Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)
by Scott Benson (II), Rex Ingram (II), Christy Cabanne
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Christopher Plummer, Gore Vidal, J.J. Cohn, Rudy Behlmer, William WylerDirector: Christy Cabanne, Rex Ingram (II), Scott Benson (II)
Brand: GRIFFITH/HESTON/HAWKINS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled)
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 222 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-09-13
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Movie Reviews of Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)
Movie Review: Timeless Epic
Summary: 5 Stars
Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)
This is the best American movie ever made. Everything is done superbly. Great story, outstanding acting, fantastic picture made with 65mm cameras, masterful music score. It is hard to find anything bad about this movie.
Aspect ratio of this movie is incredible 2.76:1. On standard 4:3 TV black bars will occupy more space than the movie itself. This method creates spectacular panoramic shots which is important for epic movies with great action scenes.
Chariot race is one of the best action sequences ever shot in a movie. With no digital computer effects it is a true masterpiece. Pod racing looks great in Star Wars Episode 1 but it is entirely done digitally, something not available in 1959.
In 36 page booklet about the production (included with 2005 edition) it is mentioned that Judah's horses in the movie are actually world famous Lipizzaners. As gray horses they are born black or bay but during their lifetime they become lighter every year and finally become white. They originate from farms around village Lipizza in Slovenia and they are used in the world oldest and most famous Spanish Ridding School (formed in 1572) in Vienna, Austria. Only stallions are used for dressage. Unlike racing horses, these live very long, reaching 30 eventually. In 2005, when new 4-disc set of Ben-Hur was reissued, it was exactly 60 years from the time when general Patton rescued these horses from extinction. During WWII, Nazis captured entire breeding stock and shipped it back to Germany. Rescue had to be made behind Soviet lines to prevent them from ending in Soviet hands as horsemeat.
Chariot race places Judah against his old buddy Messala who sent him to slavery and imprisoned his mother and sister. Judah uses this race to destroy Messala's ego and end his streak of invincibility in the Forum. Messala rides Greek chariot with black horses, equipped with metal spikes to crush other competitors because there are no rules that ban such thing. Everything is allowed. After his chariot crashes, he refuses to be operated, he waits for Judah to come to him. The only reason why he is waiting for Judah is not to show remorse or regret for his past actions against Judah and his family but to commit his final act of evil, his last words tell Judah that he can seek his mother and sister in "Valley of the Lepers", if he can recognize them. We can only wish that George Lucas made Dart Vader more like Messala. His body completely broken, bathed in his own blood and waiting to die he uses little life left in him to make Judah suffer even more. Stephen Boyd portrayal of Messala is one of the best evil guy acts ever made.
Movie is the winner of eleven Academy Awards. Charlton Heston gave his best performance ever and won Oscar. It is shame that Stephen Boyd didn't win it, he got only Golden Globe Award for best Supporting Actor.
Summary of Ben-Hur (Four-Disc Collector's Edition)
Ben-Hur scooped an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards? in 1959 and, unlike some later rivals, richly deserved every single one. This is epic filmmaking on a scale that had not been seen before and is unlikely ever to be seen again. But it's not just running time or a cast of thousands that makes an epic, it's the subject matter, and here the subject--Prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and his estrangement from old Roman pal Messala (Stephen Boyd)--is rich, detailed, and sensitively handled. Director William Wyler, who had been a junior assistant on MGM's original silent version back in 1925, never sacrifices the human focus of the story in favor of spectacle, and is aided immeasurably by Miklos Rozsa's majestic musical score, arguably the greatest ever written for a Hollywood picture. At four hours it's a long haul (especially given some of the portentous dialogue), but all in all, Ben-Hur is a great movie, best seen on the biggest screen possible. --Mark WalkerThe numbers speak volumes: 100,000 costumes, 8,000 extras, 300 sets and a staggering budget in its day the largest in movie history. Ben-Hur's creators made it the best, the greatest Biblical-era epic ever. Charlton Heston brings a muscular physical and moral presence to the role of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Palestine whose heroic odyssey includes enslavement by the Romans, a bold escape from an embattled slave galley, vengeance against his tormentors during a furious arena chariot race and fateful encounters with Jesus Christ. Heston's charismatic performance brought him the Best Actor Oscar; the winner as 1959's Best Picture with the legendary William Wyler earning his third Best Director trophy, the film won a total 11 Academy Awards -- a tally unequaled until 1997's Titanic set sail.
DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Film Historian T. Gene Hatcher with Scene Specific Comments from Charlton Heston
Documentaries:New Documentary: Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema - Current filmmakers such as Ridley Scott and George Lucas reflect on the importance and influence of the film 1994 Documentary: Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic Hosted by Christopher Plummer Directed by William Wyler - 1986 Emmy Award-nominated documentary featuring the last interview with Wyler before his death
Featurette:Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures - New audiovisual recreation of the film via stills, storyboards, sketches, music and dialogue
Other:The 1925 Feature-length Silent Version of Ben-Hur with a stereophonic orchestral score by composer Carl Davis. Vintage Newsreels Gallery Highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards Ceremony Theatrical Trailer Gallery
Outtakes:Screen Tests: Leslie Nielsen and Cesare Danova Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler George Baker and William Russel Haya Harareet Hair and Make-up Tests
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