Users

United States

United Kingdom

TV Series

TOPs

Awards & Festivals

About Filmaffinity

copy to clipboard

Ben-Hur

Oscar™ Best Picture - Winning Movies

7.9

65,361

Ratings

Add to lists

where to watch

flatrate

rent

buy

Pro reviews

4 Related Movies

Remake of:

Ben-Hur

Remake:

Ben-Hur

Original title: Ben-Hur
Year: 1959
Running time: 211 min.
Country: United States
Director: William Wyler
Screenwriter: Karl Tunberg (Novel: Lewis Wallace)
Music: Miklós Rózsa
Cinematography: Robert Surtees
Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe, Frank Thring, Terence Longdon, George Relph, André Morell, Finlay Currie, John Le Mesurier
Producer: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)
Genre: Adventure. Drama | Epic film. Roman Empire. Slavery. Friendship. Religion. Revenge. Remake
Movie Groups: Ben-Hur
Synopsis / Plot: Anno Domini: the seventh year of Augustus Caesar's reign. In the Roman province of Judea, Jews return to the city of their birth for the census. A bright star in the night over Bethlehem marks the birth of Jesus Christ. Years later, Roman commander Messala (Stephen Boyd), who was brought up in Judea, takes command of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem. His Jewish boyhood friend Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) greets him. Messala is delighted. But when Judah refuses to name Jewish patriots, Messala sentences him to the slave galleys and imprisons his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott), and sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell). Judah vows revenge.

Awards: 1959: 11 Academy Awards, including Movie, Director, Actor (Heston), Supp. Actor (Griffith)

1959: 3 Golden Globes, including Best Movie - Drama. 4 nominations

1959: BAFTA Awards: Best Movie

1960: Cannes Film Festival: Official Selection - Out of Competition

1959: Directors Guild of America (DGA): Best Director

1959: Writers Guild of America (WGA): Nominated for Best Drama Screenplay

Show 3 more awards

1959: New York Film Critics Circle: Best Film. 3 Nominations

1959: National Board of Review: Top 10 Best Films, Supporting Actor and Special Citation

1960: David di Donatello Awards: Best Foreign Actor (Heston) & Best Foreign Production

Critics' reviews

"Mr. Wyler and his (...) producers have smartly and effectively laid stress on the powerful and meaningful personal conflicts (...) in this old heroic tale."

Bosley Crowther: The New York Times
"A majestic achievement, representing a superb blending of the motion picture arts by master craftsmen."

Ronald Holloway: Variety
"Entire new frontiers in boredom were opened up by this MGM whopper from 1959."

Dave Kehr: Chicago Reader
"If we later came to realize that movies could be a whole lot better than 'Ben-Hur', that still doesn't detract from the enjoyment the film still provides."

Peter Rainer: Los Angeles Times
"An extraordinary motion picture, greater in dimension and significance than any similar film of our time, 'Ben-Hur' is more spectacular than any of the previous spectacles"

Jack Harrison: The Hollywood Reporter
"Although a bit like a four-hour Sunday school lesson, 'Ben-Hur' is not without its compensations, above all, of course, the chariot race"

Time Out
"Little can come close to captivating the grandeur and epic quality of William Wyler's magnificent bum number. (...) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of five)"

David Parkinson: Empire
Show 3 more reviews

Movie Soulmates' ratings: Register so you can access movie recommendations tailored to your movie taste.
Friends' ratings: Register so you can check out ratings by your friends, family members, and like-minded members of the FA community.

Ranking Lists Position

6 My Favorite Remakes (42)
22 My Favorite Adventure Movies (133)
56 Movies with Impressive Art Direction (31)
58 My Favorite Blockbusters (21)
82 My Favorite Book to Film Adaptation (24)
96 Most Beautiful Movie Posters in Film History (5)
99 Movies I Grew Up With (157)

Is the synopsis/plot summary missing? Do you want to report a spoiler, error or omission? Please send us a message.
If you are not a registered user please send us an email to info@filmaffinity.com

All copyrighted material (movie posters, DVD covers, stills, trailers) and trademarks belong to their respective producers and/or distributors.

For US ratings information please visit: www.mpaa.org www.filmratings.com www.parentalguide.org