William Wyler's Ben-Hur was an epic of monumental proportions. The film won 11 Academy Awards, a record for the most ever that it still holds to this day along with Titanic and The Return of the King. Everything about this production is huge. Clocking in at close to four hours in length it features thousands of extras, three hundred different sets, and over a million props. It was such a daunting film to make that the director initially declined the job. Made in 1959 the film still seems large today, which is definitely a compliment to someone. The question though is, is it still the great epic that at the time everyone thought it was.
Certain films feel timeless. It's the greatest thing that can be said about a film really. If it stands the test of time and if its dramatic or comedic power can still seem fresh through the ages. Ben-Hur sadly does not pass that test. It has the feeling of a 1950's melodrama with men in sandals and swords. The first almost three hours though had me decently engaged and that amazing chariot race that everyone remembers, for good reason, still holds up today. I just felt that the picture was more or less over by that point.
I wasn't aware of Ben-Hur's religious agenda going inn and so when the film's third act sends home its christian message to us I was no longer involved in the story. Religious friends of mine swear by this film, I wonder why. I've got nothing against a religious based story, I just felt that after that amazing race sequence everything left over felt sort of anti-climatic. It all seemed like it belonged in a different movie. Sorry Jesus.
C-
1959
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