One of the great epics of all time and one of the great cinematic achievements of all time

Rating: 10/10 (13 October 2013)

Ben-Hur is widely hailed as a classic film and a great epic masterpiece among movie buffs and critics.
Why is it so? Because it has character, drama, action, violence, redemption, hope, color, and intelligence in it; it is one of the best (and maybe THE best) of the biblical epics of Hollywood's Golden Age.
The story goes like this: In first century (A.D., that is) Judea, the Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) meets his former friend Messala (Stephen Boyd), who has now become a Roman tribute. At first, it seems that they will be friends again. However, when Messala demands that Judah reveal the names of militants who oppose the Roman Empire, Judah breaks with Messala, and vice versa. This event spills over when Judah is falsely accused of attempting to assassinate the Roman governor after a tile accidentally falls from the palace balcony, and he and his family are captured. Judah begs Messala to vindicate him and his family, but the hardened Roman refuses. Judah is condemned to the galleys, but not before he promises vengeance on Messala when he returns. At the galleys, he saves the life of the general Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) and is rewarded by being named Arrius's son. However, Judah feels haunted by the memory of Judea, and returns, only to meet Sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith) and Balthasar (Finlay Currie), who happened to be one of the three wise men who saw the baby Jesus, and to enter into a chariot race in which he will compete with Messala in the arena. The ensuing events will make for an exciting, grand piece of cinema.
Did the movie deserve the glowing reputation it has received among esteemed film critics and movie buffs? Or is it just an average epic that is dated and insignificant? Or is it a really awful, bloated and overrated piece of fluff? I agree with the first opinion. It is an intelligent piece of filmmaking that keeps you in your seat for more than three and a half hours, even with the occasional flaws that may exist in the movie.
William Wyler does a wonderful job in directing the film, and the movie is guided by his skilled hand. Epic film producer Sam Zimbalist (King Solomon's Mines, Quo Vadis) did a great job in his production; however, he died in 1958 before it could be completed, making him the only posthumous person to win a Best Picture Oscar. Karl Tunberg's excellent script is helped with uncredited contributions from British playwright Christopher Fry, American playwrights Maxwell Anderson and S. N. Behrman, and the late great author Gore Vidal, who also happened to write Broadway plays. The fact that the uncredited contributions come from playwrights clears things up a bit as to why this film is so grand, epic, and magnificent. The script should be studied by film buffs and aspiring filmmakers as an excellent example of epic filmmaking. And not only that, Lew Wallace's classic, on which the film is based, should be read also in conjunction with the film script. Miklos Rozsa's music, Robert Surtees's cinematography and Yakima Canutt's stunts all have their share in elevating this already wonderful film.
Charlton Heston plays his role as the Jewish prince with dignity, awesomeness, and humanity, even though he may have his occasions of stiltedness and woodenness. However, there is a difference from the book and the movie; whereas in the book Ben-Hur is shown to be joining a guerrilla force with the Galileans against the Roman government, and he even kills a Roman soldier in a duel, while the movie shows none of this. It does deal with Ben-Hur's hatred of the Roman government, though, and how it nearly blinds him to the need to love his enemies. Another difference is that in the book Ben-Hur is depicted to be much younger in the beginning, whereas in the movie he is a grown man. Stephen Boyd brilliantly portrays the villainous Messala, who is desirous of power, glory, and pomp. However, unlike the novel's character, Messala is not very cynical, though he is laden with hubris. The Israeli actress Haya Harareet fits well into the role of the beautiful Esther, and Hugh Griffith's portrayal as Sheik Ilderim provides us some comic relief throughout the epic tale. And Jack Hawkins's role as Arrius is compelling as well.
And let us not forget the brilliant and electric chariot race. The race is constructed entirely without CGi and without any phony trickery; it is all real. The sets are huge, magnificent and epic. And it entirely relies on the suspense of the event rather than Miklos Rozsa's music (which is wonderful in its own right). It not only focuses on epic scale but rather the conflict between Ben-Hur and Messala, and in this way it contributes to the story and doesn't detract from it.
The most important part of the epic, however, is the story of Christ, as the subtitle of the original book (and the movie) says it is "A Tale of the Christ." Claude Heater plays the role here. In the film, Christ's face is not shown, and yet His power infuses the whole movie both indirectly and directly, particularly in the famous scene where Jesus gives water to a thirsty Judah Ben-Hur, who is on his way to the galleys. When He faces a Roman soldier who commands that no water be given to Judah, Jesus' look has such strength that the soldier stops himself from whipping Jesus. The Christian core is shown throughout the film by contrasting the power of true love as exemplified by Christ Jesus and the hatred that Messala shows and that Judah succumbs to before his salvation.
Recommended to all film buffs, epic film fans, and Christians of all backgrounds. This film is epic, human, and wonderful. I give it five out of five stars.