Greatest religious epic of all time

Rating: 10/10 (8 April 2011)

Everyone writes how great Heston is in this film. William Wyler nearly fired Heston the first day. He said, "Chuck you'd better bring your game up or I'll have to replace you." It was Wyler who set the standard for this and all of his films (his movies garnered more Oscar nominations than any director in the history of film). Greer Garson called him "ninety take Willie." He demanded perfection and usually got it. From Miklos Rosza's score to the incredible performances from all of his actors, "Ben Hur" was a screen classic the moment it debuted. Contrast that with other religious epics and few compare. Wyler purposely did not show the face of Jesus. He felt "christ" should reflect all of humanity, and so refused to typify any image, regardless of the studio pressure to do so. Wyler won the Oscar (his third) and capped a crowning career with more hit films, more best picture nominations, and more accolades than any director before or since. Highly recommended on blue ray disc for details not present on previous versions, especially the DVD special feature on Yakima Canutt's second unit who made the chariot race scenes possible.