Movie : BenHur (1959)

Ben-Hur (or Benhur) is a 1959 movie directed by William Wyler, and is the third film version of Lew Wallace’s novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880). It premiered at Loews Theater in New York City on November 18, 1959. The film went on to win a record of eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, a feat equaled only by Titanic (1997) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

Director – William Wyler

Writers – Lew Wallace, Karl Tunberg

Release – 10 December 1959

Genre – Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline – A Tale of the Christ

Awards – Won 11 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 5 nominations

Cast:

Charlton Heston …….. Judah Ben-Hur

Jack Hawkins ………… Quintus Arrius

Haya Harareet ……….. Esther

Stephen Boyd ………… Messala

Hugh Griffith ………… Sheik Ilderim

Martha Scott …………. Miriam

Cathy O’Donnell ……. Tirzah

Sam Jaffe ……………… Simonides

Finlay Currie ………… Balthasar

Frank Thring ………… Pontius Pilate

Terence Longdon …… Drusus

George Relph ………… Tiberius Caesar

André Morell ………… Sextus

Plot:

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. When Prince Judah Ben-Hur hears that his childhood friend Messala has been named to command the Roman garrison of Jerusalem, he is thrilled. He soon finds however that his friend has changed and has become an arrogant conqueror, full of the grandeur of Rome.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. When Judah refuses to divulge the names of Jews who oppose Roman rule, Messala decides to make an example of him and sends him off as a galley-slave. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge. Through fate and good fortune, Judah survives the galleys and manages to return to Jerusalem in the hopes of finding his mother and sister, who were also imprisoned, and to seek revenge against his one-time friend.

The chariot race sequence in the Circus Maximus (an amazing replica of the one in Rome) is one of the most thrilling and famous in film history. The site of the race, the Circus Maximus in Jerusalem (Judea), was constructed on over 18 acres of backlot space at Cinecitta Studios outside Rome, and the filming of the sequence took about five weeks. Except for two of the most spectacular stunts, both Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd did all their own chariot driving in the carefully-choreographed sequence.

The Famous Chariot Race of Ben-Hur 

Related christian articles for further reading:

Gifted Hands – Movie Review The Moses Code – Movie Review Movie : The Ten Commandments (1956) Movie : BILLY – The Early Years