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This was the Best Picture winner in 1959. It was the 3rd Best Picture winner we've seen with Charlton Heston in the lead role.
This movie was very good. It was full of action, educational about history, featured the life and death of Christ, and dug into the dynamics of human relationships.
It is a fictional story based in a historical setting about a Jewish man in Jerusalem, Judah Ben-Hur, during the time when Romans were occupying Israel. His boyhood friend, Messala, had become a Roman official, and came back to Israel to rule. Their old friendship quickly dies when Messala asks him to out some Jewish revolotionaries, and Ben-Hur refuses. Then Messala, taken over by the evil of Rome, sends Ben-Hur to work in the galleys, and imprisions his mother and sister.
On the way to the galleys, Ben-Hur is about to die of thirst, and is given a drink of water by Jesus. (You never see Jesus' face in the movie) This made an impact on me, as Jesus was only in one place at one time. And he was out serving needy people. Jesus inspires me to give people "drinks of water" where I am in life.
Ben-Hur eventually makes a miraculous come back, and is no longer a prisoner, and he beats Messala in a chariot race, where Messala dies, and as he is dying tells Ben-Hur that his mother and sister are now lepers. (Ben-Hur thought they were dead)
At this point, Christ is gaining followers, but Ben-Hur still lives in anger about what happened to his family, and refuses to go listen to Jesus. At the end, when Jesus is crucified, Ben-Hur's mother and sister are miraculously healed. And Ben-Hur decides to lay down his sword and live as a peace maker (before he finds out his family is healed). Christ in his death, disarmed him.
This was an epic movie, and one of the best of all time.
This was an epic movie, and one of the best of all time.
how long is it?
ReplyDeleteIt is about 3.5 hours. We didn't watch it all at once.
ReplyDeleteI was also struck by the scene where Jesus gives Ben-Hur water. It was such a beautiful scene.
~Courtney
I loved this movie.
ReplyDeleteI found your review, but had to stop reading to avoid the spoilers. ;-) I hope that I'm able to make it through the book. I'm not very good at finishing long books.
ReplyDeleteI read about the author Lew Wallace. He had a very active life in early US politics before and after the Civil War. He was governor of New Mexico and ambassador to Turkey.
I read the first two chapters and it seems a fitting Christmas story because it opens with three wise men and camels. I like camels.