Review of Ben-Hur (1959) by Tom A — 19 May 2009

Great epic -- based on General Lew Wallace's hugely popular novel -- one of the 3 films to win the most Oscars ever (11 -- tied with Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King) -- even Chuck Heston won for Best Actor, if you can believe it. He is Ben-Hur, an affluent Jew who is sent into slavery by the Romans (specifically by his childhood friend Messala -- Stephen Boyd gives the film's best performance) and works his way up to assimilating into Roman society (general Jack Hawkins takes him as an adopted son after Heston saves his life during an attack at sea) -- all set during the rise of Christ as a revolutionary and spiritual figure. Many scenes are cheesy and once Boyd is out of the picture it gets boring -- but the sequence to watch it for is the chariot race. After 50 years, this still holds up as one of the great action sequences you will ever see -- and a direct influence on chase scenes in films like Bullitt and The French Connection. It's brilliantly shot, edited and performed by the actors and stuntmen (and was directed by 2nd unit director and legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt) -- watching the film for the first time since my teen years, I was blown away by how this sequence has stood the test of time. But there is a lot to recommend besides this -- the relationship between Heston and Boyd (script doctor Gore Vidal wrote it as a gay love story, which director William Wyler and Boyd were aware of, though they kept the subtext secret from ultra-conservative Heston); a thrilling sea battle sequence; strong female characters; and a surprisingly intelligent and mature treatment of the figure of Christ, whose face you never see (which I think was a good directorial choice). The first "intimate epic" (begetting Lawrence of Arabia, Ryan's Daughter, Gandhi, etc), it is a "better" film than, say, The Ten Commandments -- though I find that film much more entertaining. Great score by Miklos Rozsa. The picture saved MGM from bankruptcy at the time, but it cost the life of producer Sam Zimbalist, who died of a heart attack during production.

The 4-disc DVD set is awesome -- very good historical commentary track with comments from Heston. Includes the 1925 silent version, directed by Fred Niblo and starring Ramon Navarro -- it's well worth watching -- the sea battle is actually more impressive than in the 1959 version (because they used real ships, thus killing a few extras), has two-tone Technicolor sequences and generally is a very good silent epic. The documentaries on the making of the film are very informative and entertaining, with lots of anecdotes and factoids. Also includes screen tests -- including Leslie Nielsen as Messala, and he's actually pretty good.