Spectacular but way too long

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2002)

Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) a Jew, and Massala (Stephen Boyd) a Roman, once boyhood friends clash as adults in Biblical times.
Big, lumbering epic--way too long (3 1/2 hours). It does have two spectacular action sequences--the sea battle and the chariot race.
The sea battle has some very obvious, sometimes laughable special effects--for instance, it's VERY obvious that they're using toy boats in the long shots! Still. it is exciting and well-done.
The chariot race is just great. A must see in wide-screen ONLY--it's long, violent and fascinating. It still stands up after over 40 years.
The rest of the film is rather slow. The dialogue is ponderous. The pace is way too slow and none of the performances are that good (how Heston won an Academy Award for this is beyond me).
But it looks great in wide screen and color and has a rousing music score. I'm giving it an 8, but I really can't recommend it. Give me the 1925 Ramon Novarro one--that was much better.