The story of Judah Ben-Hur

Rating: 9/10 (21 December 2009)

In the beginning we see the coming of Jesus Christ.Twenty-six years later Jewish Judah Ben-Hur lives his life as a wealthy merchant of noble blood in Jerusalem.Messala is a military Tribune.Those two were the best of friends as children.Now they turn into worst of enemies.Messala believes in the glory of Rome and worldly imperial power while Ben-Hur is devoted to his faith and the Jewish people.He refuses to give Messala names of his own religion, and now all they feel for each other is hatred.Simonides and his 24-year old daughter Esther, two slaves arrive with happy news; she is getting married.As a wedding gift Judah gives her freedom.Esther doesn't love the man she ought to marry, she loves Judah and he feels the same way.The new Roman governor arrives in town, and Judah's sister Tirzah accidentally makes a tile fall off the roof and the governor is nearly killed when he falls off the horse.Messala condemns Judah to the galleys and imprisons his sister and mother Miriam.During the battle on sea Judah saves the life of the Roman consul, Quintus Arrius and gets his freedom.When he returns to Judea he wants his mother and sister to be free also.But he learns from Esther that they are dead.Except that they're not.Esther swore to them not to tell the truth, that they have leprosy.Back home he gets to take part in a chariot race, and Messala is there also.Judah leads the horses to victory, and Messala faces his death.Eventually Judah stands at Jesus' cross and witnesses his crucifixion.William Wyler's Ben Hur (1959) is a great spectacle.It's the third version of Lew Wallace's fictional novel from 1880.The movie won a great number of 11 Oscars.Charlton Heston makes one of his most memorable roles as Ben-Hur.Stephen Boyd is terrific as Messala.Martha Scott and Cathy O'Donnell are amazing as Miriam and Tirzah.The Israeli actress Haya Harareet is perfect as Esther.She is the only leading actor from this film to remain alive.Sam Jaffe does a great job as her father, Simonides.Jack Hawkins is great as Arrius.Terence Longdon is very good as Drusus, Messala's assistant.Hugh Griffith is quite funny as Sheik Ilderim.And so are his four horses.In other parts we see Finlay Currie playing Balthasar.Frank Thring is Pontius Pilate.Jose Greci and Laurence Payne are Mary, mother of Jesus and Joseph, Jesus' father.Claude Heater is Jesus, whose face we never see.There are many memorable scenes in this film.In one scene Jesus gives Judah water when he's thirsty.When we see Heston as a galley slave, rowing with revenge in his mind...and then those battle ships arrive and he gets his freedom.The moments at the leper colony are touching.And when we see Jesus carrying his cross, and Ben-Hur and Esther are there too late to see the Christ with his sick mother and sister.And Ben-Hur gives Jesus water, when he is thirsty.The chariot race is absolutely stunning. After 50 years this film still looks pretty amazing.