Think of Ben Hur, and what comes to your mind first? Obviously the legendary 15 minute chariot race scene? Or on a closer level, the sea battle scene? Or the crucifixion of Christ? Well obviously Ben Hur is all these, but on a higher level its even more. Ben Hur is a classic, because its one of the rare species in Hollywood, a costume drama, with drama.
Too often many costume dramas or period epics in Hollywood, tend to focus on the spectacle and the grandeur, that they lose track of the real story, the characters, the conflict and the irony, that after some time one feels they are watching a History Channel documentary, rather than a movie. Its to the credit of director William Wyler, that he strikes a fine balance between the epic sweep of the movie and the human drama and this is what makes Ben Hur one of my favorite movies.
Judah Ben Hur( Charlton Heston) is a Jewish noble, who stays with his mother and sister. His childhood friend Messala( Stephen Boyd) is the local Roman tribune of Judea. Messala urges Ben Hur to accept the superiority of the Roman Empire, but Ben Hur believes in his God and refuses to turn his back on his people. This is where the first conflict comes about, with both men equally stubborn, Messala believes that Rome is all powerful and no force on earth can conquer it, while Ben Hur strongly believes, that the day is not far off when Rome will fall and ? there would be a shout of freedom such as the world has never heard before.?
This is where Messala offers him the ultimatum to help him in eliminating the rebellion or go against him. Sounds a lot like Bush?s ?If you are not with us, you are against us? speech. Messala and Ben Hur break off their friendship as Ben Hur refuses to turn against his people.( Again consider the fact, France helped US to achieve independence against Britiain, but today US and Britian are allies, while France and US have become bitter rivals). To get back at Ben Hur, Messala arrests Ben Hur and his family on trumped up charges of attempting to assassinate the new Roman Governor Gratus ,in spite of Ben Hur?s repeated pleas of innocence( Bush, Iraq and WMD, sounds very familiar).
Ben Hur is sentenced to the galley and is lead away in the scorching heat along with other slaves. On board the ship, he meets the Roman officer Quintus Arrius(Jack Hawkins), where he is now slave No 41:
? Your eyes are full of hate 41, that?s good. Hate keeps a man alive?.
And in a spectacular battle scene later, he saves Quintus Arrius fleet from pirates and also his life. In gratitude Quintus Arrius, adopts him as his foster son and liberates him from bondage. Ben Hur learns the art of chariot racing, and he is approached by an Arab horse trader, who sees him as the only person capable of taking on Messala.
?Judah Ben-Hur, my people are praying for a man who can drive their team to victory over Messala. You could be that man! You could be the one to stamp this Roman's arrogance into the sand of that arena. You've seen my horses. They need only a driver who is worthy of them. One who would rule them with love and not the whip. For such a man, they would have raced the wind?.
Ben Hur though initially reluctant, on the advice of Baltazar, agrees to the offer and returns to Judae, to confront Messala and also meet his love Esther. Judah meets Messala vowing vengenance against him.
Messala : What magic brings you here Judah?
Ben Hur: You are the magician Messala.
But Ben Hur, still gives Messala a chance ,asking him to find his mother and sister, and everything would be forgiven. Messala finds out that they are lepers, and casts them out into the valley of lepers. Esther though knowing the truth, lies to Ben Hur, that his mother and sister have died in prison. Ben Hur is distraught and his hatred against Messala grows more now. And of course this leads to the famous chariot race, where Messala loses and dies of injuries. But before he dies, he reveals the horrific truth to Ben Hur that his mother and sister are not dead, but in the Valley of Lepers. The rest of the movie is about how Ben Hur gets back his mother and sister and reunites with them.
Great Scenes
Apart from the chariot race and sea battle scene, there are some other outstanding sequences also.
The scene between Ben Hur and Messala, where Ben Hur refuses to betray his people.
The scene on the ship, where Quintus Arrius tries out different speeds and some of the slaves die of exhaustion.
The scenes between Ben Hur and Esther.
The scene where Ben Hur begs Messala to release his mother and sister.
The scene where Ben Hur comes back to confront Messala.
The scene where Ben Hur watches his mother and sister as lepers and breaks down.
Every scene in this movie, has a relation some where or other. Consider this Jesus offers water to Ben Hur in the desert and when Jesus himself is being led away to crucuifixion, Ben Hur offers him the water. Ben Hur also has an underlying political message about the dominance of one power in the world, Rome. Friendship, betrayal, vengeance, love, God every aspect is dealt with superbly in the movie and makes it an all time great classic.
On the downside, the movie does meander a lot after the chariot race scene and loses some of the impact. I have seen this movie umpteen times, but somehow the later sequences have not been that strong.
Of the cast Charlton Heston is superb as Ben Hur, bringing out all the torment, pain, anguish, hate and vengeance superbly. But I think the best performances in the movie are that of Stephen Boyd as the villainous Messala and Hugh Griffith as the Arab Sheik Ilderim. Haya Harareet looks winsome as Esther and Jack Hawkins puts in a solid performance as Quintus Arrius.
Technical values are outstanding considering this movie was made way back in the 50?s. The background score is haunting and moving. The cinematography is epic in it?s sweep and touches heights in the chariot race sequence. In fact a separate article could be written about the chariot race.
Ben Hur received 11 Oscars and it deserved every one of them. William Wyler prevents a classic book from degenerating into a vulgar Biblical drama and comes up with an immortal movie that fuses the emotions, the drama, the characterization and the irony perfectly.
