Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

4/24/2021

What an epic. Watching this, you can see why Wyler wanted to remake it in the 50s. In this, you can see the emotions of the characters that are much more fleshed out compared to the first (unauthorised) screen version. Set design and costumes are grand, though the hairstyling is reminiscent of the 1920s (but maybe Romans were into that). The score is typical silent movie fare. Colourising the "Biblical scenes" is a neat touch (reminiscent of "red letters" in a lot of Bibles), it focuses the viewers attention to where Wallace wanted the attention drawn. This is very faithful to the book. The set pieces are what you watch this for though and they do not disappoint. The naval battle is great and the chariot race... is jaw dropping for its time. Two and a half hours though feel

11/8/2023

What an amazing, absolutely beautiful film. Especially for nearly a century ago, but for any movie ever. The backgrounds, the grand sets, the sheer amounts of extras, and the animation of the stars and the coloring of the biblical scenes. Just...wow. And topless women! Its got everything. (not Mary) WI first heard about this version after seeing a video on TCM about silent films. Gonna watch the '59 version tomorrow. An absolute must watch if you like Bible fanfiction. ~~~ It's Public Domain and free on the Internet Archive. Better than paying Google for it.

7/27/2024

With the Roman legions securely ensconced in his Judaean homeland, Prince "Judah Ben-Hur" (Ramon Navarro) hopes that the arrival of his childhood friend "Messala" (Francis X. Bushman) might make things a bit easier for his conquered people. Fat chance! His erstwhile friend is far more concerned with impressing his boss and keeping the locals under control. An incident during the arrival procession of the new Governor gives the new regime exactly the opportunity it wants to stamp it's authority and that sees "Ben-Hur" sent to the galleys and his mother and sister to prison. Luck hasn't quite abandoned our hero, though, as the fleet on which he serves goes into battle and he ends up rescuing the Consul "Arrius" (Frank Currier) who proceeds to adopt him as his son and give him the opportunity