Ben-Hur (1959)

When his childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) returns to Jerusalem as a tribune of Rome, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston in his Oscar winning role) is thrilled to see him again. But their differences as Roman and Jew tear them apart and Messala arranges for his friend to be sent to the galleys as a slave and his sister (Cathy O'Donnell) and mother (Martha Scott) consigned permanently to a dungeon. Based on the Lew Wallace novel BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST (has anyone actually read it?) and directed by William Wyler (ROMAN HOLIDAY). This is one of the better biblical epics of the 1950s. Actually, the weakest parts of the film are the pious religious segments. It works much better as a tale of a wronged man hell bent on vengeance who is eventually redeemed. The director William Wyler seems to respect the material and doesn't condescend to it which allows the film to avoid the kitschy aspects of the DeMille biblical films but his faithfulness to the material also drags the movie down in spots. Specifically, after the stunning chariot race (one of the greatest action set pieces in film history), the film moves at a snail's pace. The acting is uniformly excellent though some of the actors like Haya Harareet seem strait jacketed by the limitations of their roles. Miklos Rozsa's underscore is potent (except for the Jesus sequences where he's shameless) and Robert Surtees' 65 millimeter lensing is impeccable. The large cast includes Jack Hawkins, Hugh Griffith (an Oscar winner for his work here), Sam Jaffe, Finlay Currie, Frank Thring and Marina Berti.