"Ben-Hur" is a massive, sprawling MGM epic set in the first century AD, during the life of Christ. Directed by William Wyler, the film plods along for most of its 212 minutes, marginally good but lacking in humor, action, or spark. There are solemn religious overtones and the usual stereotypes in Roman epics (The bad, corrupt Romans; The good, oppressed Jews). The famed chariot race sequence delivers the goods, and is much better than the rest of the film, but is hardly sufficient to bring the entire film to a higher grade.
Charlton Heston stars as the title character.
Ben-Hur begins the film as a wealthy Judean
prince. He is the childhood friend of the new
Roman precept Messala (Stephen Boyd), but
politics soon makes them enemies. Boyd finds a
good excuse to imprison Ben-Hur's family, making
Ben-Hur a galley slave. After Ben-Hur saves the
life of moody Roman general Arrius (Jack
Hawkins), Arrius adopts Ben-Hur, who becomes a
champion chariot racer. But soon Ben-Hur leaves
Rome for Judea, to find his family and get
revenge on Messala, who co-incidentally is a
great chariot racer. On his way, he just happens
to meet Sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith) who has
great horses but no jockey.
The viewer must wait over two hours before seeing
the film's centerpiece, the Chariot race
sequence. This was directed by legendary stuntman
Yakima Canutt and is excellent. Messala's dirty
tricks, especially the spiked probe, adds much
dramatic tension to an already exciting sequence.
The problem is that the chariot race is about the
only action that "Ben-Hur" has.
I have no problems with Charlton Heston's
performance. He has screen charisma, and can
project indignation well. The film might have
been more fun with offbeat casting (Robert
Mitchum? Gregory Peck?) but Heston does fit the
melodramatic bill.
Christ shows up in the story now and then, and
his crucifiction is depicted in the finale. We do
not see Christ's face or hear his voice. By
film's end, Ben-Hur has become religious
propoganda. Anyone who has seen a Hollywood film
before is not surprised when the leprosy of
Miriam (Martha Scott) and Tirzah (Cathy
O'Donnell) is cured.
"Ben-Hur" won a mountain of Academy Awards,
including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor
(Heston), Best Cinematography, and Best
Supporting Actor (Griffith). (60/100)
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