Ben-Hur (2016)

Judah Ben-Hur, a prince falsely accused of treason by his adopted brother, an officer in the Roman army, returns to his homeland after years at sea to seek revenge, but finds redemption.

Director:

Timur Bekmambetov

Writers:

Lew Wallace (based on the novel by), Keith R. Clarke (screenplay)

Stars:

Jack Huston, Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Huston	...	Judah Ben-Hur
Toby Kebbell	...	Messala Severus
Rodrigo Santoro	...	Jesus
Nazanin Boniadi	...	Esther
Ayelet Zurer	...	Naomi Ben-Hur
Pilou Asbæk	...	Pontius Pilate
Sofia Black-D'Elia	...	Tirzah Ben-Hur (as Sofia Black D'Elia)
Morgan Freeman	...	Ilderim
Marwan Kenzari	...	Druses
Moises Arias	...	Dismas
James Cosmo	...	Quintus
Haluk Bilginer	...	Simonides (as Haluk Biligner)
David Walmsley	...	Marcus Decimus
Yasen Atour	...	Jacob
Francesco Scianna	...	Kadeem

Storyline

A Jewish nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur, and his adopted Roman brother Messala are best friends despite their different origins. Messala enlists in the Roman army and fights in the Roman Empire's wars in Germany. Ben-Hur also develops feelings for the family slave Esther although their different station in life compels him not to pursue her. But when her father Simonides seeks to marry her off to a Roman, Ben-Hur declares his love for her and takes her as his wife. Three years later, Messala returns as a decorated Roman officer. His return coincides with a rising insurrection by the Zealots, Jews who are opposed to the oppressive nature of Roman rule..

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Plot Keywords:

remake of remake | crucifixion of jesus | coliseum | lobotomy | oar | 

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Taglines:

First to finish. Last to die.

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Persian Greek Arabic

Release Date:

19 August 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ben-Hur

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$100,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,203,815, 21 August 2016

Gross USA:

$26,410,477

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$94,061,311

Company Credits

Production Co:

LightWorkers Media, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min 114 min (mainland china)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Dolby Surround 7.1

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

William Wyler, who directed Ben-Hur (1959), was good friends with John Huston, grandfather of Jack Huston, the star of this film.

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Goofs

In the opening scene Judah and Messala are racing horses with saddles having stirrups which weren't introduced into Europe for another 700 or 800 years.

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Quotes

[from trailer, at start line]
Messala Severus: You should have stayed away.
Judah Ben-Hur: You should have killed me.
Messala Severus: I will.
[chariot race begins]

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Crazy Credits

The name of the Turkish actor, Haluk Bilginer, is mistyped as Haluk Biligner in the end credits.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood Express: Episode #14.34 (2016)

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Soundtracks

The Only Way Out
Written by Andra Day & Dave Wood
Performed by Andra Day
Produced by Dave Wood
Andra Day performs courtesy of Warner Bros. Records and Buskin Records

User Reviews

Compares poorly with earlier versions

Ben Hur has been a seminal film in the different eras in which it appeared. The 1925 silent film was produced by Irving Thalberg, Louie Mayer and Sam Goldwyn and starred Ramon Navarro and Francis X Bushman, two of the biggest stars of the time. It cost $3.9 million and was the most expensive film to that date. It was a big success at the box office and with critics.

The 1959 film was directed by William Wyler who worked on the 1925 film. As with the previous film, it was the most expensive to date ($15 million) and also had big name stars, most notably Charlton Heston. It became the second highest grossing film of all time, behind GWTW, and received high critical praise, winning an unprecedented 11 Oscars.

What about this latest version. It doesn't exactly have big name stars. Jack Huston plays Ben Hur and Toby Kebbell plays Messala. It's directed by Timur Bekmambetov who's best known for "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter". The box office was pretty poor, not earning back the $100 million production costs.

The film bears only slight resemblance to the book. When you consider how successful the book was, the reason to vary seems questionable.

All things considered this is a far inferior film to either the 1959 or the 1925 version. Some of the scenes are well done (sea battle, chariot race) but not to an outstanding level as the previous versions had done.