Shan, I'm over the moon that you chose to review this epic! I'm 51 years old and I remember watching this movie with my Dad. We probably watched this movie a hundred times, I know every scene, every word is familiar to me. No one, and I mean no one will ever be able to remake that chariot scene. They've tried, and failed horribly! I'm so glad you loved it, it brought back so many wonderful memories for me, and still for years to come!
First saw this in rerelease 1962, I was eight years old. We went back two or three times, it absolutely blew me away. Like you have probably watched it a hundred times since then and I always look forward to watching it again and am enthralled every single time. There is nothing else like it!
As you said, an epic film. Simply amazing, everything about it. There are no weaknesses to be found in this film. Another great Heston film is The Ten Commandments if you haven't reacted to that one. He also has a an excellent cameo in the western, Tombstone.
Shan, Overtures began as a tradition in the post Renaissance era during the prevalence of opera. It was tradition to play accompanying music when the king or some nobility would enter the theater, and composers eventually adopted the practice of writing music especially for this occurrence that fit the theme of the opera. Eventually, this became common practice, even when no royalty or nobility were expected. The symphony was actually invented because a composer didn’t care for opera, and would go just to listen to the overtures. Overtures remained a common occurrence in films of a more epic or serious bent all the way until the 1980s. If I’m not mistaken, the last big budget film to have an overture was the Disney film The Black Hole.
It was actually 'Star Trek:TMP', a mere week after Disney's 'The Black Hole'. Thank you for your very interesting comment about the tradition of overtures.
So, it wasn't created just for parking your car, going to the restroom, stopping off at the concession stand, then locating your assigned seating? *Somebody lied to me!!*
Heehee. Gore Vidal had some very interesting things to say about working on this script. (He was one of the talking heads in the documentary "The Celluloid Closet".) According to him, the director asked him to help with the script, which he felt was lacking depth in the relationship between Judah and Messala. Gore suggested that they'd had a romance when they were younger and now were meeting after years apart. The director said Heston would never go for it, but that Gore should talk to Boyd (who plays Messala). Well sir, you can see the results right there on the screen. There's Heston, with his lantern jaw playing it "like Francis X. Bushman", and there's Boyd, practically eating Heston up with his eyes, yearning like Romeo! It's hilarious, and I will never be able to unsee it. 😂
These kind of event movies were played in beautiful theatres and were treated as if you were going to a play. The Overture music would play with screen curtains closed until start of film sometimes with theatre lights on or dimmed. then there would be the ente'acte music before second half after the intermission and finally the exit music after the end credits were over.
When you look up the definition of epic movie, two movies will come up. Ben Hur and the Ten Commandments. Partly enough both movies star Charlton Heston.
Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments, The Greatest Story Ever Told... Those were all those epic Biblical story movies. I remember my family watching "The Message" a looong time ago - may have been the late 70's. It tells the story of Islam in that same Epic Biblical vein. Most of my family was(is) Catholic - but my maternal grandfather (a redheaded Australian of Scottish descent) was Muslim. That movie was a way that we could get a glimpse of the faith that grandpa was raised under.
Looking forward to Pt. II. My friend Juliet Rozsa's father Miklos composed the music. He was considered one of the great film composers and his concert works are also tremendous. This, The Red House and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad are my favorite scores by him. My favorite William Wyler film is The Best Years of Our Lives, but Ben-Hur is certainly a remarkable production winning I think 9 Oscars? The silent film version is very worthwhile seeing as well, its chariot race equally stunning as the one in this version. Fantastic reaction!
my favourite Rozsa score is the one he made for El Cid, the Anthony Mann epic also starred by Charlton Heston, another masterpiece in my view and very underrated
I definitely had the patience to watch this as a kid. Absolutely loved watching it almost every Easter. Ok sometimes it would just be on in the background while we were doing other things. Another classic we would watch a lot was "The Ten Commandments".
"Find them Messala, restore them to me and I will forget what I vowed with every stroke of that oar you chained me to!!" One of the greatest lines ever spoken.
Hey Shan! Excellent choice to watch. This is one of the best films of this era, let alone in the history of cinema...technically, dramatically, thematically...it is a masterpiece, and before the release of 'Titanic' held the record for the most Oscars won (11 Oscars...Heston as Best Actor, Wyler as Director, Best Picture, Hugh Griffith as Best Supporting Actor (as Sheik Ildarim) among many others.). It now shares the record for 11 Oscar wins with 'Titanic' and 'The Lord of the Rings - The Return of the King' . - Haya Harareet (Esther) was the last member of the primary cast to pass away in 2021. She was a relative newcomer to films when she was cast beating out 30 other established actresses. She was actually Israeli. - Martha Scott (Miriam) was only 10 years older than her screen son Charleton Heston. Scott was 45, Heston was 35. - The budget was $15.175 million...conservatively anywhere from 150 million to 200 million today. - Sam Jaffee as Simonides is one of my favorite performers in this film, as well as any film he was in. He was just so likable and believable. If you haven't seen it...the original 'The Day The Earth Stood Still' (1951) directed by Robert Wise has my favorite Jaffee performance. - The Overture, Intermission, Entr'acte, and Exit or Exeunt Music were all hallmarks of "Roadshow" pictures that the studios put out. Especially during the 1950s, when more and more people were staying home to watch television, the studios made an effort with budgets and presentations to make going to the movies special, an event for the family or for a special night out. So...like a Broadway musical (or a touring company of a stage show)...these films were longer, and more "event" like to bring people in. There were always these kind of pictures made even back to the silent era like the first 'Ben-Hur' starring Francis X. Bushman (Masala) and Ramon Navarro (Judah Ben-Hur) in 1925. - It was filmed over 9 months at Cinecita Studios in Rome. The pre-production was 8 months, and post-production was 6 months. - The screenplay was credited to Karl Tunberg, however quite a lot of the screenplay was written by novelist Gore Vidal. He actually wrote and suggested to Stephen Boyd that Masala was gay and in love with Judah. When Heston found out about it...he was furious, and there was a feud between Heston and Vidal that lasted for years over this. Boyd, who was Irish, was happy to play it that way...it was interesting to him. It also makes Masala less of a second rate villain, and more a scorned lover heartbroken and lashing out in revenge. You wanted a BTS...'Ben-Hur; The Making of An Epic' (1993) narrated by the late Christopher Plummer was commisioned for the DVD release of the film...It's on RU-vid, not very good quality (480p and compressed down) and with French subtitles...but...it's there: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4VchYpZ3QbY.html Eagerly awaiting Part 2, dude!!!
@@FeaturingRob Thanks for all the info you provided in your first post. Very interesting. I used to have a DVD Collector's Edition of "Ben Hur" w/that making of Documentary-it was fascinating. I have a no frills version now w/commentary track and Isolated Miklos Rosza Score. I'll look for the Doc on YT as per your post. Thanks again.
As to the overture, this was a roadshow picture. Roadshows were a thing in the 50's and 60's. The studios would book only a small number of theaters for the first few weeks, charging higher prices. The idea was to make the movie a big event, something exclusive. It worked for quite a few years. This was done for very big, majestic films that had cost a lot, and it gave the picture lots of publicity and made the general public eager to see it.
One of my favourite movies too. Made in the year of my birth 1959 (therefore a VERY good vintage 👍🏻😎👍🏻). This is an epic - possibly the best of all epics - requiring focus and attention and multiple watchings (once is just not enough). In many scenes it moves me to tears. Wonderful film! The purpose of the overture is manyfold… 1. It showcases the musical composer and director… gives a plug to the score. 2. It creates a more personal audience rapport as if the audience is directly involved, as in a (mostly musical) stage play. 3. It builds a sense of anticipation and excitement… adds crescendo to the forthcoming thrill. 4. Allows the full credits to be intimated as a precursor to the story… thereby allowing the audience to fully digest the actors’ names. 5. Affords the audience time to get settled into their seats whilst simultaneously being immersed in the feature. 6. Allows the audience to buy their ice-creams without missing any of the story. 7. Allows the audience to go for a quick pee without missing any of the story.
Ben Hur is for sure an epic film. I love it and watch it every year around Easter when it is shown on TV. Charlton Heston is an epic actor. Can't wait for the second part of this. You'll love the chariot race.
Basically, Judah Ben Hur is Lew Wallace. He was a general at the battle of Shiloh in 1862. It was a two day battle, with the Confederates almost winning the first day . Union reinforcements saved the next day and Grant had a great victory. But Wallace's division had got lost on the first day, and Grant always blamed him for almost losing the battle. Wallace spent the rest of his life trying to get his reputation back.
I love this movie and show this every on eastern. Show you the other movie with Charlton Heston "The Ten Commandments" (1956) and "King of Kings" (1961)
I’d also recommend ‘The Robe’ (1953) and it’s sequel ‘Demetrius and the Gladiators’ (1954) through the sequel is more thematically in line with ‘Spartacus’ (1960)
I also really love George Stevens' "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965), although the practice of putting well known, big name Stars in cameos was a bit jarring and didn't always work (John Wayne as a Roman Centurion at the Crucifixion, 😂)- Heston as John The Baptist was fine though. IMO chef's kiss for Max Von Sydow, my favorite cinema portrayal of Jesus!
William Wyler was one of the great directors of all time. he directed Mrs. miniver from 1942 which won 6 Academy Awards including best picture. any 1946 the Best years of our lives winning 7 Academy Awards including best picture. ben hur won 11 Academy Awards including best picture. Not a bad track record!
I actually saw this movie in the theaters in 2019 as a special event. My friend was gonna go but he couldn’t so my sister went with me and she was so hopped up when she saw the chariot scene.😊
The overture sets the mood for the upcoming movie. It's kind of like when you go to a fine restaurant and you start with a beverage to cleanse the pallet. The information that comes later is to realization people need to go to the restroom.
Ben Hur is a great ol' classic. My favorite scenes have to be every moment when Judah is on the war galley and the amazing chariot race scene. Ben Hur has one of the best scores ever, a Great Villain, and Charlton Heston gives one of his finest performances ever. The story reminds me of the story from The Count of Monte Cristo.
I was really surprised by the 1925 version's chariot race. It's clear now that the 1959 race had to be as good as it was just to not be outdone by a much older film.
Thank you so much. I’ve been waiting for a while for you to watch this. Another Charlton Heston movie is The Ten Commandments, although the acting can be sort of corny at times and at points it seems as if the actors/actresses are “posing” it is still one of my favorites.
Excellent choice of film! The image of the Creation of Adam used at the beginning of the film and for the entr'acte is from the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
I watch this masterpiece of cinema every Easter. Such an epic very rarely made these days, with such a scope. It just feels like journey with Ben-Hur, feeling his struggle and strife and has a wonderful arc he goes through.
Wow. You are really hitting some big time movies from the era. You might try Moby Dick with Greg0ry Peck, Spartacus with Kirk Douglas and Lawrence Olivier, or Lawrence of Arabia with Peter O'Toole . It was an era of big movies
There was a time when the "Overture" gave people time to settle into there seats and engage in conversation, before the show, in a manner reminiscent of live theater.
One of the greatest movies of not the greatest. 11 Academy Awards with a fabulous cast starring my favorite of all time. What is there more to say. Emotional, powerful.
As said, the 1950's is THE era of BIG movies. Huge, that is. Monumental. You have yet some ahead of you to experience! It is THE decade of Hollywood. (sorry for the capital letters all over ^^)
I’ve been waiting for this. Your love for movies with huge productions won’t be disappointed. The chariot race and circus Maximus was almost a 20 acre set with 10-15k extras. If you want to watch 2 awesome big production movies, please “Waterloo” and “ A Bridge Too Far”
@Shan - There are overtures and intermissions in other classic, long films, such as "Gone with the Wind," "Lawrence of Arabia," and "Dr. Zhivago." I think it makes them seem more serious, more special, which was no doubt the intent. All of which you should review, if you haven't already.
I'm 48 and this is my favorite movie of all time. I actually got the chance to see this on the big screen a few years ago. I've gotten my 18 year old son and 9 year old daughter into this movie. I have a special edition DVD that has this on two discs, the old 1920s silent film and a disc that has all kinds special behind the scenes stuff.
William Wyler was a great director. One of the greatest EVER. Charlton Heston won best actor which made up for him not being nominated in The Ten Commandments.
When I worked assembly line And it was humming along any mistakes would get you behind I would tell my co workers “ row well and live” Nobody got the reference but I thought it was fitting, thanks again Shan !
The actress playing Tirza, Cathy O'Donnell, was William Wyler's sister-in-law. She met his older brother while shooting my favorite movie, The Best Years of Our Lives.
Winner of 11 Oscars including Best Picture! It was the first in a trilogy of Epic Oscar Winning Films to take home 11 Academy Awards: BEN HUR TITANIC Lord Of The Rings Return Of The King.
Great reaction to a great movie The scale of this movie is awesome for that time, without copy paste🤭 Can't wait to watch the second part reaction Have a good one
The marketing strap line for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which you reacted to a few months ago,, was: "Makes Ben-Hur look like an epic!" Perfect way to sum up both films!
The point of the overture is to help set the mood. It is played before the house lights are dimmed as the last stragglers from the concession stand are coming in to the auditorium to find their seats.
2:50 Back in the days when MGM was known as the Tiffany's of Hollywood studios, they could certainly afford a colossal budget. And the story of Ben-Hur was so well-known and so popular (Popular!? *Beloved* !) by that time that they would not only be comfortable in risking a huge sum - they would actually insist that it be a matter of "no-expense-spared". They knew the public would expect no less. 3:03 Interpreting earthly events by observation of the stars was a well-established and respectable science of that time, and for long afterward. The appearance of a rogue star or comet traditionally betokened something rare and momentous; humans being what they are, disaster was more commonly expected (the very word "disaster" is derived from Greek words meaning "bad star"). 3:24 Lew Wallace was one of the youngest men to make the rank of general in the Civil War, a man from whom great things were expected. But he took the wrong road in leading a relief column to the battle of Shiloh, and his friend Ulysses S. Grant (who, like Messala, stood to gain from treachery) saw to it that, despite their victory, whatever blame would derive from the terrible casualties was affixed onto Wallace. Nonetheless, he had a long and colorful career in the Army and in public service, and wrote several novels - but he is best remembered for the one that introduced Ben-Hur to the world, which became the biggest American bestseller of the century (outdoing even *Uncle Tom's Cabin*) and the inspiration for a play that ran for many years on Broadway. Near the end of his life, at the dawn of the 20th century, Wallace inspected the backstage of the theater with all its complicated apparatus - including a treadmill for the horses in the climactic chariot race - and marveled, "Was it really I, that set all this in motion?" Truly, a case of a forking road's influence on the life of one man - and many, many others. 3:48 Ben-Hur would know the year as (I believe) 3786 after the Creation of the world; Messala would know it as (I think) 779 after the founding of the city of Rome - as the Latin has it, Anno Urbe Conditae. 5:15 When George Stevens chose to film *The Greatest Story Ever Told* in 1965, Heston was a natural contender for the role of Jesus of Nazareth. Though the role went eventually to Max von Sydow, Heston did feature in the film in the plum role of John the Baptist. 5:56 Americans knew all about the concept of Manifest Destiny that had driven them ever westward, and by the end of World War II had made them the premier nation of the "Free World". Many in the audience for *Ben-Hur* would probably have considered America's rise a preordained thing (as all too many still do) and not a few would doubtless have smiled at Messala's certainty of Roman supremacy in the known world of the time. 6:15 It has been said that no man is crazy in his own eyes, however much so he may appear to you, and that applies to evil as well (a lesson that is still hard for people to appreciate). Messala believes that what is good for Caesar and Rome will be good for himself and, incidentally, Judah as well. Judah, however, knows that Israel has been under oppressors long before (even as they have been long after) and has outlasted them all. He knows the same is true for Rome - but Messala will not entertain this notion (and it took far less back then, and for long afterward, to get a man arrested for treason - the best argument there is for the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States). 7:20 It has been said that the Romans acquired an Empire largely by accident; almost certainly they did not set out to conquer the world deliberately. But great success and great power give great opportunity to deviate from the straight-and-narrow path that gets one there to begin with. Ben-Hur probably has no quarrel with the Roman people themselves - he may even admire the concept of republican government - it is, rather, the Empire that he sees chiefly as the challenge against God (contrast how Americans regarded Walt Disney back then, and how they largely feel about his company now). 7:40 About any past historical era, one could (and I do) use the maxim usually applied to New York City: "It's a *great* place to visit - but I wouldn't want to have to live there." 8:50 Jesus is indeed only a peripheral character in this story, for all that it is referred to in the title as "A Tale of the Christ". But His presence is the unseen cord that ties its events to one another, even as it yet does for much of the real world. 9:15 If it were any city other than Jerusalem, a dry pasture that needs only one spark to set it ablaze, the Romans might have been more inclined to listen to "reason". Was it bad fortune that the tile mortar was crumbling, or was it God's will? The Romans knew perfectly well what the population would see in it. Messala's treachery, of course, sealed the matter. 11:20 The year is now 29 AD (3789 Judean, 782 AUC). 11:52 Endurance trials such as this were to be expected on occasion - but as Arrius's adjutant's face shows, this one (due to the Consul's curiosity about Judah's own stamina) was just a little harsher than usual. 11:58 This sort of thing indeed makes one very glad to live in an age when high-powered machinery is everywhere - yet one should bear in mind that in the Classical world, galley oarsmen were typically salaried professionals and not enslaved convicts serving a deferred death sentence (that practice becoming much more common in medieval days). 13:20 The visible differences in naval architecture becomes of critical importance when Judah and Arrius are about to be rescued. (It's worth mentioning that the silent Ben-Hur from 1926 actually has LIFE-SIZED galleys for the actors and extras in the sea battle - one advantage of not requiring any spending for sound equipment or technicians!) 15:05 It's usually a very welcome moment indeed in popular entertainment when antagonists show good aspects to their personalities. (I certainly thought so the first time I saw this movie.) 15:43 One can, indeed, infer that Arrius freed Judah immediately - or as quickly as the law permitted - after the senatorial bestowal. Later, in the Empire's best days, an emperor would select the most capable person to become his successor, and make him a formal son-adoptive. This procedure ended when Marcus Aurelius made his own natural son, Commodus, successor - and the results did not augur good fortune for anyone thereafter; except, of course, for Commodus. (His reign has been depicted in 1964's *The Fall of the Roman Empire* with him being played with fiendish relish by Christopher Plummer, and Stephen Boyd as the good man, once his friend, who must act against him. Ridley Scott's *Gladiator* from 2000 covers the same events, more or less.) 16:25 I prefer to think that Judah's reply to Arrius, rather than a diplomatic "No", is more along the lines of "We'll have to see how it all works out." (At novel's end, !!! SPOILER ALERT !!! Judah uses his immense wealth to set up the Roman Catacombs, and other places, as secret churches for Christians.) 19:33 I think it was Dostoevsky who said (and I'm doubtless paraphrasing) that the level of civilization in any society may be judged by entering its prisons. Heaven knows the American prison system is in dire need of reform - but prisoners in the Roman Empire (and a LOT of other societies in space and time) would consider our penal accommodations downright luxurious. (This of course does not mean that further improvements need never be made.) 😎🎬🎥🎞️📽️📺📼👁️
I've loved this movie since I was a child. I've always considered the voice of the actress who plays Esther to be the most soothing sound. I could listen to her read the phone book and be happy.
Glad to see you are enjoying this one, but then again....how could you not???? A personal favorite, bringing back happy memories from childhood, when my family would sit around watching this every chance we got. I saw it on a big screen once...and I mean a BIG screen....fantastic!!!! I'm sure it's been suggested to you before, but consider watching The Ten Commandments, another epic Heston movie, produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille.
Shan, I had the great honor of meeting the Great Charlton Heston at Book Soup in Hollywood for his book signing for his fantastic autobiography In the Arena. If you can find a copy, I highly, highly recommend it 👌 👍!!! He goes in to great detail about all aspects of the making of Ben Hur. In addition Chatlton gives great detail of the chariot race sequence which took an amazing 9 months of production to complete!!! And to answer your question about the chariot set, it was built from the ground up!!! All the sets were and it was filmed in Italy. At a cost of 15 million dollars to produce, it was at the time the most expensive film made!! It won a record 11 Oscar's and would have won 12 except for the fact that there were some challenges as to who received final credit for the script since some of the writers were replaced etc... Charlton Heston won Best Actor for his excellent portrayal of Judah Ben Hur. He spoke candidly of how Hard director William Wyler drove him during this film and how long it took to make it from start to finish!!! Thanks for your wonderful review and I will become a patron soon!! Keep up the excellent reviews.
The making of this movie is famously a part of the documentary The Celluloid Closet, about the way gay culture subtext worked itself into the mainstream, but in a way that was hidden for the general public. There is a scene in Ben Hur where the director allegedly told Stephen Boyd to play the scene with a romantic undertone, unbeknownst to (and unnoticed by) Heston (or the audience).
The screenwriter Gore Vidal thought a romantic subtext between Judah and Messala made sense for their relationship .Wyler and Boyd agreed but thought it best to keep Heston in the dark about it. Looking back now it is pretty obvious.
Wow huge classic! Another I saw at the theater in the sixties when they re released it, thanks Shan I know your reaction will be epic and this movie and others show how an intermission is done
Lew Wallace who wrote the book was also Governor of New Mexico at the time Billy the Kid was around and actually signed his Wanted Dead or Alive warrant
An overture is usually only used in long films especially in the 50's-70's. The last film I remember having an overture was Star Trek The Motion Picture. They usually always included about a 5-10 minute intermission because they were so long.
