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The MPAA rated Ben Hur G.

Over forty years ago, Ben-Hur raced into movie theaters and garnered 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for a young Charlton Heston. With the recent release on DVD, Warner Home Video (who now hold the movie's rights) may be hoping this epic saga of betrayal and revenge, will win again.

Heston plays Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince and merchant living under Roman rule in the city of Jerusalem during the time of Christ. When his childhood friend Messala (Stephan Boyd) returns to the city as Commanding Officer of the Roman Legion, Ben-Hur is pleased to renew their friendship. But an unlikely accident soon pits the two men on opposite sides of the law. Seeing a chance to secure his position with his ruling peers and leaders, Messala withholds important information about the incident and allows Ben-Hur to be sentenced as a galley slave while his family is sent to the dark cells of an underground prison.

Harboring a rage that grows with each stroke of the oars, Ben-Hur vows to avenge their unwarranted betrayal. During a seemingly disastrous sea battle, he escapes the sinking ship and is set adrift in the company of Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), the commanding officer of the Roman warship. Impressed by the captive's will to live, Arrius takes Ben-Hur as his slave, training him to become a renowned charioteer in the Roman Coliseum.

Years later, after finally earning his freedom, Ben-Hur returns to Jerusalem and confronts Messala in one of the best-known chariot races ever recorded in cinematic history. Yet the malice Ben-Hur feels continues to haunt him and sour his personal relationships until he hears of Jesus and his teachings.

Clocking in at 222 minutes (the run time of the 4-disc Collector's Edition), this movie, littered with a heavy dose of Roman violence, is a full evening of entertainment. However the impressive sets, intriguing cinematography and solid storyline of personal struggle make this classic 1950's film worth every minute of watching.

Talk about the movie with your family...

"The stone that fell from this roof so long ago is still falling," says the servant girl Ester (Haya Harareet) to Ben-Hur. What do you think she means by this statement? How did this one incident change the life of Ben-Hur and his family?

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Video alternatives...

Another epic film featuring Charlton Heston (this time as John the Baptist) is The Greatest Story Ever Told. If you are looking for movies set during the life of Christ, check out The Robe.

DVD Notes...

DVD Release Date: 13 September 2005

If Ben-Hur wasn't of epic proportions before, it sure is now! This four-disc set answers everything you could ever even think of to ask about this 1959 classic. Bonus materials include: a commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher (with scene-specific comments from Charlton Heston), a vintage newsreels gallery, highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards ceremony, a theatrical trailer gallery, screen tests (of Leslie Nielsen and Cesare Danova, Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler, as well as George Baker and William Russel) and details about actress Haya Harareet's hair and make-up.

There is also a wealth of documentaries. Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema provides interviews with current filmmakers, such as Ridley Scott and George Lucas, and their reflections on the importance and influence of this movie. The 1994 Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic, hosted by Christopher Plummer, and the1986 Emmy Award-nominated film directed by William Wyler are part of the package too. Fans of pre-production paraphernalia will appreciate, Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures - an audiovisual recreation of the film via stills, storyboards, sketches, music and dialogue, while film historians will be happy to take a look at the 1925 feature-length silent version of Ben-Hur, presented with a stereophonic orchestral score by composer Carl Davis.

The Ben-Hur: Four Disc Collector's Edition is available in English and French (both audio tracks are recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1), with subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.

Kerry Bennett

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