Epic epic of epic proportions

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2006)

The rise of the telly box in the 1950s gave way to a new kind of Hollywood epic, one that producers thought would offer a completely different niche to the television experience. It was a kind of film that would see everything overblown to the max, making the most of the cinematic experience - sometimes too much. Ben Hur is the epitome of this new wave, featuring a near 4 hour running time, huge sweeping cinematography, epic battles, triumphs and a little bit here or there about a certain Jesus Christ. At it's best Ben Hur is a searing, fantastically realised epic, that with sheer ambition alone, will leave the viewer overwhelmed. At it's worst it is an overblown, over-ambitious epic that will leave the viewer overwhelmed. You get the point. Feauring a fittingly grandiose central performance from Charlton Heston, wonderful cinematography and a chariot race every bit as thrilling now as it was in 1959.
Taglined as "A tale of Christ" our film is set in 1st century Jerusalem. Our protagonist, Judah Ben Hur, is a rich, noble Jewish Prince. His childhood friend is now a commander in the Roman legions, but has come to visit his long-time friend. They reminisce, at first, seeming like the old friends they always were. Yet Messala's true ambition is one that angers the righteously stubborn Ben Hur, after he learns of Messala's want of Judah to be an informant of the Romans. "You are either with us, or against us" Messala tempestuously informs his old friend. As the friendship quickly turns to nemesis, the film then follows our protagonist as he goes from Prince, to slave, to Roman, back to Prince again in truly sweeping style. His encounters Jesus Christ evoke Christian imagery and feeling to the story, as our Jewish friend is saved by him.
Ben Hur had Oscar written all over it, both before that year's nominations and during it. The sheer weight of its story is enough to garner acclaim for years to come. At a three and a half hour running time it may drag on for a lot of people, yet just as your bum is about to go, the chariot race will have you screaming for more. At times it is ponderous, and even overambitious. But as far as spectacle goes, this is the grand daddy of them all. A classic in its own right, and a film that saved MGM from bankruptcy.