Film Notes
     "William Wyler (Wuthering Heights) had directing duties on most of this 1959 version of the story by Lew Wallace, starring Charlton Heston as the Jewish friend of a Roman (Stephen Boyd), who inevitably become enemies during the time of Christ. Stodgy but engrossing, the film has never lost its initial value as an ambitious and entertaining historical epic. Heston looks at home against the broad canvas, which leads through days of slavery, loss, and triumph. Andrew Marton directed the climactic chariot-race scene, a triumph of kinetic action and great editing." (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)
     "Until Titanic sailed in the late 1990s, the only other movie to garner as many Academy Awards was Ben-Hur. One could argue, however, that it was a political win, as Hollywood filmmakers were simply gleeful that a movie, any movie, was bringing people back into the theaters. Though it arrives in an unusually handsome package, complete with a behind-the-scenes documentary, it is arguable if Ben-Hur deserved a deluxe, 35th-anniversary edition. This winner of 11 Academy Awards was filmed in Panavision, so extra-wide top and bottom bands were needed to preserve the ratio when letterboxed for video. The result is an annoying little strip of film that reduces this lavish production to a wee puppet show. The story is based on Lew Wallace's Tale of the Christ and is best remembered for its magnificent chariot race. A wooden Charlton Heston plays a wealthy Jew who is made into a slave after angering a Roman governor, his boyhood friend. Years later, Heston returns home, seeking vengeance. The religious aspect of the film is tastefully done, and this looks like the $15 million production it was, which was quite a chunk in 1959. However, at 212 minutes it is too long, and the script, which did not win an Oscar, is corny." (Rochelle O'Gorman, Amazon.com)