Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Edition (DVD)

I wanted this wonderful movie for my collection. The price was great, and the video quality is very good.

I haven't seen Ben-Hur in ages, and one day I'm lying on the couch watching TV and it hits me: I want to see Ben-Hur. So, I went to Amazon.com and found this great box set. It comes with a lovely photo album of stills from the movie and casual shots of Charlton Heston with his family on the set. I really enjoyed seeing the human side of a great American film star in the classic mold. Combined with Heston's personal diary which he kept on the set of The Ten Commandments, you learn a lot about the man himself. I've seen comments disparaging the film as too long (one reviewer complains bitterly about having to listen to the ten-minute musical introduction), as being boring (another reviewer said three of four viewers fell asleep during the movie), and as being a ridiculously cornball Sunday School story (this reviewer also complained that Messala's friendship with Judah had homosexual overtones). It seems to me that these reviewers must be younger viewers who never lived the wonder of a great movie house showing this film. The ten-minute opening music gave latecomers a chance to find their seats and patrons a chance to get their popcorn, candy, and drinks at the snack bar without missing the first part of the movie. The intermission music gave patrons a chance to stretch their legs, take a bathroom break, and get a drink at the water fountain. This film is the product of a movie-going culture that the reviewers I've mentioned seem to know nothing about. I'm sad they missed it; it was a wonderful time to go to the movies. Unlike contemporary action films with nonstop car chases and fast cuts from scene to scene, this movie takes its time to develop character, to establish the old friendship before Messala's betrayal of Judah and his family, to show what Judah suffers and make us, the viewers, want revenge as badly as Judah does. Romantic interest is a must, even in modern film, so the relationship between Judah and Esther is simply part of the history of film right from the very beginning of the art form. And yes, the story is ultimately religious, depicting one family's conversion to Christianity and the miracles that Jesus promised to believers, in this case, healing Judah's mother and sister of leprosy (the New Testament reports Jesus curing lepers during his ministry) and healing Judah's heart of hate and revenge. It may seem strange to younger people in our present society, but people in 1959 took religion and the Bible much more seriously than they do today. There was nothing odd about going to see a movie that included biblical themes. From 1949 to 1965 Hollywood made The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Samson and Delilah, Quo Vadis, The Robe, The Big Fisherman, King of Kings, Barabbas, The Shoes of the Fisherman, The Gospel According to St. Matthew, and The Greatest Story Ever Told. People went to watch them, and some of them won Oscars for best picture: Quo Vadis, The Ten Commandments, The Robe, and Ben Hur, which won 11 that year, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Charlton Heston). As for the supposed "homosexual overtones," it saddens me to see how modern culture has tainted people's perceptions of this classic film and it's "good triumphs over evil" message. Frankly, in 1959, few, if any, children knew what homosexuality was, and polite society didn't talk about it or tolerate it much in their movies. What a contrast between generations!

I watched this movie from my Dad's VHS collection of old films in California. I was so impressed with it so that I decided to also own this movie in DVD format which I purchased from Amazon. My friends and I were just inspired by it that we decided to give it 5 stars. The actors Charlton Heston,Stephen Boyd,Jack Hawkins,Haya Harraret,etc,etc did wonderful performances in our opinion. The movie's beginning shows two childhood friends Messala the Roman and Judah Ben Hur the Hebrew who met each other again as adults. Messala this time became a Roman Tribune. A serious conflict between the two arose when Ben Hur refused Messala's offer to help him capture suspected Jewish conspirators against Rome. Ben Hur refused to be treacherous to his own people or be branded as a traitor. One day, a loose tile from the roof of the Hur house fell and accidentally hit a Roman official on the road below. Although innocent, Ben Hur together with his mother and his sister were arrested and imprisoned. BenHur was then sent to the Roman ships (galleys) as one of the enslaved oarsmen. On the way to Rome, the entire ship sank. Ben Hur managed to save the life of the Roman Ship Commander named Arrius until they were rescued by other Romans. Arrius then later adopted him as a son. This led to his becoming in charge of the horses in the stables and eventually to the magnificent breathtaking 4-horse chariot races in the Circus Maximus (wherever) with BenHur as one of the charioteers. It so happened that Messala the Tribune was also a charioteer and the two former childhood friends met again as enemies. Since this is a movie review, I will not go further to tell the end or the events leading to the movie's ending. One has to watch this movie from its beginning to its ending to fully appreciate its magnificence and beauty. BenHur's encounter with Jesus Christ earlier and then up to His crucifixion is unquestionably very inspiring. It is also fascinating to watch officials climbing certain steps to get to the top of the magninicent buildings (there were no elevators of today then) in order to give the signals that the race is about to begin. The blaring of multiple Roman trumpets to announce the appearance of the Roman emperor was very majestic. Then during this brutalizing race, there were chariot accidents with serious injuries (even being trampled). The appearance of the Roman "paramedics or ambulances (very ambulatory indeed) " to get the injured safely out of the tracks are thrilling to watch. One reviewer actually said that one of these Hollywood stuntmen sustained serious injuries during the filming. The filming it was said was made in Rome or somewhere in Italy (not Hollywood) and no "green screens" were used. At that time there were also no computer generated tricks that could be used. The closeups and the audio and the editing,etc,were just amazing as the risks taken to film the chariot race. Some reviewers are actual movie filming technology experts and some of their criticisms appear valid. The task of judging the movie for its PRECISE OPTIMAL TECHNOLOGY belongs to these professionals which certainly is not me or not most of us. However,the good quality of the video-audio of my DVD copy (not BluRay) as well as the MESSAGE that this movie brings are sufficient enough for us to give it 5 stars. We recommend young or old to watch this outstanding movie. We believe that however old the movie maybe, it will never be forgotten.

Ordered updated version of one we already had, picture quality much better

Just for clarification, I am writing a review of the 2 disk Bluray 50th Anniversary Edition only and not the box set. I just watched this film for the first time, and I must say... How did I not know about this great film? I am still a college student, so most of my friends prefer movies more in the "popcorn flick" style, but I have always been a fan of classics. This is probably one of the more understated classics, as I discovered it on a Bluray sale on Amazon and had never heard of it before. After a little research on ye olde Rotten Tomatoes and a few other reviews, I just went for it, and I am glad to now have this as part of my collection. STORY The story takes place in biblical times and covers Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who grew up with the childhood friend, Messalla, who went on to join the Roman empire, and you can probably already guess that there would be conflict there. It is sort of a classic tale of revenge and forgiveness, and that is probably all I want to reveal.. I hate spoilers. I will say that the movie advertises as being a Christian film, which it is in a way, but not really "in your face" about it. You do see Jesus, but it is filmed in a very classy manor and leaves some mystery behind who Jesus actually was, instead focusing on Ben-Hur, his family, and his arch-nemesis, Messalla. There are some amazing scenes in this film, including the infamous chariot race, and another one of my personal favorites, the battleship scenes. All that said, the film is quite long at over 4 hours, and I recommend watching it in two sittings, stopping at the intermission. Bluray The Bluray was done VERY well. You can tell that this is a complete restoration, and I read that they spent a LONG time restoring it cell by cell from the master film reel. It shows. The picture is amazing. There were a few hiccups throughout the film, likely where the master film had to be spliced, but it is nothing major. This is probably the only way to watch this film anymore, as I am sure any previous versions pale in comparison. Please note that the only extras included are an audio commentary and two trailers, as well as a separate music track. If you are looking for extras, you are going to want to splurge on the boxed version. Overall To sum up my review, this is a great film. It is a little long and a little drawn out at parts, but some of these scenes are just unspeakably good.

This was one of the great spectaculars of its time. It is long; 2 hours and 20 minutes, and like all silent movies, you must pay attention every minute, but it is fun to watch. The chariot race is very well done, with overhead shots and a camara mounted on an axel. There is a bad pile up near the end of the race that may or may not have been in the script. Chariot racing is very dangerous and in those days, there was not much concern for animal welfare on movie sets. The costumes are really dreadful. Ramon Novarro, (Ben Hur) looks like a ballet dancer in skimpy tunics that barely cover the essentials. His armour is chain mail and a pointy helmet (very popular about 11 centuries later) The Egyptian harlot who tries to tempt Ben Hur the night before the race wears a bizarre headress not found on any Egyptian wall painting or bas relief. Francis X Bushman (Masala) has a winged helmet that makes him look like the Mecury Messenger. But for all that, one set property is right on. There are a lot of cavalry scenes and the horses always have saddles with no stirrups. Novarro is obliged to vault onto his horse in dashing array, just as it was done 2000 years ago. This is one area where most movies about the ancient world fail - the saddles usually have stirrups, which is incorrect. They did not come into regular use until the 5th century or so, although why such a common sense idea took so long is another question. If you have access to Ben Hur I as part of the recently released Ben Hur four disk set, check it out before going to the feature attraction. This movie is good enough to stand on its own and shouldn't be considered a practice run for the 1959 version. Still, it is easy to see where William Wyler got some of his material.

Arrived on time and in excellent condition. I watched a great movie that I saw in the movie theater in the 50s.

First time I saw this film was on the big screen during it's 10th anniversary re-release in 1969 when I was 12. Couldn't take my eyes off it! It has everything a 12 year old kid wants in a film: action, adventure, visual splendor and even an emotional story that you can learn something from. We all know the story about two childhood friends, one Jew, the other a Roman, caught up in the turbulent times of Roman imperialism only to be split apart as adults due to their own ideology and becoming bitter enemies. The full title suggests A Tale of the Christ, which is not necesssarily true. The Christ figure serves more as metaphoric backdrop, referencing Jesus' teachings of brotherhood and it's impact on a common man, Juda Ben Hur. This is what seperates Ben Hur from most other Biblical epics. It carries a highly emotional human drama despite all the visual splendor. Lessons on humility and redemption are delivered with a sledgehammer. The film was a make-or-break gamble for MGM, who was on the verge of bankruptsy at the time due to the increasing popularity of television. No expense was spared by producer Sam Zimbalist bringing in two time Academy Award winning director William Wyler along with several writers like Gor Vidal and a $10 million dollar budget. With the odds against MGM, the film still ended up being one of the most successful films in history bringing in a record 11 Academy Awards, a record that was held for almost 40 years until Cameron's Titanic tied it. This DVD set does the film justice for many reasons. First and foremost is the restoration of the film itself. Great care was taken to bring more vibrancy to the picture quality. Previous prints had some color desaturation due to age and poor handling. The most noticable was during the famous chariot race where a tint of yellow was clearly visible on the right side of the screen. That and the usual grain and other artifacts have been eliminated bringing us the best picture this film has had since it's release. As for the sound, it's pretty much the same as the previous DVD release done in 2003, I really don't think there's much improvement that can be made given the technology at the time. But it still sounds great, especially during the crucifixation scene when the thunder really thunders giving your sub-woofer a real workout. The extras are plentiful highlighted by the inclusion of the original 1925 silent version which that in itself looks great in terms of production, storytelling and restoration of the film as well. Other extras include the previously released documentary narrated by Christopher Plummer (love his voice!) and a new documentary focusing on the impact the film made on contemporary filmmakers. We get interviews with Ridely Scott, who did the heavily Ben Hur influenced Gladiator, and good old George Lucas on the inspiration the film had on Star Wars. Funny thing is, when I first saw The Phantom Menace, I instantly knew Georgie boy modeled the pod race after Ben's chariot race! And I was right! Other extras include some screen tests by other actors (like Detective Frank Drebin auditioning for the role of Masala!), production stills and the like. All in all, this a great package to have of one of Hollywood's most legendary classic epics. If you love action, adventure, romance and raw emotional storytelling, this is it. Blu-ray update: Take this set and frisbee it! Ben Hur Blu-ray is here at last. After years of delays for the 50th anniversary the wait has been well worth it. Warner made the right decision to say to hell with release schedules and took their sweet time putting this release together. A meticulous frame by frame restoration of the original 70mm negative done at a 6k scan has resulted in the most perfect image you going to see of this classic epic. Colors are bright and sharp as a razor, you can count the hairs and beads of sweat on Heston's arms in the chariot race. While the sound is still a bit harsh due mostly to old technology, I've found it to be more warmer sounding than before with plenty of boom. Aside from the same extras you get on the DVD package, you also get a new HD documentary that focuses on Heston's experiences while filming Ben Hur complete with home movie footage behind the scenes. You also get a pictorial book and a reproduction of Heston's personal diary that's quite informative.

Elegantissima la confezione, grandissima la qualità del blu ray, un'oggetto cult...Compratelo!!! fantastico il copione personale di Heston, ricchissimi i contributi speciali.

Great looking film, if you are looking for the best version on blue ray.....this is it

When I first saw Ben-Hur on VHS, I remember being wowed by the spectacle. When it was released on DVD, I was still wowed, but also disappointed with the faded colour palate which made it seem like a lesser epic in comparison to Lawrence of Arabia and Bridge on the River Kwai. Well, it is faded no more! This blu-ray presentation is in a word spectacular. The colours are full and vivid and detail is ever-present. This movie looks so good on blu-ray my entire opinion of the film itself has been raised. I've seen some pretty great video quality from blu-ray restorations of classic films, but Ben-Hur may just be the best of them all.

1959年、昭和34年に、これほどの大作をつくる、アメリカの底力、国力を見せつけられる。Blu-rayは画質も良く、つい最近作られた作品に思えるほど。できれば、大画面、高画質のテレビで観たい。 衣装、セット、CGのない実写の戦車競争、まるで作り物感がない、当時をそのまま観ているような歴史映画の金字塔である。

Today the news told of the death of Charlton Heston. I have owned this set for some time and have waited for the right opportunity to watch the main feature - today seemed to be that day. In tribute I watched the 1959 version of Ben-Hur that is on this DVD set. The 1959 version we all know is spread over two discs, and is presented in a 2.76 aspect ratio which is very wide. Visually it is mostly excellent, with great clarity and vibrancy lending an intimacy and opulence (or oppression) to scenes that compels the viewer. Colour, light and shadow are used to great effect and most scenes have a detail and depth to them that is rare, especially so for a film nearly 50 years old. As I understand it from the extras disc, the camera system used was brand new at the time, utilising a 65mm film that was about four times the size of conventional film. Alas there are some flaws, although they can be forgiven when so much is so good. The most glaring flaw is I believe a product of the DVD encoding process, where solid reds such as the Roman cloaks are jaggedly framed against high contrast backgrounds and the body of red colour is rendered unsightly. This is evident mostly in medium and close shots and at times it is so artificial looking that the cloaks appear as if they are CGI additions. Fortunately the film is so detailed and intricate it is no burden to look elsewhere to avoid occasional visual offence. I've seen this in other discs also (the bar scene in Glengarry Glen Ross with the solid red background comes to mind). That or my DVD player is showing its age. The audio is in Dolby 5.1 and is excellent throughout. The surround channels even get a bit of a workout in some scenes, adding further to the film. The 1925 version is included on it's own disc. I watched this a few weeks ago and found it a reasonably compelling film. The story is the same, but details differ. This is apparent in the slightly different trajectory of the characters' developments, which seems to take the momentum out of some scenes. I was surprised to see the sea battle and the chariot race in there, and I was even more surprised at how good they were. Particular mention goes to the use of primitive monochrome colours used in some scenes. The sound accompaniment was a little overwhelming for me, as it never lets up. I prefer the 1959 version in every way, but it still stands up as a good film and a great extra in this set. The remaining disc is full of extras, which will probably tell you everything you might ever want to know about the two films. I found the screen tests most interesting. I must mention that there is a commentary for the 1959 version by Charlton Heston and T. G. Hatcher (film historian) that I look forward to listening to in the future. If I've learnt anything from Charlton Heston, it is to never break a stare and never blink, just let the look convey the scene. He does that a lot as Ben-Hur. Charlton Heston is gone now, but we can hold the stare and let the eyes glaze. That is enough to convey the loss. This is most definitely one of the greatest films made and this DVD set is superb. Aside from a few forgivable flaws the film as presented here is excellent and most highly recommended.