Ten Movies I'm Glad I Saw: Ben-Hur (#8)

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Ah, the final Monday-on-Tuesday of the year for me (a Tuesday after a three-day weekend that feels like a Monday all day). I had a nice, pleasant, relaxed weekend, and I hope yours was the same. It's time to march on to the next movie that it took me a while to get around to seeing, but once I did I'm so glad that I did. Here it is. #8: Ben-Hur Or, soylent green is chariot races! I don't know how I managed to evade this movie for so long. It was on the TCM Oscar marathon one night; and, with nothing else to do for four hours (yes, this movie is nearly four hours long), I watched it. Wowza. This movie has the record (along with two other films) for the most Oscars won by a movie, with eleven. Those include best picture and best actor (Charlton Heston). It's probably the definition of an "epic" as any you're going to find, with the exception of the fact that, unlike many epics that came after it, it's outstanding. The film is the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Heston), a prominent Jewish merchant. He goes from palace to poverty thanks to a former friend who betrays him after an accident. Ben-Hur is enslaved for his "crime," as an oarsman. After his commander has a victorious battle on the seas Ben-Hur is freed and adopted, becoming, in essence, a Roman. All of this is set during the time of unrest in Jerusalem as Jews seek to shake off Roman rule, and while a rabbi from Nazareth, Yeshua (Jesus), teaches. Then there's that chariot race. Even if you haven't seen the movie you've seen that chariot race. It's one of the greatest scenes in cinematic history (and it's not CGI, kiddies). What a great movie. Worthy of the term "epic"...and all those Oscars. Ben-Hur Directed by William Wyler Released in 1959 The chariot race: