Movie Stats:
Released 1959 (USA)
American, in English
Director – William Wyler (who also directed two of our other
Oscar winners, Mrs. Miniver & The Best Years of Our Lives)
Stars – Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya
Harareet
Plot Summary:
Set in ancient Judea, when Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur
(Heston) is betrayed by his childhood best friend Messala (Boyd), a Roman who
is part of the force that has conquered Judea, he vows to return to exact his
revenge. Also, there’s a bunch of stuff about Jesus Christ. Hawkins co-stars as
Quintus Arrius, a Roman consul who later adopts Judah as his son, and Harareet
as Esther, Judah’s love interest.
Bad Stuff:
It’s long. Really, really long (3.5 hours). I got bored.
I remain of the opinion that Heston was not a particularly
good dramatic actor. I chuckled through most of his scenes that I was supposed
to find emotionally compelling, like how he had to hide his face whenever he “cried”
because he clearly was incapable of crying on command.
I found it really weird that they never showed Jesus’s face,
never gave him a speaking part, and never actually referred to him by name (my
husband says they did once; maybe I wasn’t paying close enough attention). A
stylistic choice or was there something else going on there? I’m not sure.
Good Stuff:
I may not have been impressed by Heston’s acting, but I was
impressed by Hawkins (who I last saw in The Bridge on the River Kwai) and Boyd.
I especially enjoyed Boyd’s performance. He played a great villain. I found his
dramatic scenes very powerful.
A lot of the special effects were so-so. It was the 1950s,
after all. However, the famous chariot race scene was top-notch. I’m really
impressed with those stuntmen. I hope none of them was hurt.
The Verdict:
On a side note, I felt that there was a lot of gay subtext
between Judah and Messala. My husband agreed. Even so, I thought that I was
probably reading too much into it. However, I later read online that Gore Vidal
was one of the screenwriters & that he allegedly included the gay subtext
on purpose. I also read that Boyd knew this & played along. Who knows if
it’s true?
But I digress. I have to admit that I didn’t hate this movie
as I was expecting to. In fact, I rather liked it. It felt really complete to
me. I suppose that it should, given how long it is. What I mean to say is,
while I didn’t think it was particularly nuanced or complex (I could see some
of the stuff that was going to happen coming from a mile away), it took me on a journey,
and I mostly enjoyed that journey.
I see this as a once-in-a-lifetime movie. Everyone should
see it at least once. I don’t imagine wanting to sit down and watch it again,
as I do some of the other Oscar winners (Casablanca, On the Waterfront). But I
do think it’s enjoyable for at least one viewing.
I give this movie 3.5 stars.
2 comments:
I suspect this was shown in Western Civ. in High School. I think I slept through it, though, because the teacher let us sleep through movies if we wanted. She wouldn't wake us up though, if the bell rang and we were still sleeping. That was the hazard.
I know I'd seen the chariot race before. I'm pretty sure the teacher in my 6th grade social studies class showed it to us, although I can't imagine why now. If I'd been shown the whole thing at that age, I would've slept through it too.
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