Ben-Hur (1959)

Ben-Hur
Directed by William Wyler
1959/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing
#349 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Judah Ben-Hur: [after he is sentenced to the galleys] May God grant me vengeance! I will pray that you live until I return!

Messala: [ironically] Return?[/box]

This big-budget epic delivers in all the blockbuster categories.  It is approximately 27 A.D. Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a prince and the richest man in Judea.  He was a childhood friend of Messala (Stephen Boyd), a Roman who has now returned to Judea as Tribune of the occupying Romans.  Their friendship is soon severed when Ben-Hur refuses to inform on Jewish rebels. When a tile from Ben-Hur’s roof injures the Governor, he is sentenced as a galley-slave and his mother and sister are imprisoned.

Ben-Hur survives three years on the galleys and attracts the notice of Consul Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins).  He rescues Arrius from drowning during a sea battle and earns the older man’s eternal gratitude.  He becomes a victorious chariot racer in Rome.  After Arrius formally adopts Hur, he returns to Judea to search for his mother and sister and exact revenge on Messala.  Throughout the story, Ben-Hur encounters Jesus of Nazereth, who inspires him with his mercy.

As I have mentioned before, the epic is my least favorite genre and this film combines the sword-and-sandal variant with the biblical variant.  I am also not a fan of Charlton Heston’s acting. I must obey the commands of the Random Number Generator however or I would never get around to many of the unseen movies on my List!

While I can’t say that I loved this movie, I must admit that as a pure spectacle it can’t be faulted.  The famous chariot race is particularly thrilling and the settings and costumes are great.  I enjoyed the commentary track on the Blu-Ray DVD I rented even more than the film.  This movie was MGM’s chance at salvation from bankruptcy after the studio had taken a drubbing from television.  It was also interesting to learn about the filming in Rome and the different techniques used to get the effects.

Did any one else not know that movie theaters really didn’t sell candy or popcorn in their lobbies until they started having to compete with at-home TV viewing?  I had always assumed that popcorn was a permanent fixture of movie-going.

Trailer