Review of Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) by Edgar C — 15 Aug 2011

Subjectively speaking, the remake is obviously superior to the original silent classic technically. That's just like saying that The Matrix (1999) is superior to Metropolis (1927) also technically. However, this masterpiece outdoes the epic remake in a more objective way in basically every single aspect. What is funny, though, is that pretentious critics nowadays show harshness towards Wyler's version because of its popularity, when deep inside they know they fought against themselves quite strongly so they could rate it below 4 stars. They have no solid arguments whatsoever. The ones that criticize the silent version and put the remake over the original also lack solid reasons.

Can't all of us be objective, then? Cinema is a serious game. And about Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ, it is the best version of the story for a good number of reasons, almost reaching the scope of Griffith's Intolerance, below Abel Gance's Napoleon, but representing a longstanding legend for the Golden Age of US moviemaking.

99/100.