Ben Who??.... Ben-Him!!??.... No! It's Ben-Hur!!

Rating: 4/10 (13 June 2013)

Uh. Sorry, folks.
I know that Ben-Hur is considered by many to be an all-time classic, and everything, but, hey, aside from the chariot race (which was magnificently done), this dry-as-dust picture pushed the boundaries of monotony just a little too far for this reviewer with its 3.5 hour running time.... Yeah. It sure did.
And, believe it or not, I actually sat through Ben-Hur's 3.5 hours of one over-long, dragged out scene after another and waited, and waited, and waited (ho-hum!) for something, anything worthwhile to take place, but it just didn't happen.... Nope. It didn't. (except, of course, for the chariot race)
Ben-Hur was a literal biblical soap opera of epic proportions that seriously cried out for some major editing. At least a good hour could have easily been cut out of its story and I'm sure that no one would have ever noticed the diff, one way or the other.
Maybe back in 1959 this film's fabricated magic might have worked on its audience like a mesmerizing spell, but that isn't the case today. No way.
Considering that this film's tag-line is "A Tale of the Christ", Ben-Hur has got to be one of the most hollow and cheesy biblical stories ever captured on film. About the only memorable scene that the Christ character happened to appear in was when he was carrying his cross (or trying to) on his way to his own crucifixion - And he kept falling down - So someone had to give him a hand with carrying the thing. ( No. Not very impressive, if you ask me)
Personally, I think that Ben-Hur was completely unworthy of winning a total of 11 Oscars. Particularly for its win for "Best Picture" (it was up against Anatomy For A Murder and The Diary Of Anne Frank) - And, especially, for "Best Actor", which went to that big phony-baloney with the whitest teeth, and brightest smile, Charlton Heston (who was up against James Stewart and Jack Lemmon).
Yep. It was quite plain to see that everything about Ben-Hur said "expensive" (its budget was $16 million), but nothing about it was in the least bit inspirational.
In spite of its big-name cast, and hordes-upon-hordes of extras, and all of its eye-popping sets and big-dollar production values, Ben-Hur was a small and petty and frivolous motion picture in so many, many ways.