Still the Greatest Film Of All Time!

Rating: Null/10 (30 August 2003)

Well, I just saw Ben-Hur again after a break of about ten years...and yes, it's still the number one film of all time! This one has it all: love, treachery, revenge, miracles, battles, chariot races--and even religion and Jesus too!
The quality of the directing and acting are obvious...but sometimes viewers forget just how much is owed to a terrific story by the American Civil War General, Lew Wallace. It was popular in his time too and ran as a play for twenty years. In 1925, MGM turned the story into a silent masterpiece: so the studio was being pretty astute in putting all its eggs into the Ben Hur basket in 1959! The story had a proven track record and MGM just had to get the remake right and let this 'tale of the Christ' tell itself. Did they succeed? And how!
Whatever happened to the beautiful Israeli actress Haya Harareet? She gave a great performance here as Esther and deserved to get best actress oscar for her compassionate portrayal of the woman Juda loves.
Numerical score: 10/10.