BEN-HUR (1959/DVD/WS/16X9 2.76:1/HESTON COMM/MAKING OF DOC) DVD

Ben-Hur
This 1959 version of Lew Wallace's best-selling novel, which had already seen screen versions in 1907 and 1926, went on to win 11 Academy Awards. Adapted by Karl Tunberg and a raft of uncredited writers including Gore Vidal and Maxwell Anderson, the film once more recounts the tale of Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who lives in Judea with his family during the time that Jesus Christ was becoming known for his "radical" teachings. Ben-Hur's childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) is now an ambitious Roman tribune; when Ben-Hur refuses to help Messala round up local dissidents on behalf of the emperor, Messala pounces on the first opportunity to exact revenge on his onetime friend. Tried on a trumped-up charge of attempting to kill the provincial governor (whose head was accidentally hit by a falling tile), Ben-Hur is condemned to the Roman galleys, while his mother (Martha Scott) and sister (Cathy O'Donnell) are imprisoned. But during a sea battle, Ben-Hur saves the life of commander Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who, in gratitude, adopts Ben-Hur as his son and gives him full control over his stable of racing horses. Ben-Hur never gives up trying to find his family or exact revenge on Messala. At crucial junctures in his life, he also crosses the path of Jesus, and each time he benefits from it. The highlight of the film's 212 minutes is its now-legendary chariot race, staged largely by stunt expert Yakima Canutt. Ben-Hur's Oscar haul included Best Picture, Best Director for the legendary William Wyler, Best Actor for Heston, and Best Supporting Actor for Welsh actor Hugh Griffith as an Arab sheik. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Charlton Heston as Judah Ben Hur Stephen Boyd as Messala Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius Haya Harareet as Esther Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim Sam Jaffe as Simonides Martha Scott as Miriam Cathy O'Donnell as Tirzah Finlay Currie as Balthasar Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate Terence Longdon as Drusus Andre Morell as Sextus Marina Berti as Flavia George Relph as Tiberius Adi Berber as Malluch Stella Vitelleschi as Amrah Jose Greci as Virgin Mary Laurence Payne as Joseph John Horsley as Spintho Richard Coleman as Metellus Duncan Lamont as Marius Ralph Truman as Aide to Tiberius Richard Hale as Gaspar David Davies as Quaestor Dervis Ward as Jailer Mino Doro as Gratus Robert Brown as Chief of Rowers Maxwell Shaw as Rower No. 43 Emilio Carrer as Rower No. 28 Tutte Lemkow as Leper Howard Lang as Hortator John Le Mesurier as Doctor Stevenson Lang as Blind Man Hector Ross as Officer Al Silvani as Man in Nazareth Enzo Fiermonte as Galley Officer Tiberio Mitri as Roman at Bath Pietro Tordi as Pilate's Servant Jerry Brown as The Corinthian Cliff Lyons as Lublon Joe Yrigoyen as Egyptian Joe Canutt as Sportsman

Crew William Horning - Art Director Elizabeth Haffenden - Costume Designer Andrew Marton - First Assistant Director William Wyler - Director Ralph Winters - Editor John D. Dunning - Editor Miklos Rozsa - Composer (Music Score) Edward C. Carfagno - Production Designer Robert Surtees - Cinematographer Sam Zimbalist - Producer Arnold A. Gillespie - Special Effects Robert MacDonald - Special Effects Karl Tunberg - Screenwriter Harold Michelson - Storyboard Milo Lory - Visual Effects Lew Wallace - Book Author

Ben-Hur
William Wyler's Ben-Hur is the quintessential Hollywood biblical epic: a huge story, given a suitably exalted treatment, splashed across a broad canvas, and centered on a pair of well-drawn central characters. It's easy to forget that the film was the culmination of a cycle of eligious epics that dated back slightly more than a decade, and closed out the genre as a viable Hollywood phenomenon. Since Cecil B. DeMille's Samson and Delilah in 1949, the public had shown a willingness to spend money on screen stories adapted from (or inspired by) the Old or New Testaments; the advent of the Cold War and the threat of thermo-nuclear annihilation likely made filmgoers start thinking about God, heaven, and the hereafter more than usual. Apart from MGM's trouble-plagued Quo Vadis? and 20th Century Fox's The Robe and its sequel, Demetrius and the Gladiators, however, few of the resulting movies did more than modest business at the box office, and none received any serious critical respectability. Ben-Hur proved to be an exception: Wyler's direction is sure and carefully balanced, avoiding any hint of the campiness and awkward line delivery that broke the verisimilitude of many of the other films; Charlton Heston, though far from the first choice for the title role (Paul Newman and Rock Hudson both turned it down), brings a compelling intensity to his performance; and Jack Hawkins' work as father figure Quintus Arrius lent the film a dignity comparable to Finlay Currie's St. Peter and Leo Genn's Petronius in Quo Vadis? Coupled with Yakima Canutt's stunt direction, those virtues proved unbeatable. Ben-Hur was the most expensive movie in MGM's history (perhaps not coincidentally, the 1926 silent version of the story had also been the most expensive non-sound production in the studio's history), but it ended up playing for two years in venues all over the world. The film earned enough money to keep the studio solvent, allowing them to acquire other films of this kind for distribution, most notably Nicholas Ray's King of Kings. Ben-Hur was virtually the last film of its kind made in Hollywood, or by Hollywood -- costs were too high to do too many more, and it also seemed as though audiences had seen most of the religious stories that were worth their moviegoing dollars. With the exception of box-office disasters such as The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Bible, most subsequent examples of the genre would be produced in Europe. ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide
 

Andrew Marton: National Board of Review, Special Citation (winner) Andrew Morton: Golden Globe, Special Achievement (winner) Arnold A. Gillespie: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Special Effects (nominated) Charlton Heston: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Actor (winner) Charlton Heston: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama (nominated) Edward C. Carfagno: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (winner) Elizabeth Haffenden: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Costume Design (nominated) Franklin E. Milton: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Sound (winner) Hugh Griffith: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Hugh Griffith: National Board of Review, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) Hugh Hunt: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (winner) John D. Dunning: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (winner) Karl Tunberg: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Adapted Screenplay (nominated) Miklos Rozsa: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Drama or Comedy Score (winner) Milo Lory: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Special Effects (nominated) Ralph Winters: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Editing (winner) Robert MacDonald: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Special Effects (nominated) Robert Surtees: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Cinematography (winner) Stephen Boyd: Golden Globe, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Pic (winner) William Horning: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Color Art Direction (winner) William Wyler: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Director (winner) William Wyler: Golden Globe, Best Director (winner) Yakima Canutt: National Board of Review, Special Citation (winner)

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Picture (winner) American Film Institute, 100 Greatest American Movies (winner) British Academy of Film and Television, Best Film - Any Source (winner) Golden Globe, Best Picture - Drama (winner) National Board of Review, Best Picture (nominated) New York Film Critics Circle, Best Picture (winner)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish, Por Sound Processing: DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel Additional Features: cc Soundtrack remastered in Dolby digital 5.1 feature-length audio commentary by Charlton Heston Behind-the-scenes documentary Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic screen tests Photo gallery Interactive menus Cast/Director career highlights Theatrical trailers Scene access Languages: English & Français Subtitles: English, Français, Español & Portuguese DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen MPAA Rating: G DVD Discs Included: 1 DVD Sides: 2 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 212 min   DVD Chapters: Side #1 -- Side A: Ben-Hur: Part One 1. Overture 2. Nativity Prologue 3. Credits 4. March Through Nazareth 5. Messala in Command 6. Fighting An Idea 7. Still Close in Every Way 8. A Toast 9. Gifts Exchanged 10. Judah's Choice 11. Esther's Request 12. A Ring for A Kiss 13. March into Jerusalem 14. The Accident 15. Jailbreak Attempt 16. Making an Example 17. Bondage 18. Water From A Stranger 19. Quintus Arrius 20. Ramming Speed 21. Strange, Stubborn Faith 22. Sea Battle Begins 23. Galley Rescues 24. Saving Arrius 25. Victory 26. The Divine Emperor 27. A Son of Arrius 28. Thinking of Judea 29. Balthazar and Ilderim 30. Arabians Night 31. Many Paths to God 32. Homecoming 33. Survivors Reunited 34. "We Stood Here Before" 35. Confronting Messala 36. Finding Miriam and Tirzah 37. Vow in the Darkness 38. "Forget Messala" 39. Intermission Side #2 -- Side B: Ben-Hur: Part Two 40. Entr'Acte 41. A Wager 42. Chariot Practice 43. "This Is the Day" 44. Chariot Procession 45. The Entrants 46. Early Eliminations 47. Neck and Neck 48. Fallen Driver 49. Judah Triumphant 50. The Race Goes On 51. Valley of the Lepers 52. "Is Judah Well?" 53. Thirsty Still 54. "I Am Judah Ben-Hur" 55. Becoming Messala 56. Recovering Miriam and Tirzah 57. The Young Rabbi Sentenced 58. An Offer of Water 59. The Crucifixion 60. Cleansing Rain 61. "Hallelujah!"