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Post by wmcclain on Apr 12, 2020 11:40:41 GMT
Ben Hur (1959), directed by William Wyler. In the genre of spiritually-moving epic spectaculars, what else comes close to Ben Hur? One of my favorite films, I love it all except for the smooching scenes with the horses. The sea battle is often praised, but the ship models are a bit weak. It's a transitional film. You can still see the tradition where the actors dress up and bluster their lines, but they have added new emotional sensitivity, an amount of realistic sweat and dirt and blood, and a dimension of suffering seldom seen before. How many epic spectaculars end on such a moving note of redemption: "And I felt his voice take the sword out of my hand." They say the better the villain, the better the story. We might add: the better the villain's death, in which case Stephen Boyd could take the trophy. He goes out ugly here. George MacDonald Fraser wrote that he seemed born to wear Roman armor. The famous chariot race is still astonishing film-making. Miklós Rózsa's tremendous score is his best, and that is saying quite a lot. Photographed by Robert Surtees. I've read the book and it's tough sledding. Before the film era, it was often played on the stage, including huge treadmills for full-speed chariot races. I would like to have seen that. In the thumbnails below, look at the different ways the 2.76:1 aspect ratio is used. Sometimes it is filled up, sometimes an isolated face appears in the center. Such a luxury of space without seeming lost or unbalanced. Available on Blu-ray, but the thumbnails are from the DVD.
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Post by Stammerhead on Apr 12, 2020 13:03:42 GMT
Although the models let things down (especially to modern eyes) the battle scene is impressive for how it mainly concentrated on the slaves down below. Of course it had to be that way because that was where the star was located but it’s still more awesome than most sea battles.
I’m a non-believer but this film still managed to me move me to tears when I saw it at a rerelease showing back in the 1970s on a big screen.
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Post by politicidal on Apr 12, 2020 13:39:24 GMT
10/10. The best of all the Bible sword-and-sandal epics.
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Apr 12, 2020 18:25:36 GMT
I'd really like to know why Stephen Boyd wasn't at least nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar. He was wonderful as Messala. Better than Heston and a damned sight better than Hugh Griffith. One of my worst Oscar snubs
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Post by Prime etc. on Apr 12, 2020 18:26:05 GMT
"In his eagerness to save you, your God has also saved the Roman fleet."
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Post by TheGoodMan19 on Apr 12, 2020 18:27:49 GMT
"In his eagerness to save you, your God has also saved the Roman fleet." Jack Hawkins was great in this too. But saying Jack Hawkins gave a good performance is like saying water is wet. He nailed everything.
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Post by Prime etc. on Apr 12, 2020 18:30:55 GMT
I'd really like to know why Stephen Boyd wasn't at least nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar. He was wonderful as Messala. Better than Heston and a damned sight better than Hugh Griffith. One of my worst Oscar snubs Yeah he was really good. I do believe the stories that he was told to behave as it he and Ben-Hur had a relationship because when Messala first arrives he is very respectful-and he goes crazy when he realizes Ben-Hur won't help him.
Totally cracks me up when he is drinking from the cup and looking at Ben-Hur and that Charlton Heston was oblivious to it.
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Post by Prime etc. on Apr 12, 2020 18:34:58 GMT
I liked the relationship between Sam Jaffe and his mute friend.
"Together we make a formidable man."
And how about a shout out to another overlooked actor Frank Thring, sort of the poor man's Vincent Price.
"I crossed this floor in spoken friendship, as I would speak to Arrius. But when I go up those stairs I become the hand of Caesar, ready to crush all those who challenge his authority."
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Post by jervistetch on Apr 12, 2020 19:32:33 GMT
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Post by hi224 on Apr 12, 2020 20:04:56 GMT
last pic is a neat poster idea.
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Post by OldAussie on Apr 12, 2020 21:06:23 GMT
It seems impossible, but I like it more each time I watch it.
Just one scene I especially enjoy - Hugh Griffith with his enormous supply of gold coins gets 4-1 odds on the upcoming chariot race.
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Post by taylorfirst1 on Apr 13, 2020 18:06:44 GMT
Simply fabulous. A master's class in movie making.
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Post by marshamae on Apr 13, 2020 23:20:14 GMT
Keeping the focus on Judah’s story and letting the religious story tell itself made it a historical and psychological drama. Heston was emotional athletic sexy , impossible not to watch. Everyone played to him. His best duets were with Jack Hawkins , a very smart actor who underplayed his great fascination with Judah. Then there are The wonderful set pieces, The falling roof tile and the arrest, the fight in the fortress, The march to the sea, the rowing , the sea battle and finally the chariot race. I can’t resist it.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Apr 14, 2020 2:46:50 GMT
Majestic in scope and story telling.
The truth is, is that Ben-Hur deserved every award that was showered upon it. It's a titanic film both in structure and scope. It doesn't need me to go over old ground about how much the film cost to make, the number of extras, the number of sets and etc, it's now folklore that this film could have bankrupted MGM such was the investment, but they needn't have worried since the film went on to make 40 million and still counting.
Every cent spent was worth it because it's a magnificent film, the kind that you can get swept away with, the minute the overture starts you feel little tingles as the hairs on your arms stand up on end, you are aware that for over three hours director William Wyler and lead actor Charlton Heston are going to own you.
The story centers around Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) who through his staunch loyalty to the Jewish race falls out with his dear Roman friend Messala (Stephen Boyd). He is dispatched to be a slave in the galleys and swears revenge on Messala. After pirates attack the ship he is slaved on, he manages to escape and in the process he saves Roman Admiral Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) and this sets Juda on his destiny to enact revenge on his old friend as Quintus makes him a citizen of Rome.
It sounds so simple yet it's a story of the highest order because crucial to the film's core strength is Judah's encounters with Christ, and it's only during the harsh and upsetting final reel that we realise the whole point of the film. There's also strong themes involving family love and loyalty, friendships formed or broken under race and creed banners, and of course religious beliefs and all that comes with that kettle of fish...
It's epic, it's simply beautiful, it's actually essential viewing for any serious cinema fan, the film's set pieces are still wondrous even today. You will marvel at the chariot race (a stunning 20 minutes long), you will hoist the flag during the pirate attack, and if you have the emotion in you? You will be hit with sombre silence as Christ is crucified. Come the closing music I personally feel like clapping such is the appreciation I have for this truly wonderful film, if you haven't seen it then make a point of doing so because everything that is great about cinema is right here. 10/10
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Post by Vits on Apr 15, 2020 11:58:44 GMT
BEN-HUR 1959
8/10
BEN-HUR 2016
2/10
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Post by marshamae on Apr 15, 2020 12:27:42 GMT
So true Vits. If you are going to remake a brillant classic , you better do it the way William Wyler and CBDeMille did it with BenHur and Ten Commandments
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Post by Prime etc. on Apr 15, 2020 21:36:36 GMT
They say the better the villain, the better the story. We might add: the better the villain's death, in which case Stephen Boyd could take the trophy. He goes out ugly here. George MacDonald Fraser wrote that he seemed born to wear Roman armor. Although he makes a great villain and he sure played some sleazy despicable characters later in his career (SLAVES, THE SQUEEZE--which I assume was where he used his actual speaking voice and no accent) he also had some memorable good guy roles.
THE THIRD SECRET as a mentally ill reporter investigating the suicide of his psychiatrist from fears that if his shrink killed himself, how can he ever be able to cope?
And ABANDON SHIP as the crewman who jumps overboard with a sick passenger because he refuses to let her be cast adrift alone.
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Post by hi224 on Apr 16, 2020 2:53:58 GMT
A good movie but a bit overrated nowadays.
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Post by ellynmacg on Apr 19, 2020 5:17:28 GMT
I'd really like to know why Stephen Boyd wasn't at least nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar. He was wonderful as Messala. Better than Heston and a damned sight better than Hugh Griffith. One of my worst Oscar snubs Thank you for posting this and saving me the trouble. Stephen Boyd gave one of the most stunning performances of all time, and what appreciation was he given by the Academy? Bupkes! My theory as to why Boyd was overlooked and Griffith (hmmph!) was honored instead? At least one reason might be that the character won, not the actor. In other words, Sheik Ilderim was a lovable, roguish equinophile. Messala was a detestable, traitorous, power-mad villain. It was so much easier to give the award to someone who played a likable character than to one who definitely did not. Also, maybe the homosexual undertones that were mentioned here in another post--and with which I will deal separately--made the Academy members uncomfortable. Uneasy. Well, it wasn't that long after the McCarthy Era, and people were still skittish about a lot of things that later wouldn't have made anybody blink.
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Post by ellynmacg on Apr 19, 2020 8:05:34 GMT
I'd really like to know why Stephen Boyd wasn't at least nominated for a Best Supporting Oscar. He was wonderful as Messala. Better than Heston and a damned sight better than Hugh Griffith. One of my worst Oscar snubs Yeah he was really good. I do believe the stories that he was told to behave as it he and Ben-Hur had a relationship because when Messala first arrives he is very respectful-and he goes crazy when he realizes Ben-Hur won't help him.
Totally cracks me up when he is drinking from the cup and looking at Ben-Hur and that Charlton Heston was oblivious to it.
When I watched Ben-Hur last Sunday (why, it was Easter--what do you know! ), I unfortunately missed a scene early on, when Judah visits Messala at the garrison, so I'm going by memory. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong (but gently, please--I'm so sensitive), but when they greet each other, as I recall, Messala says something like, "What a terrible thing is unrequited love," and as he laughingly says this, he strokes the inside of Judah's forearm...all the while his friend is smiling somewhat uncertainly with a look like, "Huh! What's with this guy?" Why? In my opinion, back in their adolescence, Messala had a romantic/sexual "thing" for Judah, but Judah had no idea his friend felt that way. In other words, Messala's physical attraction to Judah was not reciprocated. Why do I think this? Reason #1: Messala was several years older than Judah (at least in the novel; I doubt that was true of Boyd and Heston), and hence more awakened and aware in a sexual sense by the time the Roman boy went off to the army. Reason #2: The young men came from different cultures. For a Roman boy around the First Century C.E., sexual attraction for one of his own sex would have been no big deal--as long as he got to be the dominant figure in the relationship. But for a Jewish boy of that same era, such an attraction would have been discouraged, even deeply frowned upon. Is it still possible that the boys experimented? Sure, it's possible--but Judah would have, IMO, buried the experience out of shame and/or guilt. If anything physical happened between them, it's likely that Judah would have forgotten the whole incident. Reason #3: Let's go back to that line (if I'm remembering correctly) where Messala refers to "unrequited love". Doesn't it make sense that the Roman is referring to a passion that only he felt? Wouldn't that help explain why Messala turns on his former friend so ruthlessly...because his love was unrequited?
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