Togas, Lepers, and Jesus, Oh My!

Ben Hur was filled with everything a great movie should be: thoughtful writing offering simple yet meaningul pearls of wisdom, a dynamic portrayal of the many dimensions of family and friendship, a heart-pounding, high-speed race, and a lead character's dedicated search for vengeance.  Another plus is that for 1959 the acting wasn't over-inundated with "cheese".  I became invested in the character's stories because they seemed realistic instead of overdramatic, one of my main complaints about classic films.

The love-hate relationship between the film's two lead characters, Judah and Messala, was portrayed in a way that most people would appreciate: two friends that grew up together but end up in a vicious personal battle due to differing political views they acquired during their long time apart... Apparently its common for old friends to grow apart regardless of time period or reason.  These days we handle our differences a tad bit more gracefully (i.e. not sending an old friend off to be condemned to slavery and throwing their families members in a dungeon where they contract leprosy), but nevertheless people continue to grow apart every day.

It is also no secret to anyone that knows me well that I am an atheist, and some wondered what my reaction to the religious references in this film would be.  I have to admit, the portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth, his preachings, as well as the Crucifixion, were handled with spectacular taste and added an element to the story that set it apart from just a typical story set during the reign of the Roman Empire.  Although the man playing Jesus was only shown vaguely and awkwardly from behind, identificable only by his robes and long wavy brown hair, the distraction of the rest of the movie makes it easy to get over that small detail.

Overall, Ben Hur offered what most typical movie-goers would find appealing.. It being three and a half hours long would definitely deter anyone with a short attention span (which I am definitely a victim of), but if rented on DVD you always have the option of pausing for a lunch, bathroom, exercise, or my special favorite, cocktail break ;)  The high-speed race in this film is also one of the best I've seen despite obvious cruelty towards the horses used :( sad puppy...  I definitely recommend this film to anyone willing to dedicate the time, and have a feeling I would have ranked it much higher than #100... why it fell 28 spots when AFI revamped the 1998 list I'll have to find out for myself.

Personal Rating:

Visual: 8

Acting: 6

Script/Plot: 9

Attention: 8

Emotional Response: 9

Total - 40/50