Ben-Hur (1959) | |
| Director(s) | William Wyler |
| Producer(s) | Sam Zimbalist, Sol C. Siegel (executive uncredited), Joseph Vogel (executive uncredited), William Wyler (uncredited) |
| Top Genres | Action, Adventure, Drama, Epic, Family, Film Adaptation |
| Top Topics | Ancient World, Book-Based, Religious, Remake, Romance (Drama) |
Featured Cast:
Ben-Hur Overview:
Ben-Hur (1959) was a Action - Adventure Film directed by William Wyler and produced by William Wyler, Sam Zimbalist, Sol C. Siegel and Joseph Vogel.
The film was based on the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ written by Lew Wallace published in 1880.
SYNOPSIS
One of the cinema's greatest epics because it's based on a compelling human story of revenge, bitterness, redemption, and forgiveness. Heston is magnificent as the Prince of Judea, Ben-Hur, who confronts the conquering Romans. His actions send him and his family into slavery - and an inspirational encounter with Jesus. The story moves from Judea to imperial Rome and back to Judea, where Heston finally meets his rival Messala in a justly famous chariot race and rescues his suffering family - after once again encountering Jesus, this time on his way to Golgotha. This was a production of unheard-of scale, exhibiting the work of literally tens of thousands of people. The 1880 novel by Lew Wallace had previously been made to great acclaim in 1927 with Ramon Navarro.
(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).
.Ben-Hur was inducted into the National Film Registry in 2004.
Academy Awards 1959 --- Ceremony Number 32 (source: AMPAS)
| Award | Recipient | Result |
| Best Actor | Charlton Heston | Won |
| Best Supporting Actor | Hugh Griffith | Won |
| Best Art Direction | Art Direction: William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno; Set Decoration: Hugh Hunt | Won |
| Best Cinematography | Robert L. Surtees | Won |
| Best Costume Design | Elizabeth Haffenden | Won |
| Best Director | William Wyler | Won |
| Best Film Editing | Ralph E. Winters, John D. Dunning | Won |
| Best Music - Scoring | Miklos Rozsa | Won |
| Best Picture | Sam Zimbalist, Producer | Won |
| Best Writing | Karl Tunberg | Nominated |
BlogHub Articles:
The Return Of The Epic? – Ben-Hur (2016)
By Michael on Aug 14, 2016 From Durnmoose Movie MusingsSo a “featurette” focusing largely on the chariot race has been released to promote the upcoming Ben-Hur movie. I’ll admit I’m looking forward to this, largely because I’m curious how Hollywood is going to handle this kind of epic historical film today. Of course, a bi... Read full article
1001 Classic Movies: Ben-Hur
By Amanda Garrett on Mar 7, 2016 From Old Hollywood FilmsBen-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, is one of the 1001 classic movies you should see. Each Monday, I'm going to recommend a classic movie you should see (for the reasons behind the 1001 series and reviews of earlier films covered go here). Throughout March, I'll be celebrating the 60th anniversary... Read full article
Ben-Hur (1959)
By Michael on Dec 13, 2013 From Le Mot du CinephiliaqueBen-Hur (William Wyler, 1959) Still holding the record for the most wins at the Academy Awards with 11, tied with Titanic and The Lord of the Rings : The Return of the King, Ben-Hur directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston as its title role, defines the genre of biblical epic film. ... Read full article
BEN-HUR (1925)
By Dan Day Jr. on Aug 9, 2013 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogBecause of all the movies that I've seen in my life, it's a very rare thing these days for me to watch a famous film for the very first time. But that's what happened last night when the Turner Classic Movies channel showed the 1925 version of BEN-HUR. The print TCM showed looked spectacular and fea... Read full article
BEN-HUR (1925)
By Dan Day Jr. on Aug 9, 2013 From The Hitless Wonder Movie BlogBecause of all the movies that I've seen in my life, it's a very rare thing these days for me to watch a famous film for the very first time. But that's what happened last night when the Turner Classic Movies channel showed the 1925 version of BEN-HUR. The print TCM showed looked spectacular and fea... Read full article
See all Ben-Hur articles
Quotes from
Messala: Future? You are a conquered people!
Judah Ben-Hur: You may conquer the land; you may slaughter the people. But that is not the end. We will rise again.
Quintus Arrius: Your eyes are full of hate, forty-one. That's good. Hate keeps a man alive. It gives him strength.
Quintus Arrius: In his eagerness to save you, your god has also saved the Roman fleet.
read more quotes from Ben-Hur...
Facts about
Such was the expense of the film, nervous studio executives flew out to Rome on a weekly basis to check on the progress of the production.
According to Gore Vidal, as recounted in The Celluloid Closet one of the script elements he was brought in to re-write was the relationship between Messala and Ben-Hur. Director William Wyler was concerned that two men who had been close friends as youths would not simply hate one another as a result of disagreeing over politics. Thus, Vidal devised a thinly veiled subtext suggesting the Messala and Ben-Hur had been lovers as teenagers, and their fighting was a result of Ben-Hur spurning Messala. Wyler was initially hesitant to implement the subtext, but agreed on the conditions that no direct reference ever be made to the characters' sexuality in the script, that Vidal personally discuss the idea with Stephen Boyd, and not mention the subtext to Charlton Heston who, Wyler feared, would panic at the idea. After Vidal admitted to adding the homosexual subtext in public, Heston denied the claim, going so far as to suggest Vidal had little input into the final script, and his lack of screen credit was a result of his being fired for trying to add gay innuendo. Vidal rebutted by citing passages from Heston's 1978 autobiography, where the actor admitted that Vidal had autread more facts about Ben-Hur...
