The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director:
David Lean
Stars:
Peter O'Toole,
Alec Guinness,
Anthony Quinn
A small-time boxer gets a supremely rare chance to fight a heavy-weight champion in a bout in which he strives to go the distance for his self-respect.
Director:
John G. Avildsen
Stars:
Sylvester Stallone,
Talia Shire,
Burt Young
Wyoming, early 1900s. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid are the leaders of a band of outlaws. After a train robbery goes wrong they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. Their solution - escape to Bolivia.
Director:
George Roy Hill
Stars:
Paul Newman,
Robert Redford,
Katharine Ross
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was insanely jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director:
Milos Forman
Stars:
F. Murray Abraham,
Tom Hulce,
Elizabeth Berridge
Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a roof tile falls down from Judah's house and injures the governor. Although Messala knows they are not guilty, he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge.Written by
Matthias Scheler <tron@lyssa.owl.de>
Such was the expense of the film that nervous MGM executives flew out to Rome on a weekly basis to check on the production's progress. See more »
Goofs
Three years after Judah serves as a galley slave he goes to Rome with Quintus Arrius presumably in 29 AD. Arrius is presented with a baton of victory by Emperor Tiberius after the former's victory against the Macedonian pirates. In reality,Tiberius had grown disillusioned with the principate after the death of his son Drusus, and left Rome for his villa on the island of Capri located off the bay of Naples in 26 AD. He never returned to Rome. Tiberius left the day to day administration of the city to the Praetorian prefect Sejanus. Therefore Quintus Arrius and Judah Ben-Hur would have been received by Tiberius on Capri and not in Rome. See more »
Quotes
Miriam:
[speaking of Christ]
As though he were carrying that cross the pain of the world.
[she whispers]
Miriam:
So fearful.
Tirzah:
And yet why is it... I'm not afraid anymore?
[thunder rumbles]
Esther:
The shadow of a storm.
[they go inside a nearby cave; the sky goes dark outside]
Esther:
A strange darkness, but still day.
[a violent storm begins]
Miriam:
His life is over.
[...] See more »
Crazy Credits
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer lion is shown in a still-frame to appear looking peaceful at the beginning rather than roaring. See more »
Alternate Versions
The first DVD release had an "Intermission" title card printed in a different font from the one used in the theatrical film and on the second, 4-disc DVD release. See more »
This film is so much more than the chariot race. Undoubtedly, that is the most famous sequence and for good reason. It is stunning, electric, tense and the so very exciting. There is nothing like simply seeing a chariot race unfold by actually filming a group a chariots. But the sequence is filled with meaning because the film spends so much time building up the personal relationship between Judah and Messala; their hatred for each other displayed in the chariot race is alive and bitter. Because we have seen them expressing deep kinship and spiritual love.
There is a famous dispute between Wyler and Vidal about how much of the Judah-Messala relationship was intended to have a subtext of a gay jilted lovers. I think to dwell on that is to sort of miss the point. While it it is really easy to read an erotic love (especially on Messala's part) between the two it is clear that spiritual love is present in anycase. The erotic element is present if one cares to look but it is not needed. There is clearly an emotional intimacy between the two. This intimacy gets soured by politics. The story is richer, deeper and more personal as a result.
Richer is a good word for this movie. It is nearly 4 hours long but it is a fully fleshed out epic that engages the entire time. I rather enjoyed how the Christian themes are restrained-You never see Christ's face, you only hear what he says second hand etc.-it makes the film feel about Jesus of Nazareth and not necessarily Jesus Christ. I feel like it makes the film more accessible to nonChristians while Christians can infer what the wish. Biblical epics can often be very stuffy and overwrought. Wyler's use of deep focus really gives the film a feel of intimate epicness. The scope is grand; the focus personal,
Wyler was a very good filmmaker; this is something of a departure for him. Nonetheless this film is still the work of a master.
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This film is so much more than the chariot race. Undoubtedly, that is the most famous sequence and for good reason. It is stunning, electric, tense and the so very exciting. There is nothing like simply seeing a chariot race unfold by actually filming a group a chariots. But the sequence is filled with meaning because the film spends so much time building up the personal relationship between Judah and Messala; their hatred for each other displayed in the chariot race is alive and bitter. Because we have seen them expressing deep kinship and spiritual love.
There is a famous dispute between Wyler and Vidal about how much of the Judah-Messala relationship was intended to have a subtext of a gay jilted lovers. I think to dwell on that is to sort of miss the point. While it it is really easy to read an erotic love (especially on Messala's part) between the two it is clear that spiritual love is present in anycase. The erotic element is present if one cares to look but it is not needed. There is clearly an emotional intimacy between the two. This intimacy gets soured by politics. The story is richer, deeper and more personal as a result.
Richer is a good word for this movie. It is nearly 4 hours long but it is a fully fleshed out epic that engages the entire time. I rather enjoyed how the Christian themes are restrained-You never see Christ's face, you only hear what he says second hand etc.-it makes the film feel about Jesus of Nazareth and not necessarily Jesus Christ. I feel like it makes the film more accessible to nonChristians while Christians can infer what the wish. Biblical epics can often be very stuffy and overwrought. Wyler's use of deep focus really gives the film a feel of intimate epicness. The scope is grand; the focus personal,
Wyler was a very good filmmaker; this is something of a departure for him. Nonetheless this film is still the work of a master.