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Writer's pictureThomas Duncan
Nov 205 min read

Ben-Hur (1959) ft. Peterson W. Hill and Kristin Battestella

Updated: Dec 2



Guests:


Cast:

  • William Wyler, Director

  • Karl Tunberg, Writer

  • Miklos Rozsa, Music

  • Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur

  • Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius

  • Haya Harareet as Esther

  • Stephen Boyd as Messala

  • Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim

  • Martha Scott as Miriam

  • Cathy O'Donnell as Tirzah

  • Sam Jaffe as Simonides

  • Finlay Currie as Balthasar

  • Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate

  • Terence Longdon as Drusus

  • George Relph as Tiberius Caesar

  • André Morell as Sextus


*Recognition:

  • Ben-Hur was released on November 18, 1959.

  • On a budget of roughly $15 million, the film would have resounding success to reach over $146 million in its initial release making it by far the highest grossing film of 1959 with more than double the next closest film that year.

  • The film would also make an additional $20 million in profits from the merchandising accompanying the film.

  • Critics were almost all positive with a few nitpicks, but Ben-Hur would go on to be nominated for 12 Oscars winning 11 for Best Picture, Director (Wyler), Actor (Heston), Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Art Direction - Color, Cinematography - Color, Costume Design - Color, Film Editing, Sound Recording, Score - Comedy or Musical, and Special Effects only losing for Adapted Screenplay.

  • In 1971, the film made its TV debut in a 5 hour special. It was one of the highest-rated movies ever screened on television at the time. (behind the broadcast premieres of The Birds and Bridge on the River Kwai).

  • For the AFI, Ben-Hur has appeared at #72 on the 100 Movies, #49 on the 100 Thrills, #21 on the Film Scores, #56 on the 100 Cheers and #2 on the AFI's 10 Top 10 Epic film lists.

  • The film was included by the Vatican in a list of important films compiled in 1995, under the category of "Religion".

  • It was listed as number 491 on Empire's 500 Greatest films of all time.

  • In 2004, the National Film Preservation Board selected Ben-Hur for preservation by the National Film Registry.

  • Ben-Hur currently holds an 87% among critics on RT, a 90 score on Metacritic, and a 4/5 on Letterboxd.


Plot Summary: In an ancient world, nobleman Judah Ben-Hur is betrayed by his friend Messala, a Roman officer, and is cast into slavery. Judah endures brutal hardships, fueled by a burning desire for vengeance. He rises through sheer will and becomes a skilled charioteer, aided by Sheik Ilderim and his magnificent horses.


In a climactic race, Judah defeats Messala, reclaiming his honor. Along his journey, he encounters the Nazarene, whose teachings of love and forgiveness transform Judah’s quest from one of retribution to spiritual awakening. Thus, Judah’s tale becomes a timeless legend of courage, redemption, and grace.


Did You Know:

  • The 300 sets built required five years of research and 14 months of labor. William Wyler kept up a 16-hours-a-day, six-days-a-week schedule for the nine months it took to shoot.

  • The chariot race required 15,000 extras on a set constructed on 18 acres of backlot at Cinecitta Studios outside Rome. Tour buses visited the set every hour. Eighteen chariots were built, with half being used for practice. The race took five weeks to film.

  • During the 18-day auction of MGM props, costumes and memorabilia that took place in May 1970 when new studio owner Kirk Kerkorian was liquidating the studio's assets, a Sacramento restaurateur paid $4,000 for a chariot used in the film. Three years later, during the energy crisis, he was arrested for driving the chariot on the highway.

  • The desert sequences were all set to be filmed in Libya until authorities in the country--a Muslim nation--realized that the film was promoting Christianity. The government ordered MGM out of the country, forcing the studio to shift filming to Spain, which has the only desert in Europe.

  • Kirk Douglas was offered the role of Messala but turned it down, because he didn't want to play a "second-rate baddie". Douglas wanted to play Judah Ben-Hur, whose Jewishness appealed to him, but he was too old and Charlton Heston had already been cast. The experience motivated Douglas to develop his own epic, Spartacus (1960), which was partially designed to compete against this film.

  • A talent was a measure of weight, and could have meant either silver or gold, as each metal was measured in talents. In 2022 dollars, the sum wagered by Messala against the sheikh at 4-to-1 odds on 1,000 talents would be the modern-day equivalent of approximately $82.0 million of silver, or $8.0 billion of gold.


Ask Dana Anything:

  • Peterson W. Hill - co-host of the War Starts at Midnight

    • Would you rather see Brad Pitt in Ben-Hur or Charleton Heston in Fight Club?


Best Performance: William Wyler (Director)

Best Secondary Performance: Charleton Heston (Judah)/Stephen Boyd (Messala)

Most Charismatic Award: Stephen Boyd (Messala)/Jack Hawkins (Arrius)/Jesus/Haya Harareet (Esther)/Rozsa Score

Best Scene:

  • Judah Sentenced

  • Battle at Sea

  • The Sheikh

  • The Chariot Race

  • Forgiveness

Favorite Scene: The Chariot Race/Leprosy

Most Indelible Moment: The Chariot Race


In Memorium:


Best Lines/Funniest Lines:

Sextus: You can break a man's skull, you can arrest him, you can throw him into a dungeon. But how do you control what's up here? How do you fight an idea?


Judah Ben-Hur: It was an accident!


Messala: By condemning without hesitation an old friend, I shall be feared.


Sheik Ilderim: One God, that I can understand; but one wife? That is not civilized. It is not generous!


Quintus Arrius: Your eyes are full of hate, forty-one. That's good. Hate keeps a man alive. It gives him strength.


Quintus Arrius: What is your name, forty-one?


Judah Ben-Hur: If you were not a bride, I would kiss you goodbye.

Esther: If I were not a bride, there would be no goodbyes to be said.


Judah Ben-Hur: If I cannot persuade them, that does not mean I will help you... *murder* them. Besides, you must understand this, Messala. I believe in the past of my people, *and* in their future.

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.


Messala: Sextus, you ask how to fight an idea. Well I'll tell you how... with another idea!


The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 8.63

Impact/Significance: 10

Novelty: 6.75

Classic-ness: 8.75

Rewatchability: 6.5

Audience Score: 8.75 (86% Google, 89% RT)

Total: 49.38


Remaining Questions:

  • How is Messala not instantly dead from being trampled?

  • How long was a lap on the track?

  • Why wasn't there more homoerotic scenes between Messala and Judah?

  • Would Hollywood adapt a mini-series of Ben-Hur soon?

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