IMDB: 8.2/10 (#163 on the IMDB top 250)
Rotten Tomatoes: 91%
Won 11 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 5 nominations
Watched Ben-Hur this afternoon and was very impressed. For some reason, I've never gotten around to watching it. I've seen some clips from the chariot scenes before but that's it. First of all, it's a long watch; at just under 3 and a half hours, you definitely need to have a good chunk of free time. However, it's well worth it.
Before the AFI updated it's list in 2007, Ben-Hur was actually #71. Even though it dropped 29 spots, I'm glad it still made the list.
The film is a classic tale of a friends betrayal and a fall from grace of a Jewish aristocrat. It is actually classified as a "biblical epic" which makes sense, however the religious side of the movie kind of takes a back seat. In fact, there are times when I found myself wondering if there was really any need for the biblical background at all. The story takes place during the life and death of Jesus and throughout the movie you are introduced to characters like Pontius Pilate. I did like this because these characters were involved in different story lines from what we're used to. When I finished watching, I realized that the religious plot was necessary to tie together the main plot, in terms of timeline, and character development.
When it came to the action sequences, this movie was so far ahead of its time. Being made at a time before cgi, they had to cast ridiculous amounts of extras to fill the city streets or the stands at the chariot race. I was really impressed that a movie made so long ago actually had some really great shots when it came to battle scenes and chariot races. The cinematography and camerawork were nothing short of amazing.
The acting was perfect, I couldn't have imagined casting any other actors from the main roles, even though I probably don't know too many actors from that time period. It's always really interesting to me to see someone like Charleton Heston in a way that I don't remember him.
Probably one of my favorite parts in this movie, right before this scene,
when they line up. Heston takes of his helmet while staring at
his enemy, everyone else is wearing a helmet but him.
Pretty bad-ass if you ask me.
I can't say where I think this movie should fall on the top 100 yet because it is the first I'm watching, but it was definitely a great start to the list. I would definitely recommend watching. The movie is long but the buildup is worth it. Even if you don't want to invest the time to watch. You have got to see the chariot scene, if you remember how much you liked watching the fight scenes in Gladiator, you will not be disappointed here.
