Ben-Hur (1959)

One of my all time favorites.

From my favorite movies..

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

What to review about this film. It simply didn't won 11 Oscars. It got what it deserved. It has got everything you need. Love, Friendship, Faith, Betrayal, Wonderful story (adapted meaningful novel), and JESUS.I was never ever so thrilled in my life while watching movies (like what will happen next, next, next). And the ending, conclusion was so beautifully filmed. Tears were coming from my eyes as watching the ending . William Wyler and all actors did a fantastic job. I loved Charlton Heston so much though .Also surprised to know the actor (Claude Heater) who portrayed Jesus Christ role is the only surviving actor now.Without Doubt, My 2nd favorite film of all time behind The Lord of The Rings .

I understand that the film is primarily about the life of Ben Hur but think I'll focus my observations on the Hur-and-Jesus dynamic. In this mode, one can see in the tale a Christian's dream: to convert a Jew! Some reviews write of Jesus and capitalize the pronoun "he" as if this Jew from Nazareth was divine. Such is the Christian myth. Many conservative Christians continue the slander that the Jews failed to understand their own scriptures and failed to recognize their own messiah (another word that needn't be capitalized except when used in a title as "president" is in "President Donald Trump"). Forgive me for reviewing not just the movie but an aspect also of some reviews. But our reactions to a film can be as interesting as the film itself. Films play roles in our lives and so an epic film in which a Jew recognizes the "Messiah" is partly propaganda that might reinforce a bias or movie a viewer toward a bias. Next year a book (The Folly of Fundamentalism) will be available on Amazon that explains all this in greater detail..

Hollywood, in trying to distance itself from television, produced many epics, several of which were and still are highly acclaimed (ie: The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, The Ten Commandments, etc.). Ben-Hur is the best of the epics, and everything about it seems to define the very genre itself. The sheer scale of the production is nearly unfathomable, but it is not big for the sake of being big, and it never gets lost in itself. Despite the magnificent scope, William Wyler's magnum opus is a remarkably personal tale of friendship, betrayal, revenge, and forgiveness.The acting is excellent, the cinematography is excellent, the pacing is excellent (it never drags throughout its more than three hour running time), Miklos Rozsa's score is a symphonic masterpiece, the religious aspects are treated with great tact and respect, and so much more about this picture reaches the pinnacle of anything Hollywood has ever produced. Perfection is what it takes to win eleven academy awards, and Ben-Hur delivers. If it sounds like I'm gushing unblemished praise on this movie, it's because I am and it deserves it. This film is an absolute must see.

Some movies are so good that they just haven't age. They are timeless, like any work of art. This is one of those movies, perhaps one of the best movies ever and surely one of the biggest and most epic biblical movies ever made. The story is based on a novel by Lew Wallace (which I have read and I have at home) and is so famous that it doesn't allow spoils: the injustice committed against Judah Ben-Hur and his path of revenge, deeply linked to the life and death of Jesus, a latent and ever palpable subplot, even when it does not arise. Epic in every detail, the film features scenarios and costumes carefully crafted in the style of Imperial Rome. Some sequences are truly anthological, as is the case with the chariot race. The representation of the Roman legionaries influenced for decades the conception that we have, individually, on how they were and fought. The visual and special effects used in the film were the best there was at the time and even today, more than half a century later, they're able to surprise by the realism. The color is vivid and intense, cinematography is truly imposing and accentuates the epic ambiance. As for the cast's work, it's definitely the movie of Charlton Heston's life. He not only became famous with it but made here the most remarkable character of his career. Steven Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Martha Scott and Hugh Griffith also shone. It's a long movie, but the audience gets so caught up in it that they don't even feel the time go by. Wonderful!