Ben-Hur

Pros: Heston, Boyd, Hawkins, Photography, Score, Direction, Story

Cons: None

Review: Ben-Hur

This is a story of how friends fall out. Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince living in Roman occupied Judea in the first century AD. His boyhood friend Messala, a Roman, is now a tribune in the Roman Army. Messala...

Pros: It's great...

Cons: ...but there's too much greatness.

The Bottom Line: Too many notes.

Review: It is hard for me to describe why Ben-Hur (1959) is not one of my favorite movies. It is a great movie, no doubt. But when I think of "Ben-Hur", and I think of why it is not one of my favorite movies, the thought that usually comes to my head is, ...

Pros: Almost everything. See review.

Cons: Long, to some. Gruesome at times.

The Bottom Line: This movie does everything right, and is a standard for epic films.

Review: This 1959 epic film is the third film version of Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It won eleven Academy Awards, an achievement that has not yet been surpassed, and has been equaled but twice: Titanic and ...

Pros: Great story, impressive sets and costumes, intelligent dialog and that chariot race.

Cons: The sea battle, and some 50's film making conventions.

The Bottom Line: A masterful restoration of a beloved classic, and one well worth seeing for the first, or the fiftieth time.

Review: I suspect those reading this come from two distinct camps: one, comprised of viewers 40 and older who've seen Ben-Hur at least once in the theatre (though not likely in its intended "Camera 65" presentation), as well as a couple of times on ...

Pros: One of a kind epic, Heston without his rifles, the chariot race, Griffith

Cons: At times, a little over the top emoting. EXTREMELY long

The Bottom Line: This film an epic that marks the time it was made, as well as the time it portrays, the former more than the latter. Watch it once without commercials!

Review: Forgive me for reducing this legendary movie to such a banal thought, but whenever there are men in miniskirts, I have to wonder. Elizabeth Haffenden (the costume designer) is not available for comment, and I wouldn't go near Heston even with a long...

Pros: One of the Best Movies Ever Made!

Cons: None - this movie has it all!

Review: REVIEW: BEN-HUR

SUMMARY:

I can sum up this movie in one word - FANTASTIC! I have watched this movie several times over the past 20 years and I see something new or realize something different about the movie each time. I would...

Pros: Great acting, great direction, great music

Cons: religious propoganda

The Bottom Line: One of the greatest films ever made, but a flawed finale drags it down a bit

Review: General Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur: a Tale of the Christ was first filmed in 1907 as a silent short. In 1925 in was made into a full-length silent feature, the most expensive movie made up to that point.

In 1959 William Wyler (The...

Pros: Everything you would want in a movie is here

Cons: none

Review: Ben-Hur is a spectacular film starring Charlton Heston in the lead and Stephen Boyd as Massala, Ben-Hur's childhood friend who eventually becomes his bitter enemy.

Massala returns to his boyhood home of Judea as a Roman centurion....

Pros: classic

Cons: none

Review: Ben-Hur

Year of Release: 1959
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Haya Harareet, Martha Scott,
Sam Jaffe
Director: William Wyler
Writer: Karl Tunberg
Running Time: 212 Minutes (3 hours, 32...

Pros: Powerful themes of compassion conquering hatred, some great action-packed scenes (chariot race, battle scene), great sets and costuming, good use of extras, and a tremendous score by Miklos Rosza

Cons: Somewhat wooden dialogue and performances are at times stiff.

Review: Ben Hur was the most expensive film of its day and still remains the film with the most Oscars to its name, 11 (an honor it now shares along with Titanic), out of 12 nominations (losing only in Screenplay).

Certainly,...