Ben-Hur (1959)

Director:

William Wyler

Writers:

Lew Wallace (novel)
Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Release Date:

10 December 1959 (Argentina)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Tale of the Christ

Plot:

When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Roman | Jerusalem | Revenge | Prince

Awards:

Won 11 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 5 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Dec. 20

4:00 PM

TCM

Cast

Charlton Heston	...	Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins	...	Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet	...	Esther
Stephen Boyd	...	Messala
Hugh Griffith	...	Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott	...	Miriam
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Tirzah
Sam Jaffe	...	Simonides
Finlay Currie	...	Balthasar / Narrator
Frank Thring	...	Pontius Pilate
Terence Longdon	...	Drusus
George Relph	...	Tiberius Caesar
André Morell	...	Sextus

Also Known As:

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (USA) (alternative title)

Runtime:

212 min | Sweden:219 min (1970) | Sweden:224 min (1962) | UK:222 min (1993 re-release) | 214 min (DVD edition)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | Dolby (1993 re-release)

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Portugal:M/12 | China:(Banned) | South Korea:All | Brazil:12 | USA:Approved (certificate #19158) (original rating) | Canada:G (video rating) | New Zealand:PG | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1959) | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | West Germany:16 | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

An infirmary was created especially for the filming of the dangerous chariot race scenes. However, in the end, very few injuries were actually sustained, most of them being sunburns.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Just before the Roman galley is rammed, the condemned men behind Ben-Hur are clearly dummies.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Balthasar: [narrating] In the Year of our Lord, Judea - for nearly a century - had lain under the mastery of Rome. In the seventh year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, an imperial decree ordered every Judean each to return to his place of birth to be counted and taxed. The converging ways of many of them led to the gates of their capital city...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis: For Whom the Wedding Bell Tolls (#3.17)" (1962)

Quite simply the finest epic movie of all time

What can you say about this film? It has everything, magnificent script, superb acting ,and the most famous chariot race in Hollywood history. Although the chariot race is the centrepiece of this spectacular ,it is by no means the only highlight.Ben Hur (Charlton Heston) is the victim of a terrible miscarriage of justice on himself and family ,and his dramatic adventures in the desert, at sea and finally back in Rome are just brimming with highlights. At the same time his meetings with Christ just add to the Wonderful drama that enfolds in this movie.It has a magnificent musical score which just adds to the drama,and I suspect the climax of the film would only leave the stone hearted unmoved.It has other great stars who make this a must see film ,particularly Jack Hawkins,Hugh Griffith and Stephen Boyd.

This is the sort of film Gladiator should have been but wasn't (what a waste). Still we'll always have Ben Hur to enjoy.