Ben-Hur (1959)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Lew Wallace (novel)
Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 December 1959 (Argentina)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Tale of the Christ

Plot:

When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Roman | Revenge | Jerusalem | Prince

Awards:

Won 11 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins	...	Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet	...	Esther
Stephen Boyd	...	Messala
Hugh Griffith	...	Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott	...	Miriam
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Tirzah
Sam Jaffe	...	Simonides
Finlay Currie	...	Balthasar / Narrator
Frank Thring	...	Pontius Pilate
Terence Longdon	...	Drusus
George Relph	...	Tiberius Caesar
André Morell	...	Sextus

Also Known As:

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

212 min | Sweden:219 min (1970) | Sweden:224 min (1962) | UK:222 min (1993 re-release) | 214 min (DVD edition) | 223 min (2005 DVD)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby (1993 re-release)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | China:(Banned) | South Korea:All | Brazil:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #19158) (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1959) | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | West Germany:16 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

According to Gore Vidal, as recounted in The Celluloid Closet (1995) one of the script elements he was brought in to re-write was the relationship between Messalah and Ben-Hur. Director William Wyler was concerned that two men who had been close friends as youths would not simply hate one another as a result of disagreeing over politics. Thus, Vidal devised a thinly veiled subtext suggesting the Messalah and Ben-Hur had been lovers as teenagers, and their fighting was a result of Ben-Hur spurning Messalah. Wyler was initially hesitant to implement the subtext, but agreed on the conditions that no direct reference ever be made to the characters' sexuality in the script, that Vidal personally discuss the idea with Stephen Boyd, and not mention the subtext to Charlton Heston who, Wyler feared, would panic at the idea. After Vidal admitted to adding the homosexual subtext in public, Heston denied the claim, going so far as to suggest Vidal had little input into the final script, and his lack of screen credit was a result of his being fired for trying to add gay innuendo. Vidal rebutted by citing passages from Heston's 1978 autobiography, where the actor admitted that Vidal had authored much of the final shooting script.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: When the audience first sees Ben-Hur and Messalla together and they both throw a spear at the wall, the sound of Ben-Hur's voice does not match up with his lips.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Balthasar: [narrating] In the Year of our Lord, Judea - for nearly a century - had lain under the mastery of Rome. In the seventh year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, an imperial decree ordered every Judean each to return to his place of birth to be counted and taxed. The converging ways of many of them led to the gates of their capital city...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Will & Grace: Ben? Her? (#2.23)" (2000)

Deserved All The Honors

Wow, what can you say about a film that won 11 Academy Awards back in the days where the best films actually were honored, not the garbage they salute today.

In other words, this film lives up to its reputation and has to be ranked as one of the most memorable movies of all time. Nobody who ever saw this film ever forgot the chariot race, for instance, perhaps the greatest action scene filmed without special effects.

This can be a very sad film as well. I doubt if I've ever watched this without a few tears in my eyes at certain points. The scenes with hero's mother and sister suffering with leprosy are still some of the most heart-wrenching scenes I've ever witnessed on film. They can just tear you apart.

The combination of drama, action and romance, along with very involving storyline is aided by an incredible soundtrack, once again one of the best ever put on film. The more one hears this music, the more was is moved by it.

To fully appreciate the cinematography in this film I recommend you purchase the recently-released 4-disc DVD special edition which also includes the first rendition of this story, the silent movie "Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ." That was name of the book, by the way, the second part of the title being left off the 1959 movie as Hollywood slowly began deemphasizing Christianity in films. However, there is a reverence for Jesus Christ in this film, which should be there since it's a key element of the storyline, even though most folks forget that.

In summary, this is about as good an example as ever found of what is labeled an "epic" movie. It's an incredible story transferred memorably on screen.