A powerful masterpiece, beautifully scored by Miklos Rozsa, wonderfully directed by William Wyler and co-starring stalwarts Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith, Sam Jaffe. Presumably the best of all the Biblical adventures. -
MCT:May 4, 2008
a true cinematic masterpiece. even in 3 1/2 hours, no scene comes across as superfluous or unnecessary. the tie-ins with the Jesus story are subtle, tasteful, and pertinent to the overall advancement of the story. the acting is brilliant, the score is classically epic, the cinematography is stunning, and the story is as relevant today as it was in 1959 as it was in A.D. 30. awesome movie.
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MCT:April 11, 2008
I know everyone else has said it but this film is powerful and beautiful. The late Charleston Heston made his calim to fame in this gigantic epic. Even though he did Moses in The Ten Commandments this is the role in my opinion he will be most remembered for. Unlike Commndments (which felt like a steak that was overcooked) Ben-Hur is one of the all time epics because it not only have the grandeur of Biblical times but the characters feel real and human, its as if William Wyler seem to forgot he was directing an epic but was directing a simple but powerful modern drama of the time.
The plot is about a boyhood friendship between a Roman and a Jew gone sour and the Jew that is Ben-Hur vows vengence for the Roman Messala's sudden malcontent for him and his family in the attempt to gain more power. As Judah Ben-Hur is sentenced to the Galley ship he rescues an important roman figure which elevates his status and frees him from the drudgery and thus Judah reunites with Messala and both challenge each other in the famous chariot race that has immortalized it as cinema as we know it today. The ending is beautiful and had me in tears.
I know there are many epics from the cinema but only a selective few have touched millions. Those films include: Gone with the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and this film and this is because the sets and the action are spectacular but the characters that resonates in these films are real and so powerful that no matter what time we are in we can relate to them. No matter if they lived in biblical times, the old South or Middle Earth they all touch no matter what and this film is one of them. This is one of the film everybody needs to watch before they die. I cannot emphasize how much this film meant to me it is vital and essential (with a capital E) that everyone watches this film no matter what religion you believe in (or lack of). This is a movie definitely for the ages and one I wish every filmmaker who directs epics should watch and see that character and not the size of the picture resonates the screen. -
MCT:April 9, 2008
A classic movie.All time favourite.The granduer in the movie is worth a watch with a nice insight on the history of Christ's times(not totally relating to Him though)
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Comments
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eggpoleposted 366 days ago -
very long movie but i loved it
charlton heston is one of my favorite actorposted 507 days ago
