Ben-Hur (1959)

	Also Known As: Ben-Hur: A story of Christ
	Year of first release: 1959
	Director: William Wyler
	Actors: Charlton Heston (Planet of the Apes, Soylent Green), Jack Hawkins (Zulu, The Bridge on the River Kwai), Stephen Boyd
	Country: USA
	Genre: Epic, Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 03.02.2013, Blu-ray, Home cinema
Synopsis: We follow the life of Judah Ben-Hur (Heston), a Jew born in the Roman-occupied Judea the same year as the Christ.
Review: I had seen the movie on TV several times in my youth and didn't remember it was lasting four hours. But it doesn't feel like them. The story is slow but so epic that you don't get bored. A classic american epic to put on your shelf next to The Ten Commandments, Cleopatra, Gone with the Wind, The Searchers or Dr Jhivago. Charlton Heston's acting is excellent and we fell very involved following him though all the drama he encounters. I found that the most interesting in this movie is the original point of view with which the story of Christ is told. His path crosses the one of Ben-Hur and his family at some critical points in his life, but the movie is not at all what it would be if it was depicting only the life of Christ. This Blu-ray edition is not as good as I read it was on the internet, but it is maybe because the lamp from my projector needs to be replaced. The chariot race at the end is anyway an incredible piece of filmmaking, even after 50 years.
Rating: 7 /10