Product Description
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William Wyler directs this historical epic starring Charlton
Heston in the title role. Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) is a Jewish
prince who falls out with his close Roman friend Messala (Stephen
Boyd) when he refuses to promote Roman rule over his people - his
mother and sister are imprisoned and he is enslaved. Hur plans
and achieves revenge after three years as a slave and later
becoming a charioteer, but finds true peace when he returns to
Jerusalem and joins the new following of Jesus Christ. The film
won eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director,
Best Actor in a Leading Role (Heston) and Best Actor in a
Supporting Role (Hugh Griffith).
.co.uk Review
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Ben-Hur scooped an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards in 1959 and,
unlike some later rivals to this record-breaking win, 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. It cost a staggering 15 million dollars and was one of the
largest film productions ever undertaken: the Circus Maximus set
alone covered 18 acres and was filled with 40,000 tons of
Mediterranean sand. But it's not just running time or a cast of
thousands that makes an epic, it's the subject-matter that counts
and in Ben-Hur the subject is rich, detailed and sensitively
handled. Despite both the original novel (
/exec/obidos/ASIN/1853262838/${0} )'s and the film's subtitle, "A
Tale of the Christ", this is really a parallel life, that of
Prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and his estrangement from
old Roman pal Messala (Stephen Boyd). The eponymous character's
journey of self-discovery through bitterness and hate to eventual
redemption has many deliberate echoes of Christ's life (at one
point, Judah is mistaken for Jesus, much as Brian would be later
in Monty Python's masterful satire), and the multi-layered script
from (uncredited) literary titans Gore Vidal and Christopher Fry
wrings out every nuance and every possible shade of meaning.
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 favour of spectacle (he had the good sense
to leave the great chariot race to second-unit director and
experienced stuntman Yakima Canutt), and it is his concentration
on human drama and fully rounded characters that gives Wyler's
epic its heart. In this he is aided immeasurably by Miklós
Rózsa's majestic musical score, arguably the greatest ever
written for a Hollywood picture, in which the development of
character-driven leitmotifs produces the effect of grand opera.
The Christian theme concentrates on the central character's love
and compassion for his family (evoked by the discovery of their
leprosy) rather than any heavy-handed sermonising (the figure of
Christ is seen but never heard--his presence signalled by a
serene musical motif instead).
On the DVD: this long-awaited release presents the film's
original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.76:1 in a glorious
anamorphic print, complete with remastered Dolby Digital 5.1
soundtrack. The music sounds fresher than ever, and both the
theatrical "Overture" and "Entracte" are included (civilised
times the 1950s: they had specially composed intermission music
to enjoy while topping up on ice cream and popcorn!). There's an
extensive and enjoyable documentary tracing the history of the
story from Lew Wallace through stage productions to the first MGM
version in 1925 and then to the 1959 production. Charlton Heston
provides an intermittent commentary, evidently enjoying the
experience of watching the film again, and his comments are
usefully indexed so you can skip to the next bit without having
to sit through chunks of silence (during the chariot race he
voiced his concern to second-unit director Yakima Canutt that the
stuntmen were better drivers. Replied Canutt: "Chuck, just drive
the damn chariot and I guarantee that you'll win"). There's also
a couple of screen tests, one with Leslie Nielsen in pre-Naked
days as Messala and a photo gallery and theatrical trailers
complete an epic DVD package. --Mark Walker