Ben-Hur (1959) - Perhaps the greatest epic of all time

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One original poster for William Wyler's majestic Ben-Hur

Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince from Judea at the time of Christ, who gets deceived by his old friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd (The Fall of the Roman Empire (1964))), and is made a slave to the Roman galleys, while his mother and daughter are thrown in the slammer. But Ben-Hur has to go through much more in his life...

A still from the film, wherein Charlton Heston portrays Ben-Hur's marring time as a galley-slave for the Romans

Ben-Hur is an exuberant retelling of the Christian messages; to love one's enemy, to stand fast and turn the other cheek and take the punishment and the pain, and to forgive and be forgiven; and it is an excellent and deeply moving film unlike any other. - Additionally it is probably the great Charlton Heston's (Planet of the Apes (1968)) best role and the greatest epic ever. He is phenomenal as the man, who finally after so many trials gets his vindictiveness turned and finds faith, SPOILER and sees a miracle happen for his beloved ones.
The photography alone in Ben-Hur, - by the phenomenal Robert Surtees (The Last Picture Show (1971)), - is spectacular in all its full details and grandeur. The film was the biggest in terms of sets and the most expensive film ever made at its time. It was so big that it was a make-or-break effort for its studio, MGM.
Especially two major scenes are always highlighted as truly unforgettable: The violent galley-scene and the legendary, extraordinary chariot race scene, an eight-minute scene that took 5 weeks to shoot in the biggest set ever built, outside of Rome at Cinecittá Studio. The scene is so influential and amazing that it stands alone in cinema history and is surrounded by myths: Its number of extras going upwards of 15,000; the number of horses that died from the effort tallying from none, (and that the horses were treated with the utmost respect, as you can read in the IMDb trivia page), to as many as 100, as is the number given in The Hollywood Reporter's new Animals Were Harmed-special. Whichever is the truth, the scene is made and should be treasured:

Click to enlarge this picture from the legendary chariot race scene of Ben-Hur

But there are many other fantastic, unforgettable scenes that are less mythologized: The beautiful opening with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem; Ben-Hur's meeting with Jesus, who gives him water, when he is thirsting in chains, - a remarkable and moving scene, - and Ben-Hur's terrible discovery that his kin have become lepers.

It is a tragic fact, however, that the film's producer Sam Zimbalist (Quo Vadis (1951)) had a heart attack and died on set, two months before production ended, at age 57. His wife subsequently took home the Best Picture Oscar for him. Ben-Hur won a record 11 Oscars (out of 12 nominations), not equalled again before Titanic (1997).
Director William Wyler (The Big Country (1958)) was able to walk home his own Oscar, and his - at the time - record pay of 1.1 mil. $. (Still a hefty payment for any director.)
Ben-Hur has an epic span of nearly 4 hours, which doesn't detract from its impact, which is that of an unmissable masterpiece, a gift to humanity, - a truly great film.

Another beautiful, original poster for Ben-Hur

Related reviews:

William Wyler The Big Country (1958) - A big western gift

See some glimpses of the grandeur in this not-so-humble original trailer for Ben-Hur

Budget: 15 mil. $
Box office: 146.9 mil. $ (initial release only)
= Worldwide monster hit; highest grossing film of 1959, and the second-highest grossing film of all time, behind Victor Fleming's Gone With the Wind (1939)

Any comments on Ben-Hur are welcomed
Knowledge on what's fact and what's conjecture in the chariot race annals are also welcomed