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During
the reign of the emperor Tiberius, the Roman officer Messala arrives in
Jerusalem as the new Tribune, head of the Roman garrison. Having spent
much of his boyhood in Jerusalem while his father was provincial governor of
Judea, Messala became close friends with Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince from
a rich and influential family. On the night of his return, Messala is
visited by Judah, and the two men warmly reminisce about happy times of
their boyhood. Messala tells Judah that the emperor wants the recent
rebelliousness of Judea crushed and asks for his help. Judah is uneasy
with the request but, as he is against violence, agrees to speak with other
influential Jews.
The next day, Messala visits Judah, his mother
Miriam and sister Tirzah. Messala gives Tirzah a beautiful brooch, and
Judah presents Messala with a horse he has raised, but the men argue over
Messala’s insistence that Judah tell him the names of Jewish leaders who
will not denounce rebellion. Judah refuses, severing their friendship.
That night, Simonides, the faithful steward of
the house of Hur, returns from Antioch with good news of the family's
increasing wealth. He asks for permission for his daughter Esther to
marry a free man, and says that she wants to ask Judah personally for
permission. Judah is attracted to Esther, whom he has not seen since
childhood, and grants permission, saying her freedom will be his wedding
gift, even though he knows that she is marrying only because her father
wishes it.
Later that night, when Judah and Esther are
alone, they exchange a passionate kiss. Judah then takes Esther's
slave ring and promises to wear it until he meets the woman he will marry.
The next day, Gratus, the new governor, arrives
to a cold reception by the people of Jerusalem. As Judah and Tirzah
watch his procession from the roof of their house, Tirzah leans against some
tiles and accidentally loosens them, causing them to fall just as Gratus is
passing. After he is thrown from his horse and knocked unconscious,
Roman soldiers storm the house. As they enter the courtyard, Judah
tells Tirzah and Miriam to say nothing, then tries to reason with the
soldiers, pleading that it was an accident. When Messala suddenly
appears at the courtyard entrance, Judah appeals to him, but Messala coldly
watches as Judah, Tirzah and Miriam are taken away. After their
arrest, Messala goes to the roof and sees the loose tiles, confirming that
Judah had been telling the truth, but says nothing.
Soon guards go to Judah's cell to tell him that
he is being sent to the seaport of Tyrus, which Judah knows means
imprisonment as a galley slave. He overpowers the guards and escapes
into the garrison, then steals a spear and breaks into Messala's quarters.
After Messala orders his guards to leave them, Judah demands to know what
has happened to Miriam and Tirzah. Messala tells him that Gratus will
recover but they will be punished for their crime. Judah does not
understand why Messala would let this happen, especially after Messala
admits that he knows the truth. Judah begs for mercy, but Messala
rebuffs him, saying that the people now will fear him, and warning if Judah
kills him, Tirzah and Miriam will be crucified before his eyes.
Defeated, Judah has no choice but to let the guards take him away as he asks
God to grant him vengeance.
_NRFPT_01_small.jpg) _NRFPT_02_small.jpg) Days
later, as Judah and other chained prisoners, weakened by thirst and
exhaustion, enter the town of Nazareth, townspeople offer them water, but
the Roman guard stops a woman who tries to give some to Judah. In
despair, Judah falls to the ground and implores God to help him. At
that moment, a carpenter, who has seen his plight, approaches, gives him
water and bathes his face and hands. The guard then tries to stop the
carpenter but strangely acquiesces when he looks into the man's face.
Judah also gazes in awe at the young Nazarene, not understanding why he has
offered help.
Three years later, Judah is rower 41 in a Roman
galley. On the day that Roman Consul Quintus Arrius takes command of
the vessel, Arrius goes below to survey the rowers. Sensing both
strength and hatred in 41, Arrius deliberately taunts him by lashing him,
and later observes his reaction when the men are submitted to a grueling
test of endurance to increase their rowing speed.
Later, Judah is ordered to Arrius' quarters,
where the consul offers him the chance to leave the galley and become a
charioteer or gladiator. Judah declines, saying that he has not died
because God does not want it so.
Soon a fleet of Macedonian ships is sighted and
the galley prepares for battle. Prior to the start of the fighting,
Arrius orders a subordinate to chain and lock the rowers' shackles to their
posts, but leave 41's unlocked. During the battle, when their galley
is rammed, the rowers are trapped until Judah kills their guard, takes his
keys and unlocks the others. He then goes on deck, where he throws a
spear at an enemy soldier who has attacked Arrius and forced him into the
water. Judah dives after Arrius and pulls him to safety on some
floating debris that serves as a raft. When Arrius realizes that his
ship is sinking, he tries to kill himself with his own knife, but Judah
stops him.
The next morning, the two men are alone in the
sea, with no ships in sight. Arrius asks to know 41's name and wonders
why he saved his life. Moments later, they see a ship in the distance
and realize that it is Roman. When they are brought onboard, Arrius
shocks the captain by giving Judah water before he himself drinks. He
then learns that, although five galleys were lost in the battle, the Romans
were victorious. Arrius then takes Judah's arm, and leads him off,
past the rowers’ hole. Some time later, Arrius is hailed in a
procession through the streets of Rome, accompanied by Judah, who rides in
his chariot. When the emperor awards Arrius with the baton of victory,
he inquires about Judah and agrees to meet with Arrius to discuss his
situation. The next day, the emperor gives Judah to Arrius, to be his
slave.
Months later, Judah has ridden Arrius' chariot
to victory five times in the Roman arena, bringing him fame and admiration
throughout Rome. At a celebration banquet, Arrius announces that he is
adopting Judah as his heir, replacing the son who had died. When
Arrius and Judah, who accepts his new name as Young Quintus Arrius, speak
privately, Judah tells Arrius of his affection and gratitude, and accepts
his signet ring, but reveals that he must return to Judea to find his mother
and sister.
On
his way to Jerusalem, Judah stops at an oasis, where an old man, Balthasar
of Alexandria, thinks that he may be the man whom he saw as a baby in a
stable in Bethlehem. Balthasar soon realizes that Judah is not that
man, but the two strike up a friendship. Balthasar introduces Judah to
Sheik Ilderim, a wealthy Arab who cherishes his magnificent team of white
chariot horses. Judah observes the team and admires them but, over
dinner in Ilderim’s tent, refuses his suggestion that he drive the team for
him in the arena. Judah is intrigued, though, when Ilderim expresses
his hope to humiliate the arrogant Messala by a victory over his chariot and
adds that, in the arena, there is no law.
When Judah arrives at his family’s now-decaying
home in Jerusalem, he is surprised to see Esther, who never married but
returned to the house with Simonides after he, who was also imprisoned, was
released. Simonides, who was crippled and blinded under torture,
proudly tells Judah that his fortune is safely hidden. Later, Judah
and Esther kiss and reveal their feelings for each other, but Esther worries
that Judah is consumed with hate and tells him of a young Nazarene she has
heard of who preaches of love.
The next day, Messala receives the gift of an
expensive knife from Quintus Arrius, the younger. Messala is shocked
when the man is revealed to be Judah, who shows him the seal from Arrius’
signet ring. Judah then tells Messala if Miriam and Tirzah are
restored to him, he will forget what has happened, and says that he will
return the next day. Shaken by Judah’s appearance, Messala tells his
underling Drusus to go to the prison and find out what has happened to the
women. In the lowest level of the prison, Drusus discovers that the
women, who had not been seen in years, are now lepers. Fearful of the
disease, the guards order the women taken to the edge of the city and the
contents of their cell burned. Late that night, Miriam and Tirzah,
covering their deformities in rags, go to their home. Although they
merely want to look at it, Esther hears them. The women refuse to let
her approach and, when Esther reveals that Judah is not dead, but in
Jerusalem, Miriam makes her promise to tell him that they have died in
prison.
When Esther later tells Judah what Miriam had
asked, his bitterness and despair frighten her, and she implores him not to
be consumed with hatred. Judah will not listen, though, and leaves,
determined to find a means of revenge against Messala.
Soon Ilderim goes to Messala’s home, offers a
wager of a trunk filled with gold and silver and asks him and his companions
for odds on an upcoming chariot race. When Messala hears that his
opponent will be Judah, he accepts the wager at four to one, calling it the
difference between a Roman and a Jew―or an Arab.
_NRFPT_03_small.jpg) On the day of the race, Pontius Pilate, an old
friend of Arrius, who has become the new governor of Judea, oversees the
race. Ilderim is optimistic, and happy that Judah has earned his
horses’ affection, but worries when he sees that Messala’s chariot has
spiked wheels and warns Judah. During the nine-lap race, Messala uses
the blades on his wheels to destroy many chariots, and several of the other
charioteers are killed or maimed. Messala tries to destroy Judah’s
chariot, but instead crashes his own and is dragged by his team. Judah
wins the race and is crowned victorious by Pilate, who calls him the crowd’s
current god when the Judeans cheer loudly for him.
After the race, Messala, who is in agony, will
not allow the physician to amputate his mutilated legs until after Judah,
whom he has summoned, arrives. Rather than seeking forgiveness, as
Messala dies, he taunts Judah by revealing that Tirzah and Miriam are not
dead but living in the valley of the lepers.
In
despair, Judah goes to the valley to find his mother and sister, ignoring
the fear of contagion. As he searches, he is stunned to see Esther and
Malluch, the mute who takes care of Simonides, bringing baskets of food down
to the lepers’ caves. Judah angrily confronts Esther for her deception
and demands to see Miriam and Tirzah, but she pleads that they would be
shattered if he saw what has become of them. When Miriam and Tirzah
weakly call for Esther, Judah hides as Esther gives them food, and weeps
when he hears his mother ask if he is well and happy. Although still
unconvinced by Esther’s pleas to remain hidden, Judah nonetheless leaves
with her and Malluch.
On their way back to the city, they see a crowd
gathering on a mountain top. Balthasar, who is in the crowd, calls out
to Judah, saying that the Nazarene who will speak is the one he sought, and
that he is the son of God. Although Judah momentarily thinks of the
Nazarene who had given him water, he scoffs at the remark and returns to the
city alone.
Judah is then summoned by Pilate, who greets him
warmly as the son of his old friend, and delivers the message that he has
been granted Roman citizenship. Though expressing his affection for
Arrius, Judah rejects the citizenship and gives Arrius’ ring to Pilate to
return, saying that Rome turned Messala into what he became. When
Judah returns home, Esther tells him of the words of love and forgiveness
she heard from the Nazarene, but Judah will not listen.
The next day, Esther returns to the valley of
the lepers, followed at a distance by Judah. When Miriam approaches,
she reveals that Tirzah is dying. As Esther tells Miriam of the
Nazarene’s words and says that she wants to take them to him, Judah comes
forward. Miriam tries to make Judah go away by showing him her
deformed face, but Judah strokes her forehead and embraces her. He
then carries Tirzah from the cave and, with Miriam and Esther, walks back to
Jerusalem.
The city is almost deserted when they arrive.
People shun the lepers, but an old blind man tells them that people are
gathered for the trial of the Nazarene. They then walk to the center
of the city and observe Pilate washing his hands of the man, who is
sentenced to death. Seeing the Nazarene's tortured body, the women
weep, but Judah suddenly recognizes him. Judah then follows his
journey to the crucifixion site and, when the Nazarene stumbles under the
weight of his cross, offers him water. As the women sadly return to
the valley of the lepers, Judah continues to follow the Nazarene.
When Judah sees Balthasar, he relates what
happened in Nazareth and wonders what the man has done to deserve this, but
Balthasar says that he came into the world for this purpose. As the
Nazarene dies, the skies darken and a storm rages. Outside the city,
Miriam, Tirzah and Esther have taken cover. Tirzah says that she is no
longer afraid, and Miriam sadly says, "His life is over." Suddenly,
through lightning flashes, Esther sees that Miriam and Tirzah no longer bear
the deformities of leprosy. That night, when Judah returns home, he
embraces Esther and relates that, even near death, the Nazarene sought
forgiveness for those who caused his suffering. Esther then shows him
that Miriam and Esther have been cured and the four lovingly embrace.
Notes
The film is based on the novel Ben-Hur, a Tale of the Christ by Lew
Wallace (New York, 1880).
The film opens with a title card reading
"Overture," which appears for several minutes while Miklos Rozsa's score is
played. Following a title card bearing the MGM logo, another reads
"Anno Domini" (Year of the Lord), followed by the film's main title.
The next card reads "A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace."
After these title cards, a brief prologue is presented, accompanied by an
off-screen narration by Finlay Currie. The narration states that,
throughout the Roman Empire, a census was being taken requiring everyone to
return to the town of their birth.
As the historical narration describes the
dominance of the Romans over a vast empire that included Judea, brief scenes
of Joseph the Carpenter from Judea, who accompanies his pregnant wife Mary
to Bethlehem, are presented. At night, three men, Balthasar, Gaspar
and Melchior, see a bright star in the sky and follow it to Bethlehem, where
they present gifts to Mary's baby, who has been born in a stable, in
fulfillment of Biblical prophesies about the birth of the Christ.
Following the prologue, the film's credits are
presented over reproductions of Michelangelo’s "Creation of Adam" panel from
the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. After
William Wyler's directing credit, a final title card reads "Anno Domini
XXVI" (Year of the Lord 26). The main action begins with shots of the
now grown Christ walking in the hills, after which "Messala" arrives in
Jerusalem. Approximately two hours and twenty minutes into the film, a
title card reading "Intermission" appears onscreen while the score briefly
is played on the soundtrack. After the intermission, the film resumes
after an "Entr'Acte" title card appears onscreen for several minutes as the
score is played on a soundtrack. The action then resumes for the final
hour and twenty minutes of the story.
Although the film follows Wallace’s
internationally best-selling nineteenth century novel relatively closely,
there are some differences between the 1959 film and the novel, and between
MGM's 1925 and 1959 adaptations. Two significant changes between the
novel and the earlier, silent film are that, while in the 1925 film, the
race takes place in Antioch, in the 1959 film it takes place in Judea and,
whereas in the novel, Messala lives, but is crippled for life after the
race, in the 1925 film the character’s death only is implied. In the
1959 film, however, Messala dies in his final confrontation with “Judah Ben-Hur”
after the chariot race.
Another important difference between the 1959
film and the novel and earlier film is that, although audiences could infer
that Judah would become a Christian at the end of the 1959 film, it is
implied rather than being overtly stated.
_07_small.jpg) The
1959 film had a long and complex production history. The following
information was assembled from contemporary news items, feature articles,
reviews and the film's commemorative booklet, unless otherwise noted.
Ben-Hur 's development began as early as the summer of 1953, when MGM
production chief Dore Schary, studio general manager E.J. Mannix, Nicholas
Schenck, president of MGM's parent company and distribution arm, Loew's
Inc., and producer Sam Zimbalist came together to discuss the idea. An
October 5, 1953 front page story in HR announced MGM's plans for the
new adaptation of Wallace's novel to be their top production of 1954, which
tentatively was to begin shooting in Italy in July 1954. MGM's 1925
adaptation was one of the most popular films of the 1920s, and had been the
studio’s biggest financial success for many years. According to
various contemporary articles, executives hoped that the large-scale
production would reverse the studio's then precarious financial situation.
According to news items in early 1954,
Zimbalist, who had produced MGM’s successful 1951 epic
Quo
Vadis, was heading the project, and Karl Tunberg was given the
assignment to write the screenplay for what was budgeted as a $5,000,000
production to be shot in Rome. Various news items in 1953 and 1954
mention
Marlon Brando, Vittorio Gassman,
Montgomery Clift,
Rock Hudson,
Van Johnson, and Edmund Purdom as prospective leads for the film, with
Brando mentioned in several sources as the apparent favorite.
Actresses mentioned in news items as being considered or tested at the time
included
Ava Gardner and
Pier Angeli for "Esther," and
Taina Elg for "Iras," a role that was in the 1925
Ben Hur, A Tale of the Christ, but omitted from the later film.
Trade articles variously reported delays in the
start of production, with some news items indicating that, for a time, the
studio considered shooting the film in the U.S. instead of Rome.
Throughout 1955, Sidney Franklin was to be the film's director, with
Richard Burton a strong contender for the title role. At this
time, actors Ray Danton, Ronald Lewis and Bill Travers were mentioned as
having been tested for major roles in the film, probably for Messala.
In October 1955, an HR news item reported
that the production was being delayed for several months beyond the
previously announced spring 1956 start date. According to a 1959
LAEx feature on the film, a 1957 postponement came about soon after
upheavals at MGM and Loew's Inc. resulted in Schary and Schenck leaving the
company. At that time, Franklin removed himself from the project.
According to news items, by February 1957,
Wyler, who had been an assistant director and production manager on the 1925
film, was announced as the director, and Italian actor Cesare Danova was
"being groomed for the title spot.” As shown in a screen test included
as added content on the 2004 DVD edition of the film, Danova did a two-scene
color test as Judah, with Leslie Nielson as Messala. According to a
March 1957 HR news item, actress Carolyn Craig tested for a role in
the film at this time, probably for “Esther.”
According to HR news items from June
through November 1957, Hecht-Lancaster-Hill was in negotiations with Loew's
Inc. to distribute four of its productions in exchange for
Burt Lancaster, one of the three partners in H-L-H starring in Ben-Hur.
By November 1957, HR reported that, while the distribution deal
between H-L-H and Loew's had fallen through, Lancaster was still favored as
the lead in Ben-Hur.
Various contemporary sources noted that
Tony Curtis and
Kirk Douglas also were under consideration for the lead in 1956 and
1957. In modern interviews, contributing writer Gore Vidal has stated
that Zimbalist had asked him to approach Vidal’s friend,
Paul Newman, to play the lead, but Newman, who had been unhappy in a
somewhat similar period role in the 1955 film The Silver Chalice, flatly
refused.
_09_small.jpg) _08_small.jpg) In
January 1958, it was announced in trade papers that
Charlton Heston, who had appeared in Wyler’s previous film
The Big
Country was cast in the lead of Ben-Hur . At that point, the production
was set for a March 1958 start date. Other actors tested or considered
for roles in early 1958 included
Carroll Baker for Esther and
Scott Brady for "Marcellus," another role not in the final film.
Steve Cochran and
Victor Mature were reportedly under consideration for Messala, along
with Irish actor Stephen Boyd, who finally was selected for the role.
Israeli actress
Haya Harareet, who was selected to portray Esther just prior to the
start of filming, made her American feature-film debut in Ben-Hur.
Actress Marie Ney, whose name was included in
HR production chart cast lists from the beginning of filming through
August 22, 1958, was not in the released film. It is possible that Ney
was replaced by
Martha Scott in the role of “Miriam,” as Scott's casting was announced
in mid-July 1958 and her name replaced Ney on all charts from August 29,
1958 through the end of production. A mid-production HR news
item included Gia-Carlo Zarfati in the cast, but his appearance in the
released film has not been verified. Italian actress
Marina Berti, who portrayed "Flavia” in the film, and whose biographical
sketch was included in the commemorative booklet, appears onscreen only
briefly, sitting next to Heston at the Roman banquet, and has no lines.
Berti previously had appeared in a major role in
Quo
Vadis and, according to contemporary sources, had had a larger role in
Ben-Hur, until most of her part was edited out before press previews.
Actor Claude Heater, who portrayed “The Christ”
was seen only from the back or in long shots. During the Sermon on the
Mount sequence, although people are shown listening intently to the words
being spoken, the audience does not hear a voice speaking them. In
interviews, Wyler explained that he decided to do this so that audience
would experience Christ’s presence only from the reaction of the other
actors.
As noted in the commemorative booklet and
feature articles, a number of European aristocrats and noblemen appeared as
extras in the Roman banquet sequence, and it became fashionable for film and
television celebrities to visit and have their photographs taken on the set.
On January 25, 1959, television host Ed Sullivan included footage of his
trip to the Ben-Hur set on his popular Sunday night program The Ed
Sullivan Show.
As noted in many contemporary sources, in
addition to Tunberg, who had written the first script for the project more
than five years before the start of principal photography, Christopher Fry
and Vidal contributed to the screenplay during filming. Maxwell
Anderson and S.N. Behrman are also mentioned as contributing writers in the
film’s commemorative booklet, but it is likely that they worked on the
script prior to the start of the production. According to an April 23,
1958 HR news item, Vidal was flying to Rome to contribute to the
screenplay, and other sources indicate that he worked for many months on the
project.
The commemorative program and various modern
sources indicate that Fry, a prominent British playwright and poet who had
worked on dialogue for one or two earlier films, contributed significantly
to the dialogue in Ben-Hur, often improving upon lines that were
mundane or too modern for the period setting. For example, in Wyler’s
authorized biography and elsewhere, Fry is credited with changing the scene
in which Judah dines with “Sheik Ilderim” so that, instead of asking “Did
you enjoy your dinner?,” in the completed film, Ilderim asks “Was the food
to your liking?”
_NRFPT_05_small.jpg)
_NRFPT_04_small.jpg) The
film's final onscreen writing credits created controversy when, in October
1959, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) awarded Tunberg sole screenplay
credit. This happened even after Tunberg reportedly stated that he did
not mind sharing credit with Fry, who was on the set throughout the film's
production and was credited by Wyler in the commemorative booklet and
elsewhere as being more responsible than any other writer for the final
screenplay. In an October 28, 1959 DV news article, Wyler was
quoted as stating, "Fry rates credit second only to General Lew Wallace."
In response to Wyler's public outcries against their ruling, the WGA took
out trade paper ads on November 20, 1959 in which they issued a statement
reading, in part, "the unanimous decision of the three judges was that the
sole screenplay credit was awarded to Karl Tunberg...The record shows the
following: 1. Karl Tunberg is the only writer who has ever written a
complete screenplay on Ben-Hur; 2. Karl Tunberg continued to
contribute materials throughout the actual filming, and this material is
incorporated in the final picture; and 3. Karl Tunberg alone did the
necessary rewriting during the four months of retakes and added scenes.
Mr. Christopher Fry himself was fully informed of the proceedings of the
Guild. He has made it absolutely clear that he did not want to protest
the decision of the Guild."
In the mid-1990s, the issue of writing credits
for Ben-Hur again erupted in controversy when Heston and contributing
writer Vidal, publicly exchanged angry letters that were published in
various newspapers and magazines. The argument was prompted by the
men's respective autobiographies and an interview Vidal gave in the 1996
documentary film The Celluloid Closet, in which he stated that, with
Wyler’s permission, he rewrote the scene in which Messala and Judah meet for
the first time as adults to convey a subtle undertone of a boyhood passion
between the two men that turned into a “lovers’ quarrel.” Vidal
further claimed that Wyler disliked Heston and regarded him as a wooden
actor and that Heston never was cognizant of the fact that the scene had an
underlying homosexual tone. For his part, Heston rebuffed Vidal’s
account, stating it “irritates the hell out of me,” and accused Vidal of
claiming too much credit for the Ben-Hur screenplay. Heston
offered sections of a daily dairy that he wrote during the production to
refute Vidal’s interpretation, while Vidal later countered that Heston was
presenting only part of the facts.
According to a July 18, 1957 HR news
item, Cinerama proposed having their three-strip cameras shoot side-by-side
with the cameras that MGM was to use in Italy, but Loew's Inc. officials
rejected the idea. According to an August 15, 1958 HR news
item, New York television producer David Susskind abandoned his plans for a
two-hour television adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur after several
days of meetings with MGM executives who felt that a television version
would detract from their own feature film, which was then in mid-production
in Rome.
Even before the start of principal photography,
the production was touted in news items as the costliest film ever made,
with pre-production budget estimates ranging from a low end of $5,000,000 in
1953 to $13,000,000 by July 1958. By the time that the film was
released, as noted in many contemporary sources, the budget had reached
$15,000,000, a record at the time, with some sources estimating the negative
cost as high as $16,000,000.
Set construction, costume preparation, matte
painting and other pre-production activities required a year in advance of
any shooting. Pre-production activities took place in California,
Britain and Italy primarily. Principal photography took almost a year
at Rome's Cinecittà studios, which had been the site of filming for MGM's
1951 epic,
Quo
Vadis. According to a news item in early February 1958, Ben-Hur
would utilize about eighty percent of the facilities at Cinecittà.
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Although principal photography did not begin
until May 18, 1958 (some sources list the start date as May 19 or 21), news
items indicate that the construction of photographic miniatures, principally
for the sea battle scene and "Quintus Arrius'" entrance into Rome, began at
Cinecittà in November 1957, and cinematographer Robert L. Surtees went to
Italy in early 1958 for camera tests. A March 4, 1958 HR news
item stated that Surtees and 2nd unit director Andrew Marton had begun
filming background scenes that day in Libya, but according to a March 20,
1958 news item, the shooting permit for Libyan filming was revoked on
religious grounds, as was a subsequent permit in Jerusalem for the same
reason. No footage shot in Libya or Jerusalem appears in the released
film, and the city gates and interior streets of Jerusalem were recreated in
massive sets constructed at Cinecittà. As noted in news items and the
commemorative booklet, two weeks of location filming took place in Fogliano,
near Anzio, the mountains near Arcinazzo and various other sites in Italy.
Filming required the use of six $100,000 cameras
that shot in 65mm, called MGM Camera 65 in the credits. According to
several contemporary reports, Panavision, Inc. developed ten new lenses
specifically for the production, in order to provide the sharpest focus
possible for the MGM Camera 65 process that was used in the production.
The lenses were manufactured by Steinheil, an old German company, and
developed for Panavision under the personal supervision of company president
Robert E. Gottschalk. The 65mm process, Panavision lenses and lighting
techniques were described in detail by Surtees in a feature article in the
October 1959 issue of AmCin. According to Surtees, the lenses
and 65mm film stock enabled him and the other cameramen who worked on the
picture to shoot extremely wide shots, such as those in the chariot race
sequence, that were also very sharp in the release prints. Surtees
went on to relate that two or more of the six cameras were used for each of
the action sequences.
Press reports and feature articles on the film
relate impressive statistics on the production, which required tons of
concrete and miles of metal and wood for the sets. Thousands of extras
were required over the course of the production, each of whom had to be
dressed in costumes made specifically for the production. The chariot
race set alone, which covered over eighteen acres, was five stories high and
took six months to build, was reportedly the largest set built to that time.
As reported in contemporary sources, the
climactic chariot race sequence, which ran for just under ten minutes in the
released film, required months of planning and ten weeks to shoot.
Over eighty horses were brought over to Italy from Yugoslavia and Sicily for
the race and trained by veteran Hollywood animal handler Glenn Randall.
According to the commemorative booklet, eighteen chariots were built for the
production, with nine used for practice and training. The remaining
nine teams were used in the filmed race, which consisted of seven laps shot
in the arena for the nine-lap race of the story. Sources variously
report the use of 6,000 or 7,000 extras to fill the stadium as cheering
Judeans, with various mattes used to flesh out the walls and backgrounds of
the arena.
The chariots were all constructed by Danesi
Brothers, an old and established coach-making company in Rome.
Contemporary sources and modern interviews with crew members confirm that
both Heston and Boyd trained extensively with the teams, and that, by the
time the race was shot, Heston was particularly adept at driving a chariot,
making close-in shots much easier than they would have been if a stunt
double was needed throughout. Much has been written, both around the
time of production and later, of the making of the spectacular chariot race.
In the film's commemorative booklet, both Marton and Yakima Canutt, who are
listed onscreen as “2nd unit directors,” are credited with directing the
chariot race sequence. However, in modern sources, including Wyler’s
authorized biography, much of the credit for direction of the race has been
given to Canutt, who was one of the motion picture industry's pioneering
stuntmen and stunt coordinators.
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The 1993 documentary Ben-Hur: The
Making of an Epic, which was made to accompany a DVD 35th anniversary
restoration of the film and was also included as added content on the 2004
DVD edition, contains extensive behind-the-scenes footage of the chariot
race. A shot of a marker used for one scene of the sequence listed
Marton’s name as director. Following the film's release, Marton wrote
an article for the January 1960 issue of Films in Review , which was
reprinted in the February 1960 issue of AmCin, in which he described
the filming of the race and expressed his great disappointment over his
shared 2nd unit director credit. In the article, Marton expressed his
feeling that, if producer Zimbalist, who died during production, had lived,
his screen credit would have read: "Chariot race directed by Andrew
Marton." Contemporary information, the documentary and modern
interviews suggest that, while Marton was responsible for the overall
staging and shooting of the sequence, Canutt was responsible for
coordinating the actors, stuntmen, horses and chariots for the race itself.
A contemporary billing sheet for the film indicates that Mario Soldati, who
also worked as a 2nd unit director on the chariot race, was originally to be
listed onscreen below Marton and Canutt but that his name was withdrawn
prior to the release of the film. According to a February 1960 LAT
article, Soldati voluntarily declined screen credit.
One of the most famous shots within the race
sequence occurs when the chariot that Judah is driving runs over debris from
a chariot that has just crashed. As this happens, Judah’s chariot
briefly goes airborne, causing him to hold onto the chariot’s handles as his
body is catapulted aloft. He then lands between the horses and the
chariot, but quickly climbs back into the chariot and resumes the race.
In various 1959 articles and news items on the race, and in DVD interviews
with Joe Canutt, son of Yakima and Heston's stunt double for the sequence,
it was revealed that the spectacular shot was an accident. Unlike the
final shots of the stunt that are in the picture, in which Heston is seen
between the horses and the chariot as he lands, during the actual stunt, Joe
Canutt was thrown from the chariot. His father and many of the crew
feared that he had been killed or seriously injured, but he emerged with
only minor cuts. In a famous anecdote that Heston often repeated over
the years, he explained that, at one point during filming, when he
complained that other charioteers were crowding him, Canutt answered, "Don't
worry Chuck, you win the race."
According to an article in LAT in June
1958, two crew members were injured, and a $100,000 camera was destroyed,
during the filming of another sequence in the race when Stephen Boyd's
chariot went out of control and crashed through a wooden barrier as it
rounded the corners of the track. Assistant cameraman Eddie Phillips
incurred a broken shoulder and an unnamed Italian assistant received a
broken wrist, but these and Joe Canutt's minor injuries were the only ones
reported during filming of the physically demanding chariot race sequence.
Another notable sequence in Ben-Hur was
the sea battle between the Roman and Macedonian ships (called galleys).
The sequence was shot under the supervision of 3rd unit director Richard
Thorpe on a large man-made lake at Cinecittà, according to the documentary
on the DVD release and other sources. Two full-sized galleys were
placed in the lake for close shots, with dozens of other galleys built for
long shots during the battle. According to information on the DVD, the
galleys were mounted onto underwater tracks so they could be moved fluidly
during the sequence.
The length and intensity of the large-scale
production took its toll on the filmmakers, according to many sources.
In September 1958, an HR news item reported that MGM executive J.J.
Cohn was sent to Rome to replace Henry Henigson as physical production
manager. Henigson, who had had a heart attack a few months previously,
had asked to leave the production. Producer Zimbalist, who had helmed
the production since 1953, died in Rome on 4 Nov 1958. According to
obituaries, Zimbalist collapsed of a heart attack on the set of Ben-Hur
and died at his Roman apartment a few hours later. According to
Zimbalist's obituary in Var, Cohn took over his production duties for
the final months of filming and post-production.
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A November 13, 1958 HR news item stated
that veteran MGM film editor Margaret Booth was ordered to Rome to assist
Wyler and editors Ralph E. Winters and John D. Dunning in cutting the
picture. Principal photography and retakes were completed on January
30, 1959. Rozsa's lavish score, which contemporary sources state was
the longest score ever produced for a film, was conducted by him in twelve
recording sessions over a seventy-hour period. The score was recorded
by the 100-piece MGM Symphony Orchestra on six channel stereophonic sound
tracks and released in three separate albums. According to the
documentary on the film, unlike most scores, which were cut to meet the
requirements of individual scenes, several scenes in Ben-Hur were cut
to fit the score. The final edit of the completed picture was
delivered to the Technicolor lab in early October 1959, according to an
HR news item, and previews were held shortly thereafter at various North
American cities.
While stories about Ben-Hur appeared
throughout 1958 and 1959, the publicity campaign for the picture, which was
one of the largest in history, began in the summer of 1959. According
to news items, MGM's exploitation budget for the film was at least
$2,000,000, and possibly as high as $3,000,000. A Var article
in August 1959 stated that $1,750,000 was budgeted solely for print ads, and
that $200,000 would be spent to promote the New York City premiere of the
70mm release. This article and others described the various licensing
agreements that MGM entered into for toys, novelty items, jewelry and a new
"Ben-Hur" candy bar to be introduced by Schrafft's candy company.
Agreements were also made with several large publishing houses, including
Bantam, Dell, Pocket Books and Signet among others, to create and sell books
tied to the film.
MGM commissioned Dr. Joseph Mersand, president
of the National Council of English Teachers, to prepare a special study
guide on the film that was distributed to schools. A glossy, hardcover
commemorative booklet, published by Random House under the title The
Story of the Making of Ben-Hur, sold for one dollar at road show
engagements and selected bookstores. The booklet included a set of six
prints reproduced from paintings by American artist Ben Stahl, who was
commissioned by MGM to recreate scenes from the picture. The original
paintings were exhibited at a New York City art gallery and, as noted in the
booklet, its reproductions were "arranged so that they may be removed for
framing." According to an April 1959 Var news item, an initial
run of 2,000,000 copies of the booklet was printed.
Ben-Hur ’s World premiere was held in New
York City on November 18, 1959, with a Los Angeles premiere to benefit the
USC Medical School Scholarship fund held on November 24, 1959. The
Chamber of Commerce of Culver City, where the MGM studios were located,
declared November 24 "Ben-Hur Day" in the film's honor, according to news
items. New York City ticket prices for the film were a high three
dollars for weekday performances, which were on a reserved seat basis for
many months.
When it opened, Ben-Hur received lavish
praise from critics, whose comments ranged from "The best of Hollywood's
super-spectacles...[Wyler] has set a standard of excellence by which coming
generations of screen spectacles can expect to be measured (Time Magazine),"
to "A remarkably intelligent and engrossing human drama...it is a
magnificent thing to look at, and it is extremely well-played (NYT),"
"Spectacular without being a spectacle...Not only is it not simple-minded,
it is downright literate (SatRev)," and "Spectacle piles upon
spectacle...but there are also genuine warmth and fervor and finely acted
intimate scenes that keep the picture as a whole from being classed as
merely another super-spec (LAT)."
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Some critics, even those who highly praised the
film, also pointed out that its 212 minutes running time was tiring, and, as
NYT critic Bosley Crowther added, "three hours and thirty-two
minutes...is simply too much of a good thing." As noted in a news item
in Var on November 11, 1959, Heston and Wyler publicly objected to
negative comments about the film printed in the Protestant newspaper The
Christian Century, which stated that Protestants should challenge "the
promotion of lurid distortions of the Bible." According to a December
30, 1959 HR news item, Ben-Hur was banned in Jordan because of
Harareet's nationality and because Jordanian officials traditionally banned
films perceived to be pro-Israeli.
Ben-Hur received the following Academy
Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Heston), Best
Supporting Actor (Hugh
Griffith), Best Cinematography (color, Surtees), Best Art Direction
(color, William A. Horning, Edward Carfagno, Art Directors, Hugh Hunt, Set
Decorator), Best Film Editing (Winters and Dunning), Best Costume Design
(color, Elizabeth Haffenden), Best Score (dramatic or comedy, Rozsa); Best
Sound (Franklin Milton) and Best Special Effects (A. Arnold Gillespie,
Robert MacDonald for visual effects and Milo Lory for audible effects).
Gillespie also had supervised the special effects for the 1925 film version.
The picture received one additional nomination, to Tunberg for Best Adapted
Screenplay, but he lost to Neil Paterson for Room at the Top. Some
modern sources have suggested that the reason why Tunberg did not win an
Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay—the only category for which the film
received a nomination but not an award—was due in measure to the protest
against the WGA ruling.
Ben-Hur 's eleven Academy Awards broke
the record for the highest number of Oscars received for an individual film.
It was a record that stood until Titanic (1997) garnered the same
number of awards in 1998. In 2004, Lord of the Rings: Return of the
King also earned eleven Academy Awards and was the only one of the three
record-holders to receive awards in all categories for which it was
nominated. In addition, Ben-Hur was on many Top Ten Film lists
for the year and received numerous other awards and accolades, including a
Best Director award for Wyler from the Directors Guild of America.
Because of the film's great popularity, an
experimental screening for the deaf was presented at the Hollywood Egyptian
Theatre, where the film had its Los Angeles premiere and played for many
months. At the screening, as noted in a May 1961 LAEx article,
two sign language interpreters, Mrs. Laura Fletcher and Mrs. Elizabeth
Gesner, wore "phosphorescent nylon gloves and luminescent lip makeup.
An intra-red light blacked out all but their arms, hands and lips," so that
the audience could enjoy the film via sign language.
Box office revenues for the film were even more
spectacular than anticipated. According to a January 1960 DV
news item, the film expected to reach the break-even point in just under a
year, and was on track to be not only the biggest grossing film of all time,
but also the fastest. The article noted that this was particularly
significant as the film was still playing in relatively few theaters.
By the end of 1961, according to a DV news item on December 26, 1961,
rentals for the film had reached $46,996,984 worldwide, with a domestic
total of $31,881,251.
By August 1968, according to news items, the
global rentals for Ben-Hur had reached $66,000,000, second only to
The Sound of Music (1965). The film was re-released on a road show
basis in 1969, to coincide with the Easter holidays that year.
According to a Box article, the 70mm re-release was to have its
premiere on February 25, 1969 in Miami, Florida. According to an
August 27, 1970 DV news item, when the film's television rights were
sold that year, CBS paid a then-record sum of $3,000,000 for four showings
in three years. As noted in an LAT article in 1971, when the
film first aired, it was broadcast with sixty commercials, which was also a
record for the time.
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Another re-release of the film, which was
further restored, took place on September 14, 1990, when it opened at the
Hollywood Pacific Cinerama Dome, with a special appearance by Heston.
The film was shown for three weeks at that theater, with additional
exhibition at other cities. According to an August 29, 1990 LAT
item concerning the film, Turner Entertainment Co., which then owned the
rights to films in the MGM library, the budget for the film in 1959, would
translate into $100,000,000 in 1990 dollars.
In 1998, according to an HR news item,
the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed an earlier federal judge's
ruling dismissing a lawsuit brought against Time Warner, Inc.'s Turner
Broadcasting unit by Wyler's heirs. The item went on to state that the
suit had to do with revising Wyler's original contract to direct the picture
whereby he would receive $350,000 plus 3% of the gross receipts in excess of
$20,000,000, payable in $50,000 annual increments. Wyler's heirs had
sued to unblock the backlogged money from Wyler's percentage, which then
amounted to about $1,500,000. The final disposition of that suit has
not been determined.
Modern sources include actors Lando Buzzanca,
Giuliano Gemma and Edwin Richfield in the cast, and add Dave Friedman, Ken
Adam, Mentor Huebner, Van Allen James, Mauro Zambuto, Cliff Shirpser,
Matthew Yuricich and Eugene Zador to the crew. Modern sources also
credit Mickey Gilbert, Nosher Powell and Glenn Randall, Jr. as stuntmen.
Several modern sources state that future Italian Spaghetti Western director
Sergio Leone worked on the film; sources variously credit him with being a
2nd unit director, assistant to Wyler or production assistant at Cinecittà.
In addition to the 1925's
Ben Hur, A Tale of the Christ, which was directed by Fred Niblo and
starred
Ramon Novarro and
Francis X. Bushman, Wallace’s novel had been adapted to the screen in
1907 by the Kalem Co. That one-reel, silent short was directed by
Sidney Olcott and Frank O. Rose. Heston recreated his role by
providing the voice of Judah Ben-Hur for the 2003 animated children's
television special and DVD of Ben-Hur A Tale of Christ.
Although the film's critical appraisal has
diminished somewhat since the early 1960s, in 1997 it was ranked 72nd on
AFI's list of the 100 greatest American films, and in 2007, on AFI's 10th
Anniversary Edition of the 100 greatest films list, Ben-Hur was
ranked #100. In April 2008, it was announced in Hollywood trade papers
that David Wyler, son of director
William Wyler, was producing a new adaptation of Wallace's novel, which
was to be a television mini-series, directed by Christian Duguay on a
$30,000,000 budget.
In December 2002, as part of AMPAS' celebration
of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Academy Awards, a special screening
of Ben-Hur was presented at the Samuel Goldwyn Theatre. Heston,
who publicly announced in 2001 that he was suffering from Alzheimer's,
appeared at the screening, one of his last public appearances before his
death in Apr 2008. |
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