Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Edition (DVD)

Always a fan of Charlton Heston.This movie is about Jesus but it's focus is on a man named Judah Ben Hur and the trials he faced because he was a Jew.Balthazar is in search of Jesus, whom he saw in the stable after He was born. Ben Hur is shown kindness by Jesus as he has been take into slavery by the Romans.The chariot races are spectacular and brutal. Edge of your seat excitement. You'll find yourself yelling at the screen because you want your favorite to win.

We enjoyed watching this 1959 original movie. It comes on a set of 2 DVD’s since the movie is so long. We had seen it many years ago - likely in a movie theater. The only issue was that it did not start playing by use of the START button. It took me a while to discover that if I went to the SCENE SELECTION button I could select the first scene and then the movie would start playing and play through all scenes on that DVD. I was happy to discover that since I really did not want to have to return it! I have a BluRay player.

One of the best movies to watch on Easter. I was on vacation with my parents and we both had watched the movie many years ago. The story was well told and fit in the timeline of Jesus birth to death. If you are

This is a great classic movie. My father loved to watch this movie when I was younger. Watching it now brings back great memories of my dad.

The movie is fantastic. The sets, the costumes and the dialog showcase the actors abilities in ways that seem to be forgotten.The seller shipped the disc immediately and as described.

Received in new condition... The show stands for itself as a Icon

I bought this set sometime ago (from Amazon) because as a kid I loved the movie along with the great theme & music. I was in 12thgrade and went on a weekend trip to Chicago with the 11th grade class to see this movie (1960). Since then I have probably becomemore of a critic of this movie than any other. MGM was beginning to decline as a great studio and this was a good attempt to reviveits market value (I think). Anyhow, 15 mill was spent on the thing based on the Wallaces book that I read (boy, some job that was!)and I think very successfully. It was faithful to the book, beautifully photographed and well acted with an astounding chariot raceat the end of the film (almost the end; still and hour or so to go). Anyhow, the villain is vanquished, family freed but the well stagedcrucifixion of Jesus was the high note and beautifully done. Few films musical themes moved me as well as the Ben Hur themes from thebeginning birth star to the blood mixing with the water at the end. I was moved though I am more of a mystical agnostic than religious. The movie was filmed in what was called Camera 65 (70mm?) and it looked well on the huge screen. I give this moviefour stars only for what I will criticize in a moment. Still, It is a masterpiece in its present form.Here we go. My primary gripe is that the costumes were not always accurate. I am a kind of Romanophile and have dozensof books (ancient & modern) on Roman, Greek & Egyptian histories. The soldiers uniforms looked chincy, shields looked madeof tin, and togas were beige, not white. The sea battle was superbly done, but I don't believe Romans used slaves as rowers;fiction ideas back in the 1860s when the book was written (Lew Wallace, Union General). Want to see good Roman uniforms,watch FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE; beautifully done costumes. And if a Roman had a stripe on their togas, it would bepurple, not red; a common error by Hollyweird. But Heston & Boyd played off each other very well. The rest of the cast waswell chosen & scripted. But can you imagine how well this film might have looked with CGI effects. Maybe it is just as well.I am beginning to tire of CGI in every film today and MGM did a great job with what was available at the time. And the film isvery respectful to Jesus as it portrayed the crucifixion. If you like films with action, spiritual portions and entertainment andsome historical elements, this one is for you.

Same great Easter movie we have loved for years