Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collector's Edition (1959)

Movie arrived quickly. Movie is a classic and still entertaining after 66 years.

Another great movie from yesteryear and good story line with good actors with a good story line

This review is for Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collector's Edition (1959) blu-ray. Sound quality and visuals are excellent. Disc change for part 2. Also includes special features on a third disc. This is the edition to get for your collection if you're on a budget but want the best quality for the film itself.

I haven't seen Ben-Hur in ages, and one day I'm lying on the couch watching TV and it hits me: I want to see Ben-Hur. So, I went to Amazon.com and found this great box set. It comes with a lovely photo album of stills from the movie and casual shots of Charlton Heston with his family on the set. I really enjoyed seeing the human side of a great American film star in the classic mold. Combined with Heston's personal diary which he kept on the set of The Ten Commandments, you learn a lot about the man himself. I've seen comments disparaging the film as too long (one reviewer complains bitterly about having to listen to the ten-minute musical introduction), as being boring (another reviewer said three of four viewers fell asleep during the movie), and as being a ridiculously cornball Sunday School story (this reviewer also complained that Messala's friendship with Judah had homosexual overtones). It seems to me that these reviewers must be younger viewers who never lived the wonder of a great movie house showing this film. The ten-minute opening music gave latecomers a chance to find their seats and patrons a chance to get their popcorn, candy, and drinks at the snack bar without missing the first part of the movie. The intermission music gave patrons a chance to stretch their legs, take a bathroom break, and get a drink at the water fountain. This film is the product of a movie-going culture that the reviewers I've mentioned seem to know nothing about. I'm sad they missed it; it was a wonderful time to go to the movies. Unlike contemporary action films with nonstop car chases and fast cuts from scene to scene, this movie takes its time to develop character, to establish the old friendship before Messala's betrayal of Judah and his family, to show what Judah suffers and make us, the viewers, want revenge as badly as Judah does. Romantic interest is a must, even in modern film, so the relationship between Judah and Esther is simply part of the history of film right from the very beginning of the art form. And yes, the story is ultimately religious, depicting one family's conversion to Christianity and the miracles that Jesus promised to believers, in this case, healing Judah's mother and sister of leprosy (the New Testament reports Jesus curing lepers during his ministry) and healing Judah's heart of hate and revenge. It may seem strange to younger people in our present society, but people in 1959 took religion and the Bible much more seriously than they do today. There was nothing odd about going to see a movie that included biblical themes. From 1949 to 1965 Hollywood made The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Samson and Delilah, Quo Vadis, The Robe, The Big Fisherman, King of Kings, Barabbas, The Shoes of the Fisherman, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. People went to watch them, and some of them won Oscars for best picture: Quo Vadis, The Ten Commandments, The Robe, and Ben Hur, which won 11 that year, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Charlton Heston). As for the supposed "homosexual overtones," it saddens me to see how modern culture has tainted people's perceptions of this classic film and it's "good triumphs over evil" message. Frankly, in 1959, few, if any, children knew what homosexuality was, and polite society didn't talk about it or tolerate it much in their movies. What a contrast between generations!

Excellent movie especially at the holidays if you want something a little different. Classic

Ben-Hur is one of my favorite movies that captures the epic spectacle of Rome, a heartfelt theme of redemption, and a chariot race without special effects that keeps keep your heart pumping. Only one modern filmaker, Ridley Scott, can begin to match the grandeur of this film.

This was one of the great spectaculars of its time. It is long; 2 hours and 20 minutes, and like all silent movies, you must pay attention every minute, but it is fun to watch. The chariot race is very well done, with overhead shots and a camara mounted on an axel. There is a bad pile up near the end of the race that may or may not have been in the script. Chariot racing is very dangerous and in those days, there was not much concern for animal welfare on movie sets. The costumes are really dreadful. Ramon Novarro, (Ben Hur) looks like a ballet dancer in skimpy tunics that barely cover the essentials. His armour is chain mail and a pointy helmet (very popular about 11 centuries later) The Egyptian harlot who tries to tempt Ben Hur the night before the race wears a bizarre headress not found on any Egyptian wall painting or bas relief. Francis X Bushman (Masala) has a winged helmet that makes him look like the Mecury Messenger. But for all that, one set property is right on. There are a lot of cavalry scenes and the horses always have saddles with no stirrups. Novarro is obliged to vault onto his horse in dashing array, just as it was done 2000 years ago. This is one area where most movies about the ancient world fail - the saddles usually have stirrups, which is incorrect. They did not come into regular use until the 5th century or so, although why such a common sense idea took so long is another question. If you have access to Ben Hur I as part of the recently released Ben Hur four disk set, check it out before going to the feature attraction. This movie is good enough to stand on its own and shouldn't be considered a practice run for the 1959 version. Still, it is easy to see where William Wyler got some of his material.

Heard a lot about the movie "Ben Hur", but I have never seen it. Finally did, and words can't express properly the experience. The great chariot race, but as good as that was it pales in comparison to the growth and experiences of Ben Hur, the travels and adventures. Especially the ending. This is one of those must see movies. Heston earned that Academy award and then some. Might go ahead and buy the 4k