Ben Hur

19071907
15m

The scene opens with an assembly of citizens who are harangued by one of their number, whose words have great weight with the crowd, and their attitude of approval shows that Roman misrule i... Read allThe scene opens with an assembly of citizens who are harangued by one of their number, whose words have great weight with the crowd, and their attitude of approval shows that Roman misrule in Jerusalem has reached its climax. Heralds now approach and Roman soldiers beat back the ... Read allThe scene opens with an assembly of citizens who are harangued by one of their number, whose words have great weight with the crowd, and their attitude of approval shows that Roman misrule in Jerusalem has reached its climax. Heralds now approach and Roman soldiers beat back the crowd to make way for the approach of the Roman Procurator. The scene changes to the home ... Read all

4.9/10

676

Directors
- Sidney Olcott
- Frank Oakes Rose
Writers
- Gene Gauntier
- Lew Wallace(novel)
Stars
- Gene Gauntier
- Harry T. Morey
- William S. Hart(uncredited)

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

Messalaas Messala
(uncredited)

Herman Rottger

Ben Huras Ben Hur
(uncredited)

Directors
- Sidney Olcott
- Frank Oakes Rose
Writers
- Gene Gauntier
- Lew Wallace(novel)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

The scene opens with an assembly of citizens who are harangued by one of their number, whose words have great weight with the crowd, and their attitude of approval shows that Roman misrule in Jerusalem has reached its climax. Heralds now approach and Roman soldiers beat back the crowd to make way for the approach of the Roman Procurator. The scene changes to the home of Ben Hur, who is seen with his sister and mother on the house top. The cavalcade of Roman troops approaches, and to get a near view Ben Hur leans from the coping and knocks down one of the stones thereof onto the shoulder of the Procurator. This is seen and misconstrued by the Governor, who orders soldiers to arrest the inmates; they, after ineffectual pleas and struggles, are carried off. Ben Hur is consigned to the galleys, where he is loaded with chains. Here he signalizes himself by saving the life of Arrias, who publicly adopts him as his son and proclaims him a Roman citizen amidst the acclamations of the assembled crowd in the forum. Now comes the scene in the games where Ben Hur is challenged by Messala, and accepts it, to the great delight of the citizens. The chariots and athletes parade before the dais and in due time are arranged, and the chariot race commences. Three times 'round the ring dash the chariots, and at the fourth turn Ben Hur comes out the victor and is crowned with the wreath, to the great, chagrin of Messala, who is borne on a stretcher, wounded to death. —Moving Picture World synopsis

character name as title ben hur chatracter two word title ben hur character jerusalem 8 more

Taglines
- Positively the most super motion picture ever made
Genres
- Short
- Drama
Parents guide
- Add content advisory

Trivia
The first film based on the Roman empire.

Connections
Featured in Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic (1993)

Top review

Well SOMEBODY had to be the first!

BEN HUR might seem an ambitious undertaking for the early days of the cinema but consider that by 1899 there had already been 2 filmed versions of H. Rider Haggard's SHE and 1 of Oscar Wilde's THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. The early 1900's saw early attempts at A TALE OF TWO CITIES, THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO and or course BEN HUR. The costumes are nice but I doubt the painted canvas backdrops convinced anyone even way back in 1906. The story is intact, as much as a single reel (12 minutes) will allow. In this version Hur does not get sent to the galleys; it is the chariot race which will decide if he is condemned as a criminal or not. Oh yes, even this early version has a chariot race and it is set up to be the highpoint of the picture. Alas, don't expect much in the way of special effects. This race has only two participants, Ben Hur and Massala, and they simply run their chariots around and around a camera which never moves. We all know how the story ends. The panorama, or "pan" shot was in use as early as 1896 when it was invented by an Venitian gondolier named Promio who put a camera in his boat to take a long shot of Venice as seen from the canal. The closeup was around in 1907 as evidenced by a short called MR. HURRY-UP OF NEW YORK but neither accomplishment is seen in this film. It's almost a certainty that audiences were easier to please then, at least they were for a little while, and for its time this version of BEN HUR did indeed offer more than the average one reel short. We are lucky that this version, and so many other early films survive to show us that filmmakers even back then were willing to take chances. At the time nobody knew that a fellow named D.W. Griffith was waiting in the wings gathering experience and developing some ideas of his own.

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