Ben-Hur (1959)
From The Film Guide
| Ben-Hur | ||
|---|---|---|
 Original poster | ||
| Directed by: | William Wyler | |
| Produced by: | Sam Zimbalist William Wyler | |
| Written by: | Lew Wallace (novel) Karl Tunberg | |
| Executive producer(s): | ||
| Starring: | Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith | |
| Tagline: | The World's Most Honored Motion Picture | |
| Aspect ratio: | 2.76:1 | |
| Runtime: | 212 min. | |
| Country: | United States | |
| Language: | English | |
| Colour: | Colour (Technicolor) | |
| Sound mix: | 70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) | |
| Ratings: | USA:G / UK:PG / Canada:G / France:U / Spain:T / Argentina:Atp | |
| Production companies: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
| Distributed by: | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer | |
| Released on: | November 18 1959 | |
| Budget: | $15,000,000 | |
| Box Office: | $70 million (USA) | |
| IMDb entry | ||
| Looking for more? Try the fan page! | ||
Ben-Hur is a 1959 film directed by William Wyler and is, today, the best-known version of the film based on the 1880 book by Lew Wallace, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.
It was produced in grand style with over 300 sets scattered over 340 acres (1.4 km²), and featured Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd as Messala.
It premiered at Loews Theater in New York City on November 18, 1959.
This version won a stunning 11 Academy Awards (a number matched only by two other movies in the history of Academy Awards - Titanic in 1997 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2003).
The movie was filmed in a process known as "MGM Camera 65", a 70 mm anamorphic print with an aspect ratio of 2.76:1, considered to be one of the widest prints ever made, having a width of almost three times its height. This allowed for spectacular panoramic shots in addition to four-channel audio.
Even by today's standards, the chariot race in Ben-Hur is considered to be one of the most spectacular action sequences ever filmed. Filmed long before the advent of computer-generated effects, it took over three months alone to film, including 8000 extras on the largest film set ever built, some 18 acres (73,000 m²). The visually astonishing MGM Camera 65 process and excellent cinematography by Robert Surtees made the chariot race one of the most memorable scenes in modern cinema.
This was a successful attempt to save MGM from bankruptcy.
MGM received over 40 scripts.
[edit] Awards
- Academy Award for Best Picture - Sam Zimbalist, producer
- Academy Award for Best Actor - Charlton Heston
- Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor - Hugh Griffith
- Academy Award for Directing - William Wyler
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction - Set Decoration, Color - Edward C. Carfagno, William A. Horning, and Hugh Hunt
- Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color - Robert Surtees
- Academy Award for Costume Design, Color - Elizabeth Haffenden
- Best Effects, Special Effects - A. Arnold Gillespie (visual), Milo B. Lory (audible), and Robert MacDonald (visual)
- Best Film Editing - John D. Dunning, and Ralph E. Winters
- Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture - Miklós Rózsa
- Best Sound - Franklin Milton
The film was also nominated for one further award
[edit] Plot
- WARNING: Spoilers follow here.
If you have not seen this film, it is recommended to skip to another section.
Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a brick falls down from Judah's house and barely misses the governor. Although Messala knows that they are not guilty he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge.
As a galley slave, the ship to which Judah has been consigned is attacked by enemies and is sunk, but Judah manages to save the life of the commander, who adopts Judah as his son. Thus given his freedom, and having learned Roman ways (including becoming an expert charioteer), he eventually returns to Judea. There he borrows horses from the Arab sheik Ilderin and defeats Messala in a chariot race before the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Messala, who attempts to cheat his way to victory, is mortally wounded in the race, but tells Judah where he can find his mother and sister: in the valley of the lepers.
Jesus appears in the film several times, including once when He gave water to Judah as he and other galley slaves were marched across the desert. Judah attempts to return the favor during Jesus's march to Calvary. Judah witnesses the crucifixion. Judah's mother and sister are healed by a miracle... as is Judah's heart and soul. He tells his family that as he heard Jesus talk of forgiveness while on the cross, "I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand."
[edit] See also
- Ben-Hur: other uses along with titles
- Sword and sandal on Wikipedia
- Peplum on Wikipedia
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