It Didn't Stand The Test Of Time

Rating: 5/10 (11 August 2013)

Well, 11 Oscras is not a mere trifle to forget about, but then, there are films that do not age well. Ben-Hur is of that caste, no matter what aficionados would say in anger. I watched it again and again very carefully to get the mood and see how well it speaks to us now. What do we have? The sub-title for the movie stated The Life Of The Christ - yes, Heis there, but this movie is not about Him and is not a Chrisitan movie. Wyler made a very typical grand scheme Hollywood blockbuster that impresses to some degree. Yes, but then, the glaring minuses speak up - 1. The film is tediously overlong, the absolutely unnecessary Prologue and Entr'Acte only kill time. 2. The blatantly obvious poorly painted backstage serving as a city or a valley look laughingly now, and obviously too cheap. 3. The play of main actors is not so deep, too. Overwrought and overblown emotions fit a theater stage more, here they look a bit funny, where it was not to be so. 4. Two most famous scenes - ship battle and horse ride are very long, too, and lack tension. They are well done, yes, but now they pale into banality. 5. The overall sentimental element is too much, too present, too loud that the whole epic dives into a syrupy melodrama.
Well, this is a fine time-piece but that is all