A truly great epic

This 1959 epic film is the third film version of Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It won eleven Academy Awards, an achievement that has not yet been surpassed, and has been equaled but twice: Titanic and The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King.

Story: The movie starts with a very traditional rendition of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, but then goes twenty-six years forward, to the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish merchant-prince living in Jerusalem in Judea. His boyhood friend, Messala, a Roman, is returning from Rome to be the new military commander of the garrison in Jerusalem, just before the arrival of the new Roman governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. Messala has adopted the Roman view of the world, and entreats his old friend, Judah, to use his influence to quell local unrest among the Jews, amidst talk of a Messiah roaming the area and preaching. When Messala demands that Judah name those who will not cooperate, their friendship ends bitterly.

When Pontius Pilate does arrive in Jerusalem, a freak accident, that injures the new governor, gives Messala the chance to repay Judah for his lack of support and make an example of Judah that will send a message to the dissidents. He sends Judah to the galleys as a slave, and imprisons Judah’s sister and mother.

Through happenstance, Judah ends up saving the life of Quintus Arrius, the commander of the Roman fleet that includes the ship upon which Judah is a slave at the oars. Arrius grants Judah his freedom, and a strange friendship is born. Arrius trains Judah, now his adopted son, as a charioteer at the Coliseum, at which Judah excels. But, he eventually feels the need to return to his homeland of Judea.

En route, Judah befriends an Arab sheik, who has four magnificent Arabian stallions. After seeing how Judah is with his “children,” the sheik wants Judah to help train them and drive a chariot in one of the great races held by the Romans. Initially, Judah declines but, upon his return to Jerusalem, he is told that his mother and sister died in the Roman prison. He vows revenge against Messala, and agrees to drive the sheik’s chariot and marvelous horses in a race, in which Messala will also compete. There are no rules in these races, and a legal way to get revenge presents itself.

What follows is one of the greatest action sequences ever filmed. The chariot race, directed by Andrew Marton as a second-unit director, is long, but never drags, as things keep happening, and several people die, in most gruesome fashion. Several life-like dummies were used for the deaths.

There is a persistent rumor that one stunt man, portraying an unnamed driver, really died during the filming. This was denied by the director, William Wyler, and the chief stunt coordinator. No proof of the alleged death was ever found. One stuntman did receive a minor injury when he was almost thrown from Ben-Hur’s chariot, when it jumps over a crashed chariot, and the stunt-double was almost flipped out of the chariot. This can be seen in the film. That stuntman, Joe Canutt, was actually the son of the stunt director, Yakima Canutt.

The chariot race sequence was filmed outside Rome, Italy. With no computer-generated effects existing, it took one of the largest film sets ever used, at eighteen acres. Eight thousand extras were used, and eighteen chariots were built. Half of those eighteen were for practice, and Charlton Heston took four weeks to learn how to drive a chariot well enough to pass as an expert in the film.

In the aftermath of the race, Judah learns that his sister and mother are not dead, but are gravely ill. As the movie begins to conclude, Judah seeks them out, and Christian religious scenes, that are the main reason behind the movie’s subtitle, become prominent. Before that, Christ had made several small appearances, but the viewer never clearly sees Christ’s face.

In 1959, the $15 million spent on production cost was a huge amount, but MGM studios gambled on the movie to save itself from bankruptcy, and that gamble paid off enormously. It earned $75 million, and saved the studio. Why did the movie cost that much? It required 300 sets spread over 340 acres.

Several actors turned down the role of Judah Ben-Hur, for various reasons, including Burt Lancaster, Paul Newman, and Rock Hudson. In the end, the main characters were played by:

Judah Ben-Hur --- Charlton Heston
Messala --- Stephen Boyd
Jack Hawkins --- Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet --- Esther, the former slave of Judah, who became his love interest
Hugh Griffith --- Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott --- Miriam, Judah’s mother
Cathy O’Donnell --- Tirzah, Judah’s sister
Sam Jaffe --- Simonides, Judah’s servant and master merchant, father of Esther
Finley Currie --- Balthasar, narrator of several sequences
Frank Thring --- Pontius Pilate
Claude Heater --- Jesus Christ; Heater was an opera singer, and was not credited in the film

For me, the stand-outs were:

Charlton Heston gave us a very credible Judah Ben-Hur. I cannot see Paul Newman or Rock Hudson equaling Heston’s performance. Burt Lancaster would have been good in the role.

Stephen Boyd gave us a sincere and arrogant and calculating Messala. It was easy to believe him, and to hate his character.

Haya Harareet gave us a complex Esther, who was strong, seductive, intelligent, and moral. Ms. Harareet was born in Haifa, Israel. Her accent fit perfectly.

Jack Hawkins showed his range. Quintus Arrius was demanding, intelligent, charismatic, and the character displayed a wide range of emotion, that Mr. Hawkins captured well.

Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim was perfect, and stole his scenes. He was caring, intelligent, clever, wise, and nobly intense.

Finley Currie was perfect as Balthasar, who was a dreamer and who sought something, and someone, worth believing in. his scenes were small, but he radiated good nature and virtue.

Lastly, Frank Thring’s brief role, as Pontius Pilate, gave us the epitome of intelligence, cunning, condescension, political savvy, and potential cruelty. He was good in this type of role, and replicated his quality seen in Ben-Hur, in The Vikings, as the impeccably despicable King Aella.

Ben-Hur won eleven Academy Awards in 1960, including Best Picture, Best Leading Actor (Charlton Heston), Best Director (William Wyler), Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Best Set Decoration, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Special Effects, Best Costume Design, Best Music, and Best Sound.

The film, at 212 minutes, was aimed to be an epic, and it succeeded at being a great one. It is a long film, but it does not drag, at all, for me. Unlike modern films that are long, this one had an introduction and intermission, that featured nice artwork and classical music. I sometimes watch these, and sometimes hit the fast-forward button. Despite the film’s length, I never see it as overlong. I look forward to the Roman galley sequence, and the chariot race, as well as the fine acting.

Several scenes, in my opinion, are too gruesome for young children.