Tuesday, March 13, 2012

BEN HUR

1. BEN HUR                                                                                                                              Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton HestonStephen BoydJack HawkinsHugh Griffith and Haya Harareet. It won a record 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Adapted fromLew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the screenplay is credited to Karl Tunberg but includes contributions from Maxwell AndersonS. N. BehrmanGore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The motion picture was the most expensive ever made at the time, and its sets were the largest yet built for a film. The film contains a nine-minute chariot race which has become one of the most famous sequences in cinema. The score composed by Miklós Rózsa was highly influential on cinema for more than 15 years, and is the longest ever   composed for a motion picture

Plot


The film's prologue depicts the traditional story of the nativity of Jesus.

In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy prince and merchant in Jerusalem. Childhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd), now a tribune, arrives as the new commander of the Roman garrison. Messala believes in the glory ofRome and its imperial power while Ben-Hur is devoted to his faith and the freedom of the Jewish people. Messala asks Ben-Hur for names of Jews who criticize the Romans; Ben-Hur counsels his countrymen against rebellion but refuses to name names.
Ben-Hur lives with his mother Miriam (Martha Scott), and sister Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell). Their loyal slave Simonides (Sam Jaffe) is preparing for an arranged marriage for his daughter, Esther (Haya Harareet). Ben-Hur gives Esther her freedom as a wedding present, and the audience is shown that Ben-Hur and Esther are in love.
During the parade for new governor of JudeaValerius Gratus, a tile falls from the roof of Ben-Hur's house. Gratus is thrown from his horse and nearly killed. Although Messala knows it was an accident, he condemns Ben-Hur to thegalleys and imprisons his mother and sister. By punishing a known friend and prominent citizen, he hopes to intimidate the Jewish populace. Ben-Hur swears to take revenge. Dying of thirst when his slave gang arrives atNazareth, Ben-Hur collapses. But a local carpenter (whom the audience realizes is Jesus) gives him water.
After three years as a galley slave, Ben-Hur is assigned to the flagship of Consul Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who has been charged with destroying a fleet of Macedonian pirates. The commander notices the slave's self-discipline and offers to train him as a gladiator or charioteer, but Ben-Hur declines, declaring that God will aid him.
As Arrius prepares for battle, he orders the rowers chained but Ben-Hur to be left free. Arrius' galley is rammed and sunk, but Ben-Hur unchains other rowers, saves the Roman's life and, since Arrius believes the battle ended in defeat, prevents him from committing suicide. Arrius is credited with the Roman fleet's victory, petitions Emperor Tiberius (George Relph) to free Ben-Hur, and adopts him as his son. With regained freedom and wealth, Ben-Hur learns Roman ways and becomes a champion charioteer, but longs for his family and homeland.
While returning to Judea, Ben-Hur meets Balthasar (Finlay Currie) and his host, Arab sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith). The sheik introduces Ben-Hur to his four whiteArabian horses and asks him to drive their quadriga in a race before the new Judean governor Pontius Pilate (Frank Thring). Ben-Hur declines, but hears that champion charioteer Messala will compete; as the sheik observes, "There is no law in the arena. Many are killed."
Ben-Hur learns that Esther's arranged marriage did not occur and that she is still in love with him. He visits Messala and demands that he free his mother and sister, but the Romans discover that Miriam and Tirzah contracted leprosy in prison and expel them from the city. The women beg Esther to conceal their condition from Ben-Hur, so she tells him that his mother and sister died.
Ben-Hur enters the race. Messala drives a chariot with blades on the hubs to tear apart competing vehicles. In the violent and grueling race, Messala attempts to destroy Ben-Hur's chariot but destroys his own instead; Messala is almost killed, while Ben-Hur wins the race. Before dying, Messala tells Ben-Hur that "the race is not over" and that he can find his family "in the Valley of the Lepers, if you can recognize them."
The film is subtitled "A Tale of the Christ", and Jesus now reappears. Esther tells Ben-Hur about the Sermon on the Mount, but blaming Roman rule for his family's fate, Ben-Hur rejects his patrimony and citizenship, and plans violence against the Empire. Learning that Tirzah is dying, Ben-Hur and Esther take her and Miriam to see Jesus, but his trial before Pilate has begun. Recognizing Jesus from their earlier meeting, Ben-Hur attempts to give him water during his march to Calvary but guards separate them.
Ben-Hur witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus. Miriam and Tirzah are healed by a miracle, as are Ben-Hur's heart and soul. He tells Esther that as he heard Jesus talk of forgiveness while on the cross, "I felt His voice take the sword out of my hand." The film ends with the empty crosses of Calvary and a shepherd and his flock.

Cast


credit:: Wikipedia

No comments:

JUMP MENU

Jump Menu
!--Page Navigation Start-->