One You Must See on the Big Screen

Rating: Null/10 (7 May 2014)

Ben-Hur (1959)
**** (out of 4)
Winner of a whopping eleven Academy Awards, this epic religious tale is considered by many to be one of the greatest films ever made as it follows the Jewish Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) who manages to overcome being thrown into slavery and eventually see the rise of Jesus Christ. I will admit right off the bat that I think there are some flaws in this movie and especially some "down" time after the ship attack and the start of the chariot race. I will also admit that I think the original 1925 silent has an overall better flow to it but there's certainly no way to deny the power of this film and not have your jaw on the floor from the mammoth production. There's no doubt that this film wanted to out-do the previously released epics and the size of the sets and the entire number of extras will just have you shaking your head wondering how any of it was done. Obviously, the film will always be remembered for its legendary chariot race, which still looks downright amazing all these decades later. You'll certainly be holding your breathe throughout the entire race and just the epic scale of this is just something we will never see again. The camera shots of the race taken over the statue's head remains some of the greatest scenes in movie history. It also doesn't hurt that we're given other great sequences including the ship attack but there are also some great quiet moments. One such moment happens when Heston's character falls down and his greeted with some water from a stranger. Another moment happens as we see a white figure on a hillside with people gathering around. There's no question that Heston makes this role his very own and the supporting cast is excellent as well. It should go without saying but the cinematography is some of the greatest you're ever going to see and the same can be said for the editing. BEN-HUR wowed people when it was released and it still manages to have that same power after all these years and that's really saying something.