Movie: Ben-Hur (1959)
“Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a brick falls down from Judah’s house and barely misses the governor. Although Messala knows that they are not guilty he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge. Written by Matthias Scheler {tron@lyssa.owl.de}”
- Director: William Wyler
- Release Date: 10 December 1959 (Argentina)
- Run Time: 212 min | Sweden:219 min (1970) | Sweden:224 min (1962) | UK:222 min (1993 re-release) | 214 min (DVD edition)
- Country: USA
- Genre: Action , Adventure , Drama , Romance
Tagline: A Tale of the Christ
Trivia: Director William Wyler decided that the Romans should have British accents, and that the four Americans in the cast would play Hebrews. This was a technique later used in the TV miniseries _”Masada” (1981) (mini)_.
Goofs: Continuity: An establishing shot of Jerusalem in the opening sequence shows a hooded Ben-Hur, long before he is born. The scene appears again later in the film as Judah Ben-Hur returns to Jerusalem from Rome.