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Summary: Remember Miklos Rozsa's Astonishing Score
Review: From the riveting Overture to the thunderous Anno Domino fanfare after the manger scene, to the joyous close, who can walk away from Ben Hur without paying tribute to Miklos Rozsa? This awesome film works on so many levels, complemented and supported in subtle and exurberant fashion by this obvious music genius. How many times can we thank him, for the score hits the heart dead on and compels us to watch and indeed live in the time of Ben Hur.A movie and a score that will live for as long as humanity breathes.
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Summary: Our Folk`s Gladiator.
Review: Just as we "Young Un`s" lined up to awe at Ridley Scott`s and Russell Crowe`s virtual epic tour of the Roman world in "Gladiator", it`s sometimes hard to imagine that our own parents (or even great-grandparents in that matter) lined up to awe at epic visions they shall always call their own. William Wyler`s and Charton Heston`s "Ben-Hur" delivered these visions and even more. This film, complete with physical struggle and emotional anguish, blended with eternal themes of personal retribution and divine redemption, proves that even a forty year old film can carry the same compelling messages and visions without the aid of digital reality. At times, I found this film to surpass "Gladiator" on many sides. I`ll be quite blunt about it, Stephen Boyd`s Massala was a more vicious opponent to Judah Ben-Hur than Joaquin Phoenix`s Commodus was to Maximus. Sure, Commodus showed no mercy as he swiftly swiped Maximus`s identity away from the Roman sphere of power after Maximus defied his claim to power, but Massala took a more deliberate act of personal retribution to vanquish his blood brother`s standing in Judea, illustating Massala`s stern allegiance to the Roman Way. Yes, the acting is a bit theatric at times and there is a very overt religious message attached, but if you watch "Ben-Hur" closely you will understand how well constructed these parallels are. As far as the Chariot spectacle goes, sorry Ridley, but this scene shall always be film`s greatest tribute to Rome`s ancient glory. The organic vitality of this scene is simply unmatched in speed, fury, and urgency, and its surprising outcome will leave you shocked! Clearly, you will be at a loss if you don`t experienece "Ben-Hur", not only as a source of inspiration for our own epics, but also as a glimpse into the spectacles and values our older family members saw and learned from. The DVD is a complete evening of entertainment, really! Take time to notice the subleties of the color and sound. Later, relish the outstanding documentary film about this production. If you watch and listen very closely, you might notice that they never needed a computer to accomplish some very convincing illusions of size ans splendor, but that`s just movie magic for you, it inspires generation after generation, as this film always will. Watch "Ben-Hur", enjoy it with your family. And hey, do watch it side to side with "Gladiator" and notice their similarities, their differences and their wonder. But most of all, learn from it, and treasure it forever!
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Summary: Ben Hur
Review: This film is one of the greats. It is very disappointing that the disk must be flipped over, which takes time and is distracting.
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Summary: Finally on DVD!
Review: Epic lovers have waited far too long for this all-time award winning movie to come out on DVD. The widescreen format, sound, and color are excellent. The extras are fun and informative. I was surprised at the flimsy packaging, lack of any booklet material, and the extra small lettering indicating the side of the disc (a or b). Other than that, Ben Hur has held up well to be over forty years old. The no special effects chariot race may never be surpassed. The movie provides great acting by all.
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Summary: Ben-Hur EPIC DVD, 11 Oscars including Best Movie 1959 !!!
Review: Only a handful of motion pictures compare or even come close to this EPIC of EPIC's. (Voted as one of the greatest 100 movies of the last 100 years (1998) by the American Film Institute. Ben-Hur won 11 Oscar's in 1959 including the "Big 3", Picture, Director - William Wyler and Actor - Charleton Heston. This widescreen digitally restored picture & full sound (stereoized) DVD version is an absolute joy to watch & listen to. The cast was meticulously casted and proved to be the right combination to provide the drama for "General Lew Wallace's" epic story. In summary; This story parallels the "The Story of the Christ" Wallaces actual book title of this tale. The setting is a Roman conquered and imprisoned Judah. There is unrest & possible rebellion in the air. Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) a Jewish Prince and grown childhood friend Roman Centurian Messala (Stephen Boyd) clash with different adult views. Shortly after their falling out a serious accident occurs involving the new Roman Governor & the Hur family. Due to this accident Ben-Hur is arrested & sentenced to be Galley (slave) rower & his family is imprisoned to keep this possible rebellion from occuring. Hur promises he will return and seek Messala with a vengence. The movie is a long interesting journey (over 3 hours)of Hur and Christ. Their paths crossing at key times in each ones life. The Sea Battle and the most famous & spectacluar 11 minute chariot race highlights this greatest of tales. The DVD extras add to this package !! In closing a movie must for your library.
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Summary: A must have DVD
Review: Ben Hur is the greatest movie of all time in my opinion and what a joy it was to see this classic on DVD. The colors are bright, the picture is sharp and the sound is crisp and clear. The extra features on this DVD are also interesting. The "making of an epic" extra is long but may be of interest for those interested in the history of the Ben Hur story. However, the commentary by Charlton Heston is a very valuble extra. Ben Hur is formated on one DVD disk so the viwer needs to flip the disk over. However, this is not much of a problem because the change happens during the natural intermission of the movie. i give this DVD my highest rating. If you love Ben Hur buy this DVD. If you have not seen Ben Hur this is the format you should see. 5 stars!!
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Summary: Painful
Review: Who is the worse actor, Charlton Heston or Stephen Boyd? Who is the worse author, General Lew Wallace or Edward Bulwer-Lytton? The chariot race is great, but on the way to that race you have to face hours of suffocating piety, starting with the Star Over Bethlehem and all that. It's an absolutely uninteresting story and I definitely plan never to see this old melodrama again.
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Summary: Sandals & Robe Classic
Review: William Wyler's Ben-Hur is actually the third version of the film to appear. It was first done as a silent film, then remade in the 1920's and then tackled in this epic version. The film literally employed a cast of thousands and at the time of its release in 1959 was a technical marvel. Forty years later the film still stands up and the DVD version perfectly captures the grandeur of the film. The chariot race is one of the most famous scenes in movie history and despite all the technological advances has yet to be duplicated or surpassed. Charlton Heston won his only Oscar in the title role and he's at his bombastic, self-righteous and over-emoting best. Jack Hawkins is excellent as his one-time best friend turned rival and Hugh Griffith is delightful as the sheik who supplies Ben Hur with the horses for the chariot race. Mr. Griffith also won an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor and Mr. Wyler won his third Best Director award as the film went on to win an unprecedented 11 awards (including Best Picture). That was record that stood until 1997 when Titanic matched it. One complaint about an otherwise superb DVD release is that instead of putting the almost four hour film along with all the extra material onto two disks, they made one double-sided disk. The lettering distinguishing the two sides is extremely small and difficult to figure out and it is a nuisance to get up during the film to flip the disk over.
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Summary: Ben Hur on DVD - FINALLY!
Review: The picture is clear and sharp, the colors are vibrant and the sound is fine. I noticed very little enhancement of the 5.1 Dolby Sound upon casual viewing, but did not expect a great change on an original "stereophonic" soundtrack.Being an avid fan of Heston, I wish the commentary had been more interesting. Every other line out of his mouth seemed to be "...he was very good..." or "...she was very good..." It's also mildly annoying that you can't flip between the soundtrack and the commentary at will, and the marking points noting when to change chapters for more is very exact. So, if you don't skip chapters instantly, you miss a second of what he was saying and have to scan back.YES, you have to flip the disc halfway through...BIG DEAL. This is a HUGE improvement to the Ben Hur LASER DISC of which one had to change sides anywhere from 2 to 6 times depending on the format(CLV or CAV).ANY Heston fan will HAVE TO buy this DVD, regardless of any complaints or minor peeves. I've noticed Warner Brothers has been handling the DVD distribution of many MGM titles and I wish I knew why. MGM promised this DVD three years ago, so it sits in a place of honor on my shelf.
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Summary: Ben Hur
Review: Ben Hur is undoubtedly the greatest biblical epic ever made. It is obvious that MGM spared no expense in making this film. Every scene in this film exudes quality. When one thinks of Ben Hur they will inevitably recall the infamous chariot race. The chariot race is outstanding and undisputedly the best action sequence ever to grace a movie screen. I watched this scene three times since I bought this dvd. However, there is so much more to Ben Hur than the chariot race. Wthout giving away any specific scenes, this is a story of how God can influence one's life. This is the most important reason why I would highly recommend investing in this dvd.The picture quality of this dvd is excellent. The extras are very informative, especially Charlton Heston's commentary. The commentary on this dvd has a unique option. An icon appears on the screen when it is time to proceed to the next scene containing commentary. In other words, you do not have to sit through the entire film to enjoy the commentary. This is extremely beneficial, considering Ben Hur is 3 1/2 hours long.
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