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sabotai · 12-18-2007, 06:55 PM

Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ (1925)

Directed By: Fred Niblo
Starring: Ramon Novarro, Francis Bushman, May McAvoy
Length: 143 min.
Genre: Adventure / Drama / Religious
Based On: The Novel "Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ" by Lew Wallace (Adapted by June Mathis)

[Taken directly from Wikipedia]

Judah Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jew and boyhood friend of the powerful Roman, Messala. When an accident leads to Ben-Hur's arrest, Messala, who has become corrupt and arrogant, makes sure Ben-Hur and his family are jailed and separated.

Ben-Hur is sent to work in the galley of a Roman warship. Along the way he unknowingly encounters Christ, the carpenter's son who offers him water. Once aboard ship, his attitude of defiance and strength impresses a Roman admiral, Quintus Arrius, who allows him to remain unchained. This actually works in the Admiral's favor because when his ship is attacked and sunk by pirates, Ben-Hur saves him from drowning.

Arrius then treats Ben-Hur as a son and over the years, the young man grows strong and becomes a victorious chariot racer. This eventually leads to a climactic showdown with Messala in a chariot race, in which Ben-Hur is the victor.

Ben-Hur is eventually reunited with his mother and sister, who are suffering from leprosy but are miraculously cured by Christ.

[End Wikipedia theft]

The film features a few scenes filmed in Technicolor, the birth of Christ being one of them. It was the first time I had gotten to see Technicolor on my journey. The Ten Commandments filmed the exodus scene in technicolor, however the scene was hand-tinted frames on the version I saw. There had been a few movies filmed entirely in Technicolor prior to Ben-Hur, but the process was expensive and not feasible to use in the enitre movie due to its already massive budget. The Black Pirate, a 1926 movie, is the fourth full-length movie shot entirely in Technicolor on my list (the first one I will get to on my journey).

The film was the most expensive silent movie made, and despite its huge box office success, it did not end up in the black. Unfortunately, they didn't have DVD and TV money to fall back on back then.

Part of the reason for the cost was the chariot race. They used over 2 dozen cameras to film the race (one of the assistant directors of the race was William Wyler, the man who directed the 1959 version of Ben Hur), and they shot over 200,000 feet of film. They only used 750 feet of film for this very long sequence, so that should tell you just how much they had to edit.

The movie was good, and it was really neat watching some of the first uses of Technicolor. The only downside was that it left some characters alone for long stretches of time (namely, Ben Hur's mother and sister) that it was really difficult telling what was going on when they suddenly appeared on screen. Other than that, I really enjoyed this film.

Entertainment Rating: 7/10
Historical Rating: 9/10

12-18-2007, 06:55 PM	#123
sabotai General Manager Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Satellite of Love	Ben-Hur: A Tale Of The Christ (1925) Directed By: Fred Niblo Starring: Ramon Novarro, Francis Bushman, May McAvoy Length: 143 min. Genre: Adventure / Drama / Religious Based On: The Novel "Ben Hur: A Tale Of The Christ" by Lew Wallace (Adapted by June Mathis) [Taken directly from Wikipedia] Judah Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jew and boyhood friend of the powerful Roman, Messala. When an accident leads to Ben-Hur's arrest, Messala, who has become corrupt and arrogant, makes sure Ben-Hur and his family are jailed and separated. Ben-Hur is sent to work in the galley of a Roman warship. Along the way he unknowingly encounters Christ, the carpenter's son who offers him water. Once aboard ship, his attitude of defiance and strength impresses a Roman admiral, Quintus Arrius, who allows him to remain unchained. This actually works in the Admiral's favor because when his ship is attacked and sunk by pirates, Ben-Hur saves him from drowning. Arrius then treats Ben-Hur as a son and over the years, the young man grows strong and becomes a victorious chariot racer. This eventually leads to a climactic showdown with Messala in a chariot race, in which Ben-Hur is the victor. Ben-Hur is eventually reunited with his mother and sister, who are suffering from leprosy but are miraculously cured by Christ. [End Wikipedia theft] The film features a few scenes filmed in Technicolor, the birth of Christ being one of them. It was the first time I had gotten to see Technicolor on my journey. The Ten Commandments filmed the exodus scene in technicolor, however the scene was hand-tinted frames on the version I saw. There had been a few movies filmed entirely in Technicolor prior to Ben-Hur, but the process was expensive and not feasible to use in the enitre movie due to its already massive budget. The Black Pirate, a 1926 movie, is the fourth full-length movie shot entirely in Technicolor on my list (the first one I will get to on my journey). The film was the most expensive silent movie made, and despite its huge box office success, it did not end up in the black. Unfortunately, they didn't have DVD and TV money to fall back on back then. Part of the reason for the cost was the chariot race. They used over 2 dozen cameras to film the race (one of the assistant directors of the race was William Wyler, the man who directed the 1959 version of Ben Hur), and they shot over 200,000 feet of film. They only used 750 feet of film for this very long sequence, so that should tell you just how much they had to edit. The movie was good, and it was really neat watching some of the first uses of Technicolor. The only downside was that it left some characters alone for long stretches of time (namely, Ben Hur's mother and sister) that it was really difficult telling what was going on when they suddenly appeared on screen. Other than that, I really enjoyed this film. Entertainment Rating: 7/10 Historical Rating: 9/10 Last edited by sabotai : 12-18-2007 at 06:56 PM.