Sunday, April 08, 2007

Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur
1959

Staring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd
Director: William Wyler

Charlton Heston plays the title role of Judah Ben-Hur in this wonderful remake of the 1925 version (and to a lesser extent 1907 version) of the film.

Ben-Hur’s old friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) has returned back to Jerusalem. They’re happy to see each other, and all goes well until an unfortunate occurrence which ticks off the governor. The fall guy ends up being Ben-Hur’s household, and his mother and sister are thrown in prison and Ben-Hur is sent off to the galleys. He swears revenge on his former friend.

A wonderful segment which takes place in the sea comes next. I’d love to continue the plot summary but this film is almost too great to just write about.

Almost every single aspect of this film is perfect, and the Oscars it won are quite deserved. I’d write more, but come on, it’s Ben-Hur. If you’re a movie buff and you haven’t seen the film, what’s wrong with you?

Verdict: *****/*****

2 comments:

Matt Ramone said...

Yeah, it's rad, but where's your in-depth examination of Grindhouse?

Chris said...

Just a few hours behind your comment.