Ben-Hur
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Movie Reviews of Ben-Hur
Movie Review: BY FAR THE MOST STIRRING OF THE ROMAN EPICS!
Summary: 5 Stars
?Ben-Hur? is the story of Jewish nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who is imprisoned by his one-time boyhood friend, now the Roman tribune, Messalah (Stephen Boyd). Judah's path to God and Messalah's road to ruin parallel the Christ story. Made in 1959, at a time when the studio system, like ancient Rome, was crumbling, ?Ben-Hur? is a masterfully paced, fully realized and intense ?religious? experience. This is by far the greatest of the Bible-fiction epics. It is told with such sweep and scope that one can only sit back and marvel at William Wyler direction, which rightfully placed the emphasis on the human drama and relationships set against the massive pageantry that one comes to expect from such film fare. The production values never overshadow the story. The climactic chariot race is fifteen minutes of pure adrenaline-infused exhilaration, topped off by the fact that both Heston and Boyd did their own stunt work, which must have been a harrowing experience! On Oscar night this movie topped out with 13 nominations and 11 wins including BEST PICTURE, the most Oscars ever awarded any movie until James Cameron's "Titanic" tied it some fifty years later. Warner Home Video has done an outstanding job on this transfer. Albeit, they have cropped the image to the more widely accepted 2:35:1 aspect ratio (MGM Camera 65 presented the film originally as 2:70:1) this is a dazzling anamorphic transfer, full of rich colors, fine detail and stunning clarity. Only in the darkest scenes does the disc falter slightly and lose its otherwise pristine image quality. No pixelization, edge enhancement, aliasing or fine detail shimmering is present. Extras include a thorough documentary with interviews from surviving principle cast and crew. The film itself is split across two sides of a flipper disc but is separated at the intermission half way mark - a forgivable stop. The 5.1 remix is stirring, powerful and engaging, particularly with Miklos Roza's brilliant score that fills the expanse and raises the hair on the back of one's neck. This is a must have for anyone who love Hollywood epics. Sadly, ?Ben-Hur? also represents one of the last enduring masterpiece to emerge from Hollywood?s greatest studio ? Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. I miss MGM! Thankfully, films like "Ben-Hur" endure.
Movie Review: A Defining Moment In Cinema.
Summary: 5 Stars
Director William Wyler's 1959 epic "Ben-Hur" is bar none of the finest movies ever made. Brimming with amazing performances, dazzling set pieces, and an incredibly well written storyline, "Ben-Hur" has stood the test of time to become a defining moment in cinema.
Most reviewers have gone over the plot in great detail, so I will skip over that. I will say that Charlton Heston, one of the legends of filmdom, has never been better than in his role as Judah Ben-Hur. Great actors like Paul Newman, Burt Lancaster and Rock Hudson were all offered a chance to play this character, and while all of them would've no doubt done a fine job, no one could possibly beat Heston in the part. He plays it an unforgettable and one a kind manner that's very difficult to put into words. The supporting cast is top notch, specifically Stephen Boyd, who as Messala creates an unforgettable amount of tension between him and Heston. Both Heston & Boyd received Oscars (this film won 11 out of 12 nominations), and deservedly so.
The directing by Wyler is incredible, especially the chariot race, which is one of a kind and one of the best scenes in the history of the movies. If made today, that sequence would've been entirely done in CGI, and while it would've looked cool no doubt, it wouldn't hold the same excitement, danger, substance and believability that it does with real actors.
I love that Jesus's face is never actually shown throughout the movie. It makes his presence in the movie all the more real and emotional. The crucifixion sequence at the end is heartwrenching to watch. The actor who played Jesus was an opera singer named Claude Heater (this was the only movie he ever did), and he's simply amazing.
What's so great about "Ben-Hur" is that despite the religious themes spread throughout the plot, you don't need to be religious at all to enjoy it (I myself am a Catholic who is firm in my belief in God). I know atheists who told me how great they thought "Ben-Hur" was. It goes to show just how great and how powerful this movie truly is.
The special features on this dvd are great (though I still need to update to the four disc edition), as is the sound and picture quality. This is a motion picture that truly belongs in everyone's dvd collection.
Movie Review: Ben Hur----- DVD 5 Stars
This film when it was released in 1959 saw it's studio MGM teetering on the edge of bankruptcy and the fact that this film cost in 1958 close to $15 Million dollars was most assuredly a make or break film for the studio.William Wyler the film's director, in order to make this film unique as if a running time close to four hours was not enough, filmed it in an aspect ratio of 2.76:1 using what was called MGM Camera 65, an Ultra Panavision process.
This film was one of only two films that were filmed in that process which is the widest of processes used in film to date.
Filmed utilizing 8000 extras, 300 sets, and over 100,000 costume changes this film epitomizes the word grand and released a few years after the Ten Commandments, it helped quench the public thirst for Biblical films.
This new DVD release is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1 and the LFE channel(Low Frequency Effects) is apparent on two standout scenes, the Sea Battle scene, and the now infamous chariot scene which last close to 11 minutes.
There are quite a few special features on this DVD release most of which appear on side two of this disc including a documentary, Ben Hur: The Making Of An Epic, which is just under an hour long.
There was an open casting call for the lead role in this film and they have included on this DVD the original screen tests by Leslie Nielsen, and Cesare Danova which are interesting to see even though the quality of the audio and video are not up to the level of the film itself.
Also included are storyboard art and posters as well as film biographies of the cast with pictures of them in character from the film.
Overall this film is an incredible piece of work and presented in it's original aspect ratio with the enhanced sound combines to make an experience that should not be missed.
This film on the small screen does lose a little bit of it's lustre especially if your television is under 27 inches in size but this film begs to be seen in it's broad presentation, so even if you would normally shy away from widescreen presentations, this is the only way to view this film in my honest opinion.
On a rating scale of Bronze to Platinum...This film receives my highest rating.....Platinum!!!! Run don't walk to pick this DVD up!!!
Movie Review: "UP MARS! DOWN ARIES!"
Summary: 5 Stars
`Ben-Hur' released in '59 is an inspirational tale of betrayal and revenge, love and endurance, forgiveness and redemption played out amidst the backdrop of the last years of Jesus Christ's earthly ministry.
Plot: Judah Ben-Hur (Charleton Heston), a wealthy Jew living in the Holy Land is falsely accused of crimes against Rome and sent off to spend the rest of his days as a slave on a Roman galley. His estate is confiscated, his Mother and sister thrown into prison. His accuser is a Roman officer named Messala (Stephen Boyd), Judah's best friend since childhood.
Judah survives the hardships of slavery, gains his freedom and eventually becomes the adopted son of a powerful and wealthy Roman Reagent. Providence certainly appears to be guiding Judah's path. However Judah's heart is filled with hate for Messala. He cannot forgive or forget what he and Rome has done to him and his family. He returns home in an attempt to restore what he has unjustly lost and avenge himself against his old friend.
Winner of 11 Academy Awards 'Ben-Hur' is truly an epic among epics. The massive backgrounds and sets will take your breath away, but the true beauty and strength of this film is found in the story it tells and the incredible cast that brings this story to life. The most memorable scenes in `Ben-Hur' are the intimate moments, the quiet conversations, the longing glances. My personal favorite moment is when Judah finds himself falling hopelessly in love with Esther (Haya Haraeet) one of his house slaves. While granting her freedom so she may be free to leave his service and marry, he places her slave ring on his own finger as a symbol of his undying love for her.
If you don't have a copy of Ben-Hur in your DVD library, you don't have a DVD library.
Movie Review: Fine DVD of a classic
Summary: 5 Stars
This DVD version of "Ben-Hur" is excellent, with very good extras. It has a documentary on the several renditions of "Ben-Hur" since the book, going through the 19th-century stage shows, the silent movie, and the present movie version. It includes interviews with historians and with people involved in making both movie versions, and it is interesting to watch from start to finish - Gore Vidal's stories are particularly amusing. There are also a couple of screen tests and a commentary by Charlton Heston, which unfortunately does not run throughout the whole picture but at least you can skip from one commented bit to the next. Heston's comments are sometimes interesting, sometimes not; and he actually seems to think that the village where Jesus spent his early adulthood was Bethlehem rather than Nazareth! But it was definitely wórth listening to it.As for the film itself, it is great, if flawed. All the main actors give fine performances, especially Stephen Boyd as Messala and Jack Hawkins as Arius. It takes some liberties with the book - which is not a bad thing since I think the book wasn't a very good piece of work - and with history, but nothing too outrageous, apart from having a Circus Maximus in Jerusalem rather than Rome. On the other hand, the recreation of small details of daily life is very good - the business-as-usual manner of the jailer trying to find out where in the dungeons Ben-Hur's mother and sister might be; the backstage arrangements of the chariot race.
It does contain some historical absurdities, but less so than "Gladiator", for instance. And it does get a bit slow towards the end - - but altogether it remains a great film, and it certainly deserved its Oscars far more than, say, "Titanic".