Ben-hur

(amazon.co.uk)

It's that time of the year!!  Spring has sprung and Easter is right around the corner. Time for some classic movies which stood the test of time and that includes the wonderfully made film, Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston. Ben-Hur was created in 1959 by MGM Studios.  It was based on Lew Wallace's 1880 novel of the same name and it was even a remake of an earlier film in 1925 during the silent film era (Wikipedia).  The movie follows the life of prince Ben-Hur who was betrayed and framed by his former friend, Messala.  Ben-Hur was sent to the gallows as a result and desires revenge.  He learns a lot of life lessons along the way including redemption and forgiveness.  

(hollywoodreporter.com)

Like, The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur is shown every Easter when I was growing up and I looked forward to watching it every year.  Also, like The Ten Commandments, the film was way ahead of its time in regards to overall production including location, technology, costume design and the score, oh my goodness!  The musical score, created by Miklos Rozsa was so good, that it gave me goosebumps!!!  I have to admit though, the movie was very long with 3 hours and 42 minutes run time and that includes an intermission!  The casting of the movie was excellent especially with Charlton Heston as the lead actor with his wonderful portrayal of Ben-Hur.  Stephen Boyd played a character that everyone loved to hate, Messala a corrupt Roman nobleman.  Haya Harareet played Esther, Ben-Hur's love interest.  Hugh Griffith played an Arab tradesman Sheik Ilderim which in itself would be problematic today.  Griffith did a very good job with his character but that blackface he did, meh it was cringeworthy.  Well, it was the 50's and I supposed actors of color were few far in between which allowed majority white actors to do stuff such as blacken their faces to portray a person of color or the horrendous yellowface.  By now,  Hollywood should know better but every now and again, incidents like these keep popping up.  

(hollywoodreporter.com)

My favorite scene in the film was the chariot race.  It is a gruesome race for sure and I really feel for the stuntmen, who had to deal with the grueling training that comes with the chariot race.  I also felt bad for the horses, all that running around in circles.  It was also my favorite because Messala got the taste of his own medicine after he threw Ben-Hur under the bus.  In the movie, Messala succumbs to his injuries after he falls off his chariot compared to Wallace's novel in which he was still alive and still plotting for Ben-Hur's demise.  

It is a great film and to say it is epic would be an understatement.  So epic that it won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Actor (Charlton Heston), Best Director (William Wyler) and Best Picture among others.  It was one of the highest-grossing at that time and it was regarded as one the greatest film of all time (Wikipedia).  It is a film about friendship, betrayal, revenge and forgiveness, at a time where Jesus Christ was gaining new followers, including Ben-Hur.  Naturally, there were remakes including the 2016 version but unfortunately, it fell flat.  Some classics should be left alone.  Like I said, this film had stood the test of time and I'm sure it will still be relevant well into the 22nd century!!