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William Wyler's biblical epic is a production of
unheard-of scale, exhibiting the work of literally tens
of thousands of people. The film tells the story of
Judah Ben-Hur, a Judean prince who as a galley slave
saves the life of a Roman nobleman, changing his life
forever. The 1880 novel by Lew Wallace had previously
been filmed to great acclaim in 1927 with Ramon Navarro.
Anno Domini: the seventh year of Augustus Caesar's
reign. In the Roman province of Judea, Jews return to
the city of their birth for the census. A bright star in
the night over Bethlehem marks the birth of Jesus
Christ. Years later, Roman commander Messala (Stephen
Boyd), who was brought up in Judea, takes command of the
Roman garrison in Jerusalem. His Jewish boyhood friend
Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) greets him. Messala is
delighted. But when Judah refuses to name Jewish
patriots, Messala sentences him to the slave galleys and
imprisons his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott), and sister,
Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell). Judah vows revenge.
In BEN-HUR, William Wyler's much-lauded epic, the story
of Judah's search for his mother and sister and his
quest for revenge intersects with crucial biblical
events such as the Sermon on the Mount and the
crucifixion. Wyler gets fine performances from Heston,
Boyd, Jack Hawkins (as a Roman admiral who befriends
Judah), and Hugh Griffith (as an Arab sheik who dreams
of racing his beautiful white horses against Messala).
Among BEN-HUR's vivid dramatic sequences are a violent
sea battle and the famous chariot race that pits Judah
against Messala in one of cinema's great action
sequences.
Shot on location
in Fiuggia, Folliano, Nettuno, and Rome, Italy.
Upon its release, it was the third longest movie and
most expensive movie (at $16 million) ever made. It was
a spectacular success at the box office, grossing almost
five times its cost in its initial run and subsequently
taking more than twice its cost in video rentals.
On November 4, 1958, five months into the movie's
seven-month-long shoot, BEN-HUR's producer Sam Zimbalist
collapsed and died. Director William Wyler said, "It was
as if the roof had fallen in on me. I felt alone. I'd
never felt alone with Sam around." The MGM studio
executives asked Wyler to take over as producer as well
as director of the mammoth undertaking.
The script went through many hands. After Wyler read the
first version by Karl Tunberg, the director said it was
"very primitive, elementary." He was still unhappy after
the playwrights S. N. Behrman and Maxwell Anderson had
worked on the dialogue. Novelist Gore Vidal was on hand
for the first month and a half of location shooting; he
contributed the idea of motivating the conflict between
Messala and Judah--and providing a spine to the
movie--by suggesting there was an emotional bond between
Messala and Judah that was broken when Judah refused to
help Messala against his countrymen. (Years later Vidal
admitted that there were serious homosexual undertones
to the relationship, a fact that the cast and crew
purposely never discussed with Heston.) English
playwright Christopher Fry was on location for the last
six months of the shoot. He acted as dialogue
doctor--providing the formality that suggested earlier
times--and undertook overnight revisions of the script.
Wyler wanted to add Fry's name to Tunberg's on the
script. Fry suggested Vidal should be credited as well.
But, after arbitration by the Writers Guild of America,
Tunberg alone received credit.
It is well known that the chariot race--which cost one
million dollars alone--was created by second-unit
directors Andrew Marton, Yakima Canutt, and Mario
Soldati. It is less well known that the slave-galley
action sequences were directed (uncredited) by Hollywood
veteran Richard Thorpe (1896-1991). Thorpe made 180
movies in his long career, but it was the series of
costume dramas that he made early in the 1950s--IVANHOE
(1952, with Robert Taylor), THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1952
with Stewart Granger), KNIGHTS OF THE ROUND TABLE (1953,
with Taylor), ALL THE BROTHERS WERE VALIANT (1953, with
Taylor and Granger), and, best of all, THE ADVENTURES OF
QUENTIN DURWARD (1955, with Taylor), that showed he was
the right person to help Wyler in his epic undertaking.
BEN-HUR was nominated for 12 Academy Award and won a
record 11 Oscars--including Best Picture, Best Director,
Best Actor (Charlton Heston), and Best Supporting Actor
(Hugh Griffith). This record was tied 40 years later by
TITANIC.
There were many marketing tie-ins for BEN-HUR. In
addition to new editions of General Lew Wallace's novel,
there were BEN-HUR jewels and perfumes, neckties and
T-shirts, candy bars, toys, and chariot scooters, and,
even, Ben-His and Ben-Hers towels.
Mort Sahl's brief sardonic review of BEN-HUR was Loved
him, hated Hur!! |
- Attractive Retail Box
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Genre:
Dramas, Action, Adventure, Bible Epic, Classic,
Religion, Epic, Recommended, Period Piece, Ancient
World, Based On A Novel
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Rating: G (Canadian Home Video Rating)
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Starring: Stephen Boyd, Charles Carter,
Finlay Currie, Charlton Easton, Hugh Griffith, Haya
Harareet, Jack Hawkins, Charlton Heston, Sam Jaffe,
Terence Longdon, Andre Morell, Cathy O'Donnell, George
Relph, Martha Scott, Frank Thring
- Directed
By: William Wyler
- Release Information:
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Studio: Warner Studios
- Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 1959
- DVD Release Date: September 14, 2004
- Run Time: 212 minutes
- Production Company: Warner Home
Video
- Package Type: Snap Case
- Dual-Layer Format (DVD-18)
- Winner of Eleven (11) Academy Awards Including
Best Picture 1959
- DVD Features:
- Encoding:
Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only).
This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other
countries.
-
Aspect Ratio(s):
- Widescreen anamorphic - 2.76:1
- Available Audio Tracks:
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English (Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround)
- French (Dolby Digital 2.0
Surround)
- Languages:
English and French
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Available Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
and Portuguese
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Closed Captioned:
Yes
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Bonus Features:
-
Soundtrack Remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1
- Feature-Length Audio Commentary by Charlton Heston
- Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Ben Hur: The
Making of an Epic
- Screen Tests
- Photo Gallery
- Cast/Director/Career Highlights
- Theatrical Trailer
- Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
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Interactive Menus
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