Ben Hur (1959)

Released 16th December 1959, Ben-Hur details the journey of Judah Ben-Hur as his life runs parallel to that of Jesus Christ. Despite including such a culturally important figure, this film manages to balance its religious undertones with the more varied narrative of Ben-Hur’s life. Regardless of taking into account the era of cinema that this was released, the film is a technical marvel in nearly every aspect and feels very epic in its scale. It is also a really well directed film in how it is shot and the subsequent imagery it conveys in line with its themes of religion, vengeance and fate. One particularly well done aspect is that you never actually see Jesus’ face therefore enhancing the aura is mysticism and the impersonal closeness of god.

While Charlton Heston’s performance would be fine by modern standards, his performance manages to stand out amongst the standards of his time as Judah Ben Hur. He has great chemistry with Stephen Boyd when necessary as well as a smouldering intensity in his eye’s gaze throughout. Stephen Boyd is able to convey the merciless nature Roman tribune Messala through tense facial performances as well as a calm demeanour across many of his interactions. Hugh Griffith has perhaps the best performance of the film as Sheik Ilderim. He stelas every moment he appears on screen with his subtle yet well timed mannerisms and facial quirks. However, as it is with many features of this era of cinema, his performance is sufficiently dated due to his blackface to portray the Arabian character. Haya Harareet’s Esther is definitely the weakest performance, and character, of the film. Even taking her weak script into account, her performance lacks any subtleties or poignant moments; she is blatantly reading the words as they are written in the script.

As previously stated, the whole film has a very epic atmosphere. This is aided greatly by the well-constructed sets and suitably choreographed sequences. A particularly impressive aspect is the use of green screening; considering the obvious uses of it in films like Star Wars: A New Hope 20 years later, it is somewhat seamless at times throughout. Particular praise is deserved from Miklós Rózsa for his bombastic yet appropriate soundtrack. Ben-Hur is arguably one of the most sophisticated films created when taking into account the limitations of its time and the pressures to deliver a nuanced, yet respectful, religious tale.