Review of Ben-Hur (1959) by Duran S — 19 Aug 2009

Where do you begin to expound upon the spectacle that is 1959's "Ben-Hur?" Perhaps the sets? Maybe the acting? Or what about the cinematography? The merits of the technical marvels in this film speak for themselves in the form of Oscars. With more Oscar nominations than any single movie, and tied for 11 wins with "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (or are they tied with "Ben-Hur?"), William Wyler's "DeMille picture" is one of the greatest achievements in cinematic history.

That is easy to see, therefore I will not take the time that I do not have to slobber over every magnificent detail of the production. However, I would like to take a moment and discuss some of the important worldview talking points from the film.

It saddened me to have to reduce the Worldview Rating for "Ben-Hur" down to half a star, but I had to. While the essentials of the gospel of Jesus Christ are present in the film (those being sin, forgiveness, crucifixion, etc.) (and the end gets me every time), there are some unnecessary additions to the philosophy present in the movie. When Balthazar tries to give some sound wisdom to Judah Ben-Hur, most of what he says is sound. Where he eres is when he says, "There are many paths to God." Now, though Balthazar may have found the one, true Way to God, this sentiment is too liberal to ignore. There is a considerable difference between saying that each man ends up on a different path to God and saying that there are different paths to choose. Unfortunately, Balthazar's statement is vague, and the conversation ends soon afterwards. One could use this statement to support Balthazar's finding of the Christ, but the problem is that Mohammed could have been listening in on the conversation and then gone off worship Allah. (Mohammed is not in the movie; this is my own hypothesizing.) While this controversial statement is likely to be ignored by viewers and was probably forgotten by the filmmakers, we can not dismiss it while it sits at an essential turn for our protagonist.

The next problem with the film is its pacifist sentiment. Many a time, Esther explains to Judah that this new, young rabbi teaches peace instead of violence, love instead of hate. Yes, Jesus did preach love and peace, but by no means is God a pacifist. It's good that the film preaches against vengeance, and it's good that Judah knows that it's wrong, but when it comes to responding to Rome's invasion of the Jewish world, was pacifism really the best answer? Perhaps I'm speaking of things I don't understand. I suppose what it comes down to is this: "Ben-Hur" seems to preach that violence is always an act of hate. In this case, I disagree on Biblical grounds. No, the Jews could not have defeated the Romans in war, but so what if the Jews actually did stone Roman governors who marched through their cities?

Jesus' message of salvation is beautifully displayed in "Ben-Hur," but it is skewed by just a hint of postmodernism. Jesus' messages about loving each other and having faith still come across strong, and Judah, already a man of valor, learns many good things, but the messages are milky and blurry and sometimes not justly explained. These discrepancies weigh down an almost perfect film.

Schaeffer System:3.5/4 stars.

Technical Excellence: 1 star.

Validity: 1 star.

Worldview: 1/2 star.

Content/Vehicle Integration: 1 star.