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Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely brilliant

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is the real cinema. Charlton Heston is one of the greatest actors of all time. Some movies have reached perfection and better will never be made, no one should try. The surprise here is Haya Harareth, wonderful and exceptional. As I said, this is unreachable classics. When I compare it with current, shallow but expensive productions, I think cinema is walking the wrong way. But the good thing is that there are many such films and they are enough to many human lives.

BEN-HUR is a very interesting epic historical drama, which has gained a cult following on the basis of an intelligent story, a touching human drama and a phenomenal action sequences. The film was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.A prince, who lives in Jerusalem, is a wealthy and generous man. His old friend, who has spent a few years in Rome, has returned as a commander in Jerusalem. The two of them are happy to see each other again, but they both realized that they have different political opinions. Their political differences and the prince's wealth are causing dissension. A tile on an old roof at the prince's home has broken and nearly killed the new governor. The Roman commander is sure of the prince's innocence, but ....A story about revenge, love, hate, violence and conflict was enriched with extremely strong emotions and heroic moments. Mr. Wyler has directed the interest on one character, his emotional and spiritual development, in the world of tyranny, hatred and injustice. Biblical elements have remained in the background of the story, but they have a very strong influence on the main melodrama. Action sequences have offered plenty of excitement, primarily through a spectacular chariot race and an ancient sea battle. Set design is a little masterpiece. The soundtrack is top notch. However, a touching and tense human drama in a specific environment with historical and religious moments is the biggest advantage of this film. This movie is not boring, despite its period of nearly 225 minutes.Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur is brisk, proud and upright character. He has acted in some scenes a little inhibited, but Mr. Heston has, in a credible way, presented all the tragedy of his character. Stephen Boyd as Messala was poisoned with an ideology. He is a rival, but is primarily a traitor. Messala has rejected a friendship and „ love" because of his ideology.Their support are Jack Hawkins (Quintus Arrius) as a Roman consul in a dangerous game of fate, Haya Harareet (Esther) as a Jewish girl who is in love with her prince. Her character has brought a strong religious moment in a melodrama. Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim is a cheerful character who brings a specific humor and an Arab point of view in relation to the two main characters.This is, without any doubt, one of the greatest epic spectacles of all time.

It's a good movie. I like quite a bit but I will admit there are quite a few scenes that could be cut down or cut out completely. If an edited version of this film were made, more people would watch the film more often. The film is way to long for being nothing more than a fictitious story about a fictitious character set in a historical time period with some historical characters. Cut it down to 1 1/2 to 2 hours and the film would be better and easier to watch more often.Lew Wallace wrote his novel in 1880 entitled Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. This film is based on that book. It is not historical as in this is a true story. History films just have some historical places, events and people in a fictional tale.The movie is beautiful - grand, epic without a doubt. And it deserves the awards it has won as well as it's classic status. It just has a bit to many unnecessary scenes or they are just drawn out a bit too long.8/10

In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy prince and merchant in Jerusalem, who lives with his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott); his sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell); their loyal slave, Simonides (Sam Jaffe) and his daughter, Esther (Haya Harareet). Esther loves Judah but is committed to another. Judah's childhood friend, the Roman citizen Messala (Stephen Boyd), is now a tribune. After several years away from Jerusalem, Messala returns as the new commander of the Roman garrison. Messala believes in the glory of Rome and its imperial power, while Judah is devoted to his faith and the freedom of the Jewish people. This difference causes tension between the friends, and results in their split after Messala issues an ultimatum to Judah.