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Ben-Hur
Director: William Wyler
Ben-Hur is a film of redemption - both physical (through the healing of Ben-Hur's mother and sister) and spiritual (through Ben's own discovery of self-knowledge, love and mercy). Both these redemptions are achieved through Jesus, whose final crucifixion brings a rain of cleansing, and whose spiritual presence dominates the whole film. This is a movie with such an epic scope that understand and digesting the material can be difficult. But on the whole, Ben-Hur gives us something relatable- a character, Ben-Hur, who is really us. Putting this modern character in ancient times makes his struggles, failures, and victories all the more notable. So in short, Ben-Hur is not a tale of Christ, as it claims. It is a tale of us, of the Messala's in us, of the "Christ" in us, of our ashamed and self-doubting selves (Judah's family), and of course, the true victory in us that is not perfect, is no crystal staircase, but is well worth the journey.
For being nearly 4 hours in length, this film is surprisingly re-watchable. I felt that a second viewing would enhance my understand of the intricacies of the characters, the possible symbolism of location, and smaller details I missed. It is not the type of story that gets old quickly, partially because the plot doesn't try to build itself up to one event and climax for the character (I will discuss Judah's internal climax later).
Ben-Hur takes a different - and admirable - approach on the tale of Christ, not from his direct teachings and quotes, but from the recounting of the experiences of others (Balthasar, Esther, etc.). In fact, Jesus gets less than five minutes of the screen time in the
entire film, and his face is never even shown. All we ever see is his backside, with recognizable long hair. This is such a unique and original approach to his effect on others - not directly - but like a ripple.
I found the screenplay to be another pleasant surprise. Many of the dialogue scenes include delightful quotes, foreshadowing, and character development. We see the morals and values of each of the characters expressed through these dialogue/speech scenes. Arrius's quotes, "Hate keeps a man alive," seems to be the driving force to Judah's later ambitions, and it's often the dialogue scenes that change or affect his character.
The characters- and there are many - are beautifully well fleshed out. From Messala's inner drive of overhwelming patriotism to Arrius's more reasonable look at Rome, most of the characters all revolve around an opinion on Rome - whether a good or bad one. Ben-Hur is the most complex character in the film, and this is portrayed through his drive to kill Messala. Ben-Hur's original conflict is the liberty of the people of Judea. After he his condemned, however, it is interesting to note that his original noble goal is turned into hatred and lust for blood, both aimed at Messala and Rome in general. Even when Messala dies his anger consumes him and it is only through Jesus that he is redeemed. Ben-Hur's search for happiness is only fulfilled by his act of mercy at the end, giving Jesus water. We see that water, like in the Bible, is in Ben-Hur a symbol for life and redemption, and Judah's gift of water is his climactic moment. He realizes that love and forgiveness will always dominate hatred and evil.
The structure is perhaps the weakest part of a consistently strong film. Ben-Hur's rising actions do become unclear near the second half of the film, and this makes the structure collapse a bit under the weight of Judah's unstable character. He has no clear goal or real reason for conflict by the end, although his un-explainable hatred is indeed cleansed by Christ.
Ben-Hur takes it's time with pacing, and that pays off. Over three hours, Ben-Hur splits up Judah's life without rushing through details that might cheapen his character. The first thirty minutes introduce the exposition - setting many of the major characters. By an hour in, Judah begins taking steps towards his goal, and defeats Messala during the last hour. This is simply a resolution of his external conflict. The film paces itself slower near the end, showing Judah's loss of direction. Four hours is really necessary for this film.
The acting is generally very good, with Heston as a brilliant and believable Judah. Esther (Haya Harareet) can often come across as sentimental and fake, but I think that this is often her role, not her acting. Stephen Boyd as Messala is very good, and portrays a restrained but vicious murderer. Arrisu is great as well. It's often the mother, daughter, and wife of Judah that show a not-so-convincing acting job.
The themes of this film are not by any means original - but they penetrated me so deeply that I think they can come across as much more profound. To "love thy enemies" and to have faith; these are the themes that crop up constantly in Ben-Hur as Judah struggles with himself over his identity and true love. So perhaps it is not so much these themes in this movie that hit me so hard, but the way they are portrayed.
The visuals are exciting and often breath taking. The famous chariot race scene is a prime example of one such moment, and for 1959 this is incredible. The camera work is careful and detailed, like it's portrayal of Jesus's indirect and faith-based connection to us. These are also many colorful moments, with good usage of lighting. No complaints visually.
Rosza did such a great job with the music for Ben-Hur, and I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of the greatest film scores ever written. Rosza builds a harmonic world for Ben-Hur so effectively, and he doesn't need to rely on rhythmic ostinato and computer-generated noise like so many composer do today. For instance, during the rowing scene, he creates a rippling and unsettling flow of orchestral colors, making the scene much more tense. A much easier and less effective route would have been to include war drums and pounding rhythms, with no real tension. Well done from Rosza.
All in all, Ben-Hur is so far my favorite film of 2019, and it sparked every side of me- the Messala, the Balthasar, the Ben-Hur, and all the other characters that I find myself relating so well to. And thinking about it, Ben-Hur is more about the mind than the surroundings. By digging into the human psyche, Ben-Hur achieves a new level of depth. It not only redeems us, it incites in us a new sense of ultimate moral fulfillment.
Director: William Wyler
Ben-Hur is a film of redemption - both physical (through the healing of Ben-Hur's mother and sister) and spiritual (through Ben's own discovery of self-knowledge, love and mercy). Both these redemptions are achieved through Jesus, whose final crucifixion brings a rain of cleansing, and whose spiritual presence dominates the whole film. This is a movie with such an epic scope that understand and digesting the material can be difficult. But on the whole, Ben-Hur gives us something relatable- a character, Ben-Hur, who is really us. Putting this modern character in ancient times makes his struggles, failures, and victories all the more notable. So in short, Ben-Hur is not a tale of Christ, as it claims. It is a tale of us, of the Messala's in us, of the "Christ" in us, of our ashamed and self-doubting selves (Judah's family), and of course, the true victory in us that is not perfect, is no crystal staircase, but is well worth the journey.
For being nearly 4 hours in length, this film is surprisingly re-watchable. I felt that a second viewing would enhance my understand of the intricacies of the characters, the possible symbolism of location, and smaller details I missed. It is not the type of story that gets old quickly, partially because the plot doesn't try to build itself up to one event and climax for the character (I will discuss Judah's internal climax later).
Ben-Hur takes a different - and admirable - approach on the tale of Christ, not from his direct teachings and quotes, but from the recounting of the experiences of others (Balthasar, Esther, etc.). In fact, Jesus gets less than five minutes of the screen time in the
entire film, and his face is never even shown. All we ever see is his backside, with recognizable long hair. This is such a unique and original approach to his effect on others - not directly - but like a ripple.
I found the screenplay to be another pleasant surprise. Many of the dialogue scenes include delightful quotes, foreshadowing, and character development. We see the morals and values of each of the characters expressed through these dialogue/speech scenes. Arrius's quotes, "Hate keeps a man alive," seems to be the driving force to Judah's later ambitions, and it's often the dialogue scenes that change or affect his character.
The characters- and there are many - are beautifully well fleshed out. From Messala's inner drive of overhwelming patriotism to Arrius's more reasonable look at Rome, most of the characters all revolve around an opinion on Rome - whether a good or bad one. Ben-Hur is the most complex character in the film, and this is portrayed through his drive to kill Messala. Ben-Hur's original conflict is the liberty of the people of Judea. After he his condemned, however, it is interesting to note that his original noble goal is turned into hatred and lust for blood, both aimed at Messala and Rome in general. Even when Messala dies his anger consumes him and it is only through Jesus that he is redeemed. Ben-Hur's search for happiness is only fulfilled by his act of mercy at the end, giving Jesus water. We see that water, like in the Bible, is in Ben-Hur a symbol for life and redemption, and Judah's gift of water is his climactic moment. He realizes that love and forgiveness will always dominate hatred and evil.
The structure is perhaps the weakest part of a consistently strong film. Ben-Hur's rising actions do become unclear near the second half of the film, and this makes the structure collapse a bit under the weight of Judah's unstable character. He has no clear goal or real reason for conflict by the end, although his un-explainable hatred is indeed cleansed by Christ.
Ben-Hur takes it's time with pacing, and that pays off. Over three hours, Ben-Hur splits up Judah's life without rushing through details that might cheapen his character. The first thirty minutes introduce the exposition - setting many of the major characters. By an hour in, Judah begins taking steps towards his goal, and defeats Messala during the last hour. This is simply a resolution of his external conflict. The film paces itself slower near the end, showing Judah's loss of direction. Four hours is really necessary for this film.
The acting is generally very good, with Heston as a brilliant and believable Judah. Esther (Haya Harareet) can often come across as sentimental and fake, but I think that this is often her role, not her acting. Stephen Boyd as Messala is very good, and portrays a restrained but vicious murderer. Arrisu is great as well. It's often the mother, daughter, and wife of Judah that show a not-so-convincing acting job.
The themes of this film are not by any means original - but they penetrated me so deeply that I think they can come across as much more profound. To "love thy enemies" and to have faith; these are the themes that crop up constantly in Ben-Hur as Judah struggles with himself over his identity and true love. So perhaps it is not so much these themes in this movie that hit me so hard, but the way they are portrayed.
The visuals are exciting and often breath taking. The famous chariot race scene is a prime example of one such moment, and for 1959 this is incredible. The camera work is careful and detailed, like it's portrayal of Jesus's indirect and faith-based connection to us. These are also many colorful moments, with good usage of lighting. No complaints visually.
Rosza did such a great job with the music for Ben-Hur, and I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of the greatest film scores ever written. Rosza builds a harmonic world for Ben-Hur so effectively, and he doesn't need to rely on rhythmic ostinato and computer-generated noise like so many composer do today. For instance, during the rowing scene, he creates a rippling and unsettling flow of orchestral colors, making the scene much more tense. A much easier and less effective route would have been to include war drums and pounding rhythms, with no real tension. Well done from Rosza.
All in all, Ben-Hur is so far my favorite film of 2019, and it sparked every side of me- the Messala, the Balthasar, the Ben-Hur, and all the other characters that I find myself relating so well to. And thinking about it, Ben-Hur is more about the mind than the surroundings. By digging into the human psyche, Ben-Hur achieves a new level of depth. It not only redeems us, it incites in us a new sense of ultimate moral fulfillment.