Ben-Hur [Fiftieth Anniversary] [4 Discs] [Blu-ray/DVD]

Director: William Wyler, Sam Zimbalist

Overview

This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel, which had already seen screen versions in 1907 and 1926, went on to win 11 Academy Awards. Adapted by Karl Tunberg and a raft of uncredited writers including Gore Vidal and Maxwell Anderson, the film once more recounts the tale of Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who lives in Judea with his family during the time that Jesus Christ was becoming known for his "radical" teachings. Ben-Hur's childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) is now an ambitious Roman tribune; when Ben-Hur refuses to help Messala round up local dissidents on behalf of the emperor, Messala pounces on the first opportunity to exact revenge on his onetime friend. Tried on a trumped-up charge of attempting to kill the provincial governor (whose head was accidentally hit by a falling tile), Ben-Hur is condemned to the Roman galleys, while his mother (Martha Scott) and sister (Cathy O'Donnell) are imprisoned. But during a sea battle, Ben-Hur saves the life of commander Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who, in gratitude, adopts Ben-Hur as his son and gives him full control over his stable of racing horses. Ben-Hur never gives up trying to find his family or exact revenge on Messala. At crucial junctures in his life, he also crosses the path of Jesus, and each time he benefits from it. The highlight of the film's 212 minutes is its now-legendary chariot race, staged largely by stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Ben-Hur's Oscar haul included Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for Heston, and Best Supporting Actor for Welsh actor Hugh Griffith as an Arab sheik.

Product Details

Release Date:	02/07/2012
UPC:	0883929209453
Original Release:	1959
Rating:	G
Source:	Warner Home Video
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	3:42:00
Sales rank:	32,222

Special Features

Commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher with Charlton Heston; Music-only track showcasing Mikl?s R?zsa's award-winning score; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Charlton Heston	Judas Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins	Quintus Arrius
Stephen Boyd	Messala
Haya Harareet	Esther
Martha Scott	Miriam
Sam Jaffe	Actor
Cathy O'Donnell	Actor
Finlay Currie	Actor
Frank Thring	Actor
George Relph	Actor
Marina Berti	Actor
Hugh Griffith	Actor
Terence Longdon	Actor
Adi Berber	Actor,Malluch
Claude Heater	Actor
Jose Greci	Actor
Richard Hale	Actor
Dino Fazio	Actor
Stella Vitelleschi	Actor
Laurence Payne	Actor
John Horsley	Actor
Richard Coleman	Actor
Duncan Lamont	Actor
Ralph Truman	Actor
Reginald Lal Singh	Actor
David Davies	Actor
Dervis Ward	Actor
Mino Doro	Actor
Robert Brown	Actor,Actor
John Glenn	Actor
Maxwell Shaw	Actor
Emilio Carrer	Actor,Rower No. 28
Tutte Lemkow	Actor
Howard Lang	Actor,Actor
Ferdy Mayne	Actor,Captain of Rescue Ship
John Le Mesurier	Actor
Aldo Mozele	Actor
Thomas O'Leary	Actor
Noel Sheldon	Actor
Hector Ross	Actor
Al Silvani	Man in Nazareth
Bill Kuehl	Actor
Aldo Silvani	Actor
Diego Pozzetto	Actor
Michael Cosmo	Actor
Aldo Pial	Actor
Remington Olmstead	Actor
Victor De La Fosse	Actor
Enzo Fiermonte	Actor
Hugh Billingsley	Actor
Tiberio Mitri	Actor
Pietro Tordi	Actor
Otello Capanna	Actor
Luigi Marra	Actor
Cliff Lyons	Actor
Edward J. Auregul	Actor
Joe Yrigoyen	Actor
Alfredo Danesi	Actor
Raimondo Van Riel	Actor
Michael Dugan	Actor
Andr? Morell	Sextus
Joe Canutt	Actor
Les Ballets Africains	Dancers at Roman Banquet
Karl Tunberg	Actor
Carmen Hohenlohe	Guest at Banquet
John Zaccaro	Actor
Franco Fantasia	Roman Soldier Who Brings Crown to Gratus
Fortunato Arena	Soldier
Bruno Arie	Roman Officer
Emma Baron	Jewish Woman
Lando Buzzanca	Jewish Slave in the Desert
Antonio Corevi	Senator
Liana del Balzo	Guest at Banquet
Giuliano Gemma	Roman Officer with Messala
Mikl?s R?zsa	Composer

Technical Credits

Karl Tunberg

Lew Wallace

Maxwell Anderson

S.N. Behrman

Christopher Fry

Gore Vidal

Karl Tunberg	Screenwriter
Joseph Vogel	Executive Producer,Producer
Sam Zimbalist	Producer
A. Arnold Gillespie	Special Effects
Robert MacDonald	Special Effects
Milo Lory	Sound Effects
Umberto Dessena	Special Effects
Bill Babcock	Stunts
Sash Fisher	Sound Effects
Lew Wallace	Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Sol C. Siegel	Executive Producer,Producer
Franklin Milton	Sound Effects
William Steinkamp	Sound Effects
Van Allen James	Sound Effects
Maxwell Anderson	Screenwriter
S.N. Behrman	Screenwriter
Christopher Fry	Screenwriter
Gore Vidal	Screenwriter
J.J. Cohn	Producer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Ben-Hur - Part 1
1. Overture [6:32]
2. Nativity Prologue [5:04]
3. Credits [2:08]
4. March Throug Nazareth [2:15]
5. Messala in Command [1:58]
6. Fighting an Idea [3:36]
7. Still Close in Every Way [3:40]
8. A Toast [3:26]
9. Gifts Exchanged [2:36]
10. Judah's Choice [5:14]
11. Esther's Request [4:01]
12. Ring for a Kiss [4:35]
13. March Into Jerusalem [2:49]
14. The Accident [3:41]
15. Jailbreak Attempt [2:45]
16. Making an Example [3:36]
17. Bondage [3:01]
18. Water From a Stranger [4:33]
19. Quintus Arrius [3:34]
20. Ramming Speed [1:00]
21. Strange Stubborn Faith [3:50]
22. Sea Battle Begins [3:16]
23. Galley Rescues [3:59]
24. Saving Arrius [2:50]
25. Victory [2:04]
26. Divine Emperor [4:24]
27. Son of Arrius [3:41]
28. Thinking of Judea [4:08]
29. Balthazar and Ilderim [2:47]
30. Arabians Night [4:20]
31. Many Paths to God [4:41]
32. Homecoming [3:39]
33. Survivors Reunited [4:06]
34. "We Stood Here Before" [4:20]
35. Confronting Messala [3:41]
36. Finding Miriam and Tirzah [3:52]
37. Vow in the Darkness [2:43]
38. "Forget Messala" [6:04]
39. Intermission [2:26]
Disc #2 -- Ben-Hur - Part 2
40. Entr'acte [3:52]
41. A Wager [4:43]
42. Chariot Practice [2:12]
43. "This Is the Day" [4:17]
44. Chariot Procession [3:30]
45. Entrants [2:03]
46. Early Eliminations [4:29]
47. Neck and Neck [3:50]
48. Fallen Driver [1:37]
49. Judah Triumphant [2:01]
50. The Race Goes on [5:31]
51. Valley of the Lepers [2:15]
52. "Is Judah Well?" [4:29]
53. Thirsty Still [3:41]
54. "I Am Judah Ben-Hur" [3:54]
55. Becoming Messala [:50]
56. Recovering Miriam and Tirzah [3:20]
57. Young Rabbi Sentenced [5:26]
58. Offer of Water [3:12]
59. The Crucifixion [4:14]
60. Cleansing Rain [3:04]
61. "Hallelujah!" [4:45]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Ben-Hur - Part 1
Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
Commentary by T. Gene Hatcher With Charlton Heston
Music-Only Track
Languages
Spoken Languages: English
Spoken Languages: Français
Subtitles: English (for the Hearing Impaired)
Subtitles: Français
Subtitles: Español
Subtitles: Off
Disc #2 -- Ben-Hur - Part 2
Play Movie
Scene Selections
Special Features
Commentary by T. Gene Hatcher With Charlton Heston
Music-Only Track
Languages
Spoken Languages: English
Spoken Languages: Français
Subtitles: English (for the Hearing Impaired)
Subtitles: Français
Subtitles: Español
Subtitles: Off

Editorial Reviews

William Wyler's Ben-Hur is the quintessential Hollywood biblical epic: a huge story, given a suitably exalted treatment, splashed across a broad canvas, and centered on a pair of well-drawn central characters. It's easy to forget that the film was the culmination of a cycle of religious epics that dated back slightly more than a decade, and closed out the genre as a viable Hollywood phenomenon. Since Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah in 1949, the public had shown a willingness to spend money on screen stories adapted from (or inspired by) the Old or New Testaments; the advent of the Cold War and the threat of thermo-nuclear annihilation likely made filmgoers start thinking about God, heaven, and the hereafter more than usual. Apart from MGM's trouble-plagued Quo Vadis? and 20th Century Fox's The Robe and its sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators, however, few of the resulting movies did more than modest business at the box office, and none received any serious critical respectability. Ben-Hur proved to be an exception: Wyler's direction is sure and carefully balanced, avoiding any hint of the campiness and awkward line delivery that broke the verisimilitude of many of the other films; Charlton Heston, though far from the first choice for the title role (Paul Newman and Rock Hudson both turned it down), brings a compelling intensity to his performance; and Jack Hawkins' work as father figure Quintus Arrius lent the film a dignity comparable to Finlay Currie's St. Peter and Leo Genn's Petronius in Quo Vadis? Coupled with Yakima Canutt's stunt direction, those virtues proved unbeatable. Ben-Hur was the most expensive movie in MGM's history (perhaps not coincidentally, the 1926 silent version of the story had also been the most expensive non-sound production in the studio's history), but it ended up playing for two years in venues all over the world. The film earned enough money to keep the studio solvent, allowing them to acquire other films of this kind for distribution, most notably Nicholas Ray's King of Kings. Ben-Hur was virtually the last film of its kind made in Hollywood, or by Hollywood -- costs were too high to do too many more, and it also seemed as though audiences had seen most of the religious stories that were worth their moviegoing dollars. With the exception of box-office disasters such as The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Bible, most subsequent examples of the genre would be produced in Europe.