Ben Hur
Drama
Warner Bros.  (1959) 222 mins NR

8.2 (46,151 votes) Top 250: #138
Winner of 11 Academy Awards

Includes the 1959 Classic and the original 1925 Silent Version.

The numbers speak volumes: 100,000 costumes, 8,000 extras, 300 sets and a staggering budget in its day the largest in movie history. Ben-Hur's creators made it the best, the greatest Biblical-era epic ever. Charlton Heston brings a muscular, physical and moral presence to the role of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Palestine whose heroic odyssey includes enslavement by the Romans, a bold escape from an embattled slave galley, vengeance against his tormentors during a furious arena chariot race and fateful encounters with Jesus Christ. Heston's charismatic performance brought him the Best Actor Oscar; the winner as 1959's Best Picture with the legendary William Wyler earning his third Best Director trophy, the film won a total 11 Academy Awards -- a tally uneq...

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Cast and Crew
Charlton Heston  ......  Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins  ......  Quintus Arrius
Cathy O'Donnell  ......  Tirzah
Martha Scott  ......  Miriam
Haya Harareet  ......  Esther
Hugh Griffith  ......  Sheik Ilderim
Director  .....  William Wyler
Producer  .....  Sam Zimbalist; William Wyler
Writer  .....  Karl Tunberg; Lew Wallace
Notes
Goofs:
Anachronisms: Sheik Ilderim pins a Star of David onto Ben Hur's belt before the race, obviously to goad the Romans. The Star of David didn't become a symbol of Judaism until the Middle Ages, in Eastern Europe. (more)

Trivia:
Miklós Rózsa wrote the musical score in eight weeks. (more)

Filming Locations:
Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy (more)

Quotes:
[first lines]
Balthasar: [narrating] In the Year of our Lord, Judea - for nearly a century - had lain under the mastery of Rome. In the seventh year of the reign of Augustus Caesar, an imperial decree ordered every Judean each to return to his place of birth to be counted and taxed. The converging ways of many of them led to the gates of their capital city...
(more)

Awards:
Won 11 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 5 nominations (more)