Directed by William Wyler, Ben-Hur is an epic tale of injustice, betrayal and revenge.
Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a rich Jewish Prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century and is reunited with his boyhood friend Messala (Stephen Boyd) when he returns to Judea as commanding officer of the Roman Legions.
It is a happy reunion, at first, but their different political views separate them.
During the welcome parade a roof tile falls down from Judah's house and injures the new Governor and Messala sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother (Martha Scott) and sister (Cathy O'Donnell) into prison, but Judah swears to come back and take revenge on Messala.
He is imprisoned on board the flag ship of Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins) and after years chained to an oar, a great battle is fought and Judah finds himself saving the life of his master, who in time adopts him as his own and takes him back to Rome.
Having won his freedom, he eventually returns to Judea to find his family, but finds his home in ruins and he servant Simonides (Sam Jaffe) blinded, and his daughter Esther (Haya Harareet) tells him his mother and sister are dead, but later finds they are living in a Leper colony.
After confronting Messala he decides the best way to exact revenge would be to humiliate him at the Hippodrome racing the horses of Balthasar (Finlay Currie) and Sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith) in the epic Chariot race.
The whole tale of Ben-Hur is set during the time of Jesus Christ and his life is threaded through the story so therefore it has a miraculous ending, which was enough of a reason for Chairman Mao to ban the film in China.
It won a record eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Charlton Heston), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hugh Griffith), and Best Cinematography – Colour (Robert Surtees)
It’s a truly great movie which everyone should watch if for no other reason than the Chariot Race.
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