Ben-Hur (1959)

Regisseur:

William Wyler

Drehbuchautoren:

Lew Wallace (novel)
Karl Tunberg (screenplay)

Premierendatum:

10. Dezember 1959 (Argentina)

Genre:

Action | Abenteuer | Drama | Romanze

Werbezeile:

A Tale of the Christ

Plot:

When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.

Plot Keywords:

Rescue From Drowning | Mother Daughter Relationship | Brother Sister Relationship | Governor | Anti Semitism

Filmpreise:

Won 11 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 5 nominations

Nutzerkommentare:

Deserved All The Honors

Besetzung

Charlton Heston	...	Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins	...	Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet	...	Esther
Stephen Boyd	...	Messala
Hugh Griffith	...	Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott	...	Miriam
Cathy O'Donnell	...	Tirzah
Sam Jaffe	...	Simonides
Finlay Currie	...	Balthasar
Frank Thring	...	Pontius Pilate
Terence Longdon	...	Drusus
George Relph	...	Tiberius Caesar
André Morell	...	Sextus

Alternativ:

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (USA) (alternative title)
Ben Hur (Bundesrepublik Deutschland) [de]

Länge:

212 Min | Sweden:219 Min (1970) | Sweden:224 Min (1962) | UK:222 Min (1993 re-release) | 214 Min (DVD edition)

Produktionsland:

USA

Sprache:

Englisch

Farbe:

Farbe (Technicolor)

Seitenverhältnis:

2.76 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Dolby (1993 re-release) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Altersfreigabe:

USA:Approved (certificate #19158) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Canada:G (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Quebec) | China:(Banned) | Brazil:12 | South Korea:All | Canada:G (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Australia:PG (alternate rating) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Netherlands:AL | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1959) | Peru:PT | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1988) | USA:G (re-rating) (1969) | West Germany:16 | Iceland:12

Drehorte:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Firma:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Dies und das:

Director William Wyler took on the project because he wanted to do a Cecil B. DeMille type picture.

Pannen:

Abfolgefehler: Ben-Hur presents ring to be returned to Rome. Pontius Pilate moves so that he is always facing the camera as the angle reverses.

Dialogzitate:

[first lines]
Balthasar: [narrating] In the Year of our Lord, Judea - for nearly a century - had lain under the mastery of Rome. In the seventh year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, an imperial decree ordered every Judean each to return to his place of birth to be counted and taxed. The converging ways of many of them led to the gates of their capital city...

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in Red Dwarf: The Tank - Series VIII (2006) (V)

Deserved All The Honors

Wow, what can you say about a film that won 11 Academy Awards back in the days where the best films actually were honored, not the garbage they salute today.

In other words, this film lives up to its reputation and has to be ranked as one of the most memorable movies of all time. Nobody who ever saw this film ever forgot the chariot race, for instance, perhaps the greatest action scene filmed without special effects.

This can be a very sad film as well. I doubt if I've ever watched this without a few tears in my eyes at certain points. The scenes with hero's mother and sister suffering with leprosy are still some of the most heart-wrenching scenes I've ever witnessed on film. They can just tear you apart.

The combination of drama, action and romance, along with very involving storyline is aided by an incredible soundtrack, once again one of the best ever put on film. The more one hears this music, the more was is moved by it.

To fully appreciate the cinematography in this film I recommend you purchase the recently-released 4-disc DVD special edition which also includes the first rendition of this story, the silent movie "Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ." That was name of the book, by the way, the second part of the title being left off the 1959 movie as Hollywood slowly began deemphasizing Christianity in films. However, there is a reverence for Jesus Christ in this film, which should be there since it's a key element of the storyline, even though most folks forget that.

In summary, this is about as good an example as ever found of what is labeled an "epic" movie. It's an incredible story transferred memorably on screen.