Forever A New Chapter: Ben Hur 1959

To me this is the ALL TIME BEST ..... I was fortunate to go to Italy to have seen the place where this movie was shot and the place where the race took place. It was during this movie that one stunt man died on the set. Though Charlton Heston denied this fact.

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Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a brick falls down from Judah's house and barely misses the governor. Although Messala knows that they are not guilty he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge. Written by Matthias Scheler {tron@lyssa.owl.de}

When Prince Judah Ben-Hur hears that his childhood friend Messala has been named to command the Roman garrison of Jerusalem, he is thrilled. He soon finds however that his friend has changed and has become an arrogant conqueror, full of the grandeur of Rome. When Judah refuses to divulge the names of Jews who oppose Roman rule, Messala decides to make an example of him and sends him off as a galley slave. Through fate and good fortune, Judah survives the galleys and manages to return to Jerusalem in the hopes of finding his mother and sister, who were also imprisoned, and to seek revenge against his one-time friend. Written by garykmcd

The Making of Ben Hur

1959 Movie

With the advent of television into many American homes in the 1950's many theaters closed and movie studios suffered. M-G-M was no different and decided to return to Ben-Hur in an effort to emerge from their financial difficulties.

William Wyler, who had already earned two Academy Awards for best director, was selected to direct the film. British actors were cast as Romans and American actors, for the most part, were cast as Jews. Charlton Heston was chosen to play Ben-Hur and Stephen Boyd was cast as Messala. Filming was done in both Italy and California, just as the 1925 production.

Despite some lobbying from Crawfordsville, Indiana residents to host Ben-Hur's premier, it opened on November 19, 1959, at the Lowe's State Theater in New York City. Ben-Hur's initial release grossed in excess of $40 million.

The 1960 Academy Awards presented Ben-Hur with eleven of twelve awards for which it had been nominated. The major categories, Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, were all won. Curiously, the only category for which it was nominated but not awarded was Best Screenplay. This faux pas was largely the result of confusion and controversy over who had written the script. Karl Tunberg was credited with the screenplay but others had also worked on the script including Gore Vidal. Many however attribute the initial screenplay to Christopher Fry, but due to a falling out he did not receive credit. Nevertheless, as Charlton Heston delivered his acceptance speech for Best Actor, he made certain to thank Fry for the screenplay.

The 1959 Ben-Hur is a cultural icon. It has become an American tradition to broadcast Ben-Hur over Easter weekend. In 1998 the American Film Institute listed Ben-Hur as one of the 100 Greatest Movies.