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By
NICK ZEGARAC
"Ben-Hur" is the story of Jewish nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), who is imprisoned by his one-time boyhood friend, now the Roman tribune, Messala (Stephen Boyd). Judah's path to God and Messala's road to ruin parallel the Christ story.
Made in 1959, at a time when the studio system, like ancient Rome, was crumbling, "Ben-Hur" is a masterfully paced, fully realized and intense "religious" experience. This is by far the greatest of the Bible-fiction epics. It is told with such sweep and scope that one can only sit back and marvel at William Wyler direction, which rightfully placed the emphasis on the human drama and relationships set against the massive pageantry that one comes to expect from such film fare. The production values never overshadow the story. The climactic chariot race is fifteen minutes of pure adrenaline-infused exhilaration, topped off by the fact that both Heston and Boyd did their own stunt work, which must have been a harrowing experience! On Oscar night this movie topped out with 13 nominations and 11 wins including Best Picture, the most Oscars ever awarded any movie until James Cameron's "Titanic" tied it some fifty years later.
Warner Home Video has done an outstanding job on this transfer. Albeit, they have cropped the image to the more widely accepted 2:35:1 aspect ratio (MGM Camera 65 presented the film originally as 2:70:1) this is a dazzling anamorphic transfer, full of rich colors, fine detail and stunning clarity. Only in the darkest scenes does the disc falter slightly and lose its otherwise pristine image quality. No pixelization, edge enhancement, aliasing or fine detail shimmering is present. Extras include a thorough documentary with interviews from surviving principle cast and crew. The film itself is split across two sides of a flipper disc but is separated at the intermission half way mark -- a forgivable stop. The 5.1 remix is stirring, powerful and engaging, particularly with Miklos Roza's brilliant score that fills the expanse and raises the hair on the back of one's neck.
This is a must have for anyone who love Hollywood epics. Sadly, "Ben-Hur" also represents one of the last enduring masterpiece to emerge from Hollywood's greatest studio -- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. I miss MGM! Thankfully, films like "Ben-Hur" endure. |
