Ben-Hur (1959)

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: William Wyler
Starring Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet

Jerusalem at the start of the 1 st century, Judah Ben Hur (Heston) is a rich Jewish prince and trader who welcomes his old friend Messala when he arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. But tensions develop between them and Messala contrives to have Judah framed and condemned to life as a galley slave and to send his mother and sister to prison. Judah swears to seek his revenge.

Still legendary, this vast biblical epic remains the grandest of the widescreen Hollywood blockbusters of the 1950’s. Subtitled “A Tale of the Christ”, and opening with an overture playing against a shot of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, the flamboyant nature off the film’s ambitions are asserted right from the start. An adaptation of a 1926 film of the same name, Wyler’s version was the most expensive movie ever made at the time.

The films scenes of chariot racing remain one of the iconic moments of all out Hollywood spectacle, taking up twenty minutes of the films near four hours, taking three months of filming on the largest single set ever made. Charlton Heston, took on the role of Judah Ben-Hur, the wronged and rebellious Jewish prince after others had turned it down. It made him a matinee idol. The gargantuan nature of the production carried it all the way to 11 Oscars .