Review of Ben-Hur (1959) by Pat M — 22 Aug 2016

Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ was written in 1880 by General Lew Wallace. It was an immediate best-seller, spawning a successful theatrical production at the beginning of the twentieth century, an unathorised seventeen minute silent film in 1907, a lavish full-length silent feature in 1925, an even more lavish and acclaimed remake in 1959 (winning eleven out of twelve Academy Awards), an animated remake in 2003 starring Charlton Heston, and an utterly forgettable television miniseries in 2010.

The plot of this movie is so well known, I will not summarise it. I shall merely say that this magnificent motion picture stays true to Wallace's intentions of never having the Lord Jesus as the central character, but His presence is felt throughout the movie. From the reverent opening to the tear-inducing finale, this epic draws you in and never lets you go. Very well written, well acted, masterfully scored, and expertly directed, this remake EARNED every Academy Award it won (unlike that hot mess TITANIC, which had excellent visual effects in the recreation of the doomed ocean luxury liner and some decent acting, and a memorable musical score, but that is all the good I can say about it; Ben-Hur should have also won Best Screenplay regardless of the dispute over who contributed what to the screenplay, which in the end is a masterpiece). Regarding the so-called homosexual subtext that uncredited writer Gore Vidal claims he threw in to make the conflict betwixt Ben-Hur and Messala believable, I think he was lying and just wanted to cast a giant shadow over a beautifully made film, and since William Wyler and Stephen Boyd were long dead, it only became a he said-he said thing. But 'To Each His Own.'.

The 1959 remake of the silent film classic "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" (which is in turn based on the epic novel by Lew Wallace) is nothing short of magnificent in every way. I grew up watching this motion picture along with Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 version of "The Ten Commandments," and I highly recommend both, along with the silent versions which preceded them. I never get tired of listening to the music or watching the films. The plot of the novel is so well known, I will not go into it, but suffice to say that both the 1925 and 1959 versions are faithful to the source material. The movie is well acted, well written, beautifully scored by Academy Award winner Miklós Rózsa, and expertly directed by Academy Award winner William Wyler. This film earned every Academy Award it won in 1960. See it on Turner Classic Movies or buy it on DVD and Blu-Ray; however you choose to view it, you will enjoy a masterpiece.

Biblically speaking, there is some violence, particularly in the two most famous sequences, but it is not graphic; there is also no profanity, and no sexual content. There is a line where Sheik Ilderim scoffs at monogamy, but it is played for laughs and is not offensive. While the 1925 and 1959 versions are too long for young children, I recommend the 2003 animated version which stars Charlton Heston as Ben-Hur in his final role before his retirement due to Alzheimer's. Purists may scoff at a major change regarding a central character, but this was done to make the movie accessible to a younger audience, and the novel's message of forgiveness is preserved intact in all three versions. The 1959 version was initially Not Rated, but has since been rated G. The 1925 version, though Not Rated, contains three brief scenes of nudity, which are fleeting and not exploitative.

There is a miniseries called "Ben-Hur" that came out in 2010, but I counsel you to eschew it like the plague. The unedited DVD version contains three scenes of nudity, including a graphic sex scene to which there is no lead-in. The edited-for-television version just has a shot of Ben-Hur nude from the rear, but even so, I do not recommend it. In addition to the aforementioned scenes, the central message of Christ is nonexistent in this version; in addition, it strays so far from the novel that you would not recognize it as Ben-Hur were it not for the names of the central characters..