Review of Ben-Hur (1959) by Tim M — 31 Aug 2009
You hear about this and hear how good it is. Then you watch it. That's when you know how good it is. A breathtaking story following a Jew during the same time as Christ. The symbolism and parallelisms are there not only between Judah Ben-Hur and Jesus, but also Ben-Hur and Joseph (Jacob's son in the OT).
The acting is real and believable and Heston gives one of his best performances. The music is beautiful and fully encompassing without ever becoming dominant. The cinematography is perfect - especially the chariot race (and the "tramplings" of the dummy doubles is fantastic and seems so real).
Dealing with issues from slavery to leprosy to revenge it truely is of epic proportions. The story being about the Christ makes it interesting to see how Christ affected this character and how their lives ran along the same time and how they interacted throughout.
Merging real-life (Jesus) and the fictional (Ben-Hur) is handled remarkably well and with great respect. A film that must be seen by anyone who enjoys movies and especially those who loves them.
This review of Ben-Hur (1959) was written by Tim M on 31 Aug 2009.
Ben-Hur has generally received very positive reviews.
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