Ben-Hur

The same quality that made epics like "Gone with the Wind," "Lawrence of Arabia," "Doctor Zhivago," and, ultimately, "Titanic" the memorable stories they were is present in spades in "Ben-Hur." These are stories, though told on canvases far vaster than the CinemaScope- or Panavision-sized movie screens they were meant for, succeed because, in their best moments, they focus on the interaction between and history of as few as two characters.

What begins as a childhood friendship between a Roman boy and a Jewish boy in Roman-occupied Palestine, becomes, briefly, a politically-charged rivalry, and ultimately, a search for revenge by one upon the other.

Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd deliver the performances of their careers, and get to chew up scenery and sets of such grandeur that Hollywood could never afford their like again.

This film, the greatest epic film ever made, deserves every accolade heaped upon it. The modern viewer may have to apply some patience, but at the end of the nearly four hour running time will find themselves to be vastly rewarded for it. You will find your life changed by both the scale of the film and the intimate message of friendship, betrayal, revenge--and the power of forgiveness.

We are by nature a cynical and critical group.

With the attention span of a bumblebee, moreso the current generation than the earlier ones, because of exposure to mobile devices and other modern disposable non-repairable tech.

It is probably for that reason that epics like this one have become forgotten over time. Even the late CH has become more a societal joke and less of an icon over time. Michael Moore made Heston's participation in the NRA a joke. (If Heston's concerns over where society is headed prove to be true, the final joke may be on Moore.) Back to the film. It is almost perfect. Then, as now. The script continually builds. Modern writers could learn from that. No matter what is presently on screen as you watch, the inevitability of the final climax beckons.

The acting is perfect.

The mixture of myth and drama is perfect.

True the Roman dialog did not benefit from the verbal tricks that Stephen McKnight used in Spartacus (bending the script to match the flow of actual Roman) but it is more than enough to entertain and entrance.

From the "accident" early in the film which starts the flow of events, to the chariot race WHICH HAS NEVER BEEN EQUALLED IN THE HISTORY OF FILM, to the reunion with lost family at the end, this is one of the most powerful and entertaining films of all time

The newest iteration of BEN-HUR (2016) made by schlockmeister Timur Bekmambetov crashed and burned in the box-office front, which prompts my belated viewing of this grandiose historical epic under the supervision of William Wyler, the film won him a third Oscar for directing and swept with 11 wins out of its total 12 nominations (only Karl Tunberg lost BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY to Jack Clayton's ROOM AT THE TOP).

Adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE Christ, this Hollywood juggernaut opens with the birth of Jesus Christ, jand condones quite a chunk of time in padding out the Calvary crucification after the iconic chariot racing money shot (which partially explains its drawn-out length, running up to 212 minutes), vehemently gets its feet wet as a Christianity- moralizing tale by casting J.C. as the Messiah who literally saves our hero Judas Ben-Hur (Heston) from perishing during his trials and tribulations, and jumps the shark in its miraculous ending, gratifyingly throws humankind's fate under the omnipresence's whims, which gives a staid aftertaste.

The main plot is of course, about Judas, a wealthy Jewish prince in Jerusalem, AD 26, falls foul of his childhood friend, now a Roman tribune, Messala (Boyd), who swears allegiance to the Roman Empire, and fails to rope the freedom-advocating Judas into joining his side. Under Messala's cunning malfeasance out of a mere accident, Judas is sentenced to toil in the galleys whilst his mother Miriam (Scott) and sister Tirzah (O'Connell) are cooped up in prison. Revenge is the mainspring behind Judas' odyssey from a galley slave to an heir of the childless Roman Consul Quintus Arrius (Hawkins), it is hatred that keeps his head above water against adversity, alert to a golden window to enact his exit strategy and he even magnanimously hatches a son-father rapport with the tyrannical Arrius. This is the thorny knot in the otherwise rather Manichaean racial feud depicted in the story, how far one can go to love your enemy? Which remains a quintessential challenge for those who endorse Christianity, and the film could have delved deeper into Judas' psyche on that issue, yet, Arrius wholly disappears from the narrative after the mid-stream, and he merely functions as a springboard to Judas' glorious homecoming with his rehabilitation, reunion and rediscovery. At the end of the day, justice belatedly prevails, but Judas still gets all shaken up in the aftermath, revenge might keep him alive but it is religion that gives him the ultimate peace.

For what it's worth, BEN-HUR's visual spectacle still holds water to an awe-inspiring amazement and thrill, it is a historic accomplishment not just because of its cutting-edge technicalities but also for the staggering manpower it strenuously deploys, the film itself is a panegyric of human's creativity, which is something no dissenter can take away.

Romans are played by a crop of top-notch British thespians, whilst Jews are mostly impersonated by Americans, although how come Hugh Griffith's ludicrously swarthy portrayal of the Arabic Sheik can walk off with that Oscar statute still eludes me, he is not even the top-pick among the supporting cast in the film, both Hawkins and Boyd can easily upstage him with their more engaging agent and emotive bravura, especially the latter, truly deserves at least an Oscar nomination which usurped by Griffith. That is not to say, Heston wins his Oscar all fair and square, but at least one can understand the logic, Heston has a dominating role whacked by an unimaginable baptism of fire, he is undeniably sympathetic and mostly affective with a very theatrical flair. An unsung heroine, is Israeli beauty Haya Harareet's divine presence as Esther, the daughter of Judah's former slave Simonides (Jaffe), and Judah's sweetheart, who livens up the scenes whenever poignancy comes into play, a classic godsend.

When all is said and done, BEN-HUR is the apotheosis of mainstream studio production in Hollywood's Golden Era, its phenomenal scale, its breathtaking grandeur and the imposingly plangent score by Miklós Rózsa can unnerve any redux project even tries to emulate its success, and furthermore, its "revenge is never the cure" message can earnestly transcend any religious persuasions and reach to a broader demography out of its faith-base home-turf.

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!

When I first saw 'Ben Hur' I was 8 years old and hadn't seen many films, since we were hardly ever allowed to watch television. Imagine what an impact this film had on me (my movie diet had so far consisted of Chaplin and Disney films - which, of course, is not at all a bad thing).

The experience was simply mesmerizing. Awe and wonder filled me as I watched this story of shocking betrayal, revenge and forgiveness unfold on screen - and by the time the heart-stopping chariot race was over, my fate as a future movie addict was sealed.

Despite its 212 minutes running time, this is storytelling at its finest that knows how to entertain; as we follow Judah Ben-Hur's dramatic journey from Jerusalem to Rome and back again, the film just never lets up and immerses you completely.

It's hard to imagine anything more cinematic, especially at the time: if ever there was an epic that was meant to be seen on the big screen in all its bombastic glory, it's Ben Hur. And even now, after I've seen the film many, many times, I feel like this story has a certain sense of greatness to it that is touching (and I don't mean that in a religious sense).

My verdict: this film was and is nothing like the many "sandal and sword" or bible films of that era; it is (at least to me) the ultimate film epic. With its touching story and fantastic action sequences - which I think hold up amazingly well - Ben Hur is among the milestones of its era and part of film history.

Pure cinema and a must see. 10 stars out of 10.

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