A Grand Epic

Rating: 10/10 (26 July 2004)

Charlton Heston plays a rich Jewish prince who lives in Jerusalem at the beginning of the first century. He's good friends with Stephen Boyd, who becomes the new governor and commander of the Roman Legion.
But when a brick falls off of Heston's house, it lands very close to Boyd. He knows it wasn't meant to happen. But he decides to send Heston to the galleys and his mother (Martha Scott) and his his sister (Cathy O'Donnell) to prison. But Heston swears to come back and seek his revenge.
The movie seems to be remembered only for the chariot race. But it has so much more than just that one scene. A few of the scenes that I remember include the encounter between Heston and his mother and sister as he finds out they have become lepers, the scene where Jesus gives Heston water as he falls, and the scene where Heston gives Jesus water when he falls.
It's one of William Wyler's greatest achievements. And it will go down in history as one of the greatest movies ever made.
The eleven Oscars that it won secured it's place. It holds the record for the most Oscars, only to be tied in the last ten years. It won the awards for Picture, Director, Actor, Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Art-Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Special Effects, Editing, Score, and Sound. It only lost the award for Best Adapted Screenplay.