In 1880, fifteen years before the invention of the cinema, Civil War hero General Lewis Wallace Ben-Hur: The Story of Jesus. During the writing of this 19th century best-selling novel in the USA, the famous outlaw with a braided feather stopped the career of Billy the Kid! Eighty years, a successful Broadway musical (1899) and later two film versions (1907 and 1925), the heroic epic of The Prince of Judea, directed by William Wyler, won 11 Oscars in 1960. The record to equal 1998’s Titanic, James Cameron, followed by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King by Peter Jackson in 2004. The clever and perfectionist William Wyler (two Oscars and a Palme d’or before 1959) had worked as an assistant on the previous version. He had such a nightmarish memory of chariot racing that he managed not to realize it himself. Andrew Marton will do. Among his assistants: a certain Sergio Leone. But the sequence is the highlight of this very wonderful show.
For Metro Goldwyn Mayer on the brink of bankruptcy, Ben-Hur is two or nothing. In its first year of operation, the $15 million pharaoh-budget super production brought in five times its cost! Imagine the pressure on Wyler’s shoulders. The shooting in Cinecittà, near Rome, took over a year! After considering Rock Hudson, Burt Lancaster and Richard Burton, the role was taken by Charlton Heston, who had just won as Moses in Cecil B. DeMille’s The Ten Commandments. This will be his most iconic movie. The fire of his charisma and acting ignites the screen as action or emotion.
Eleven Minutes of Anthology
Ben-Hur was sent to the galleys for refusing to betray his people and cooperate with Rome in order to please his childhood friend Messala, the leader of the Judean legions. The reconstruction is impressive. Technically, there were no digital effects, it’s breathtaking: director Richard Thorpe (Ivanhoe) is working with the B crew. Two 38-metre Roman triremes were built and placed in a pool. About fifty models were made for naval warfare. Ben-Hur escapes. In Jerusalem, while the prophet Jesus of Nazareth was preaching forgiveness, he burned Messala to death.
It will be at the Caesarea racecourse during an anthology chariot race. 7. eleven minutes writing a unique page of art. It took two years of preparation and 78 days to box what remains one of the most famous scenes of all time. For months, 80 horses were trained and bred. When Judas’ chariot took off, it was a shooting accident that gave the measure of the danger. The turn has been taken. On the decor side – an eight-hectare plateau! – also a lap de force. Fifteen thousand extras (including Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer), 30 meter statues, 48 cameras, 40,000 tons of sand, a 1 kilometer long track… A magnificent show like no other.
Ben-Hur at Arte on Sunday, April 9 at 9 PM
JULIAN BARCILON
Source: Programme Television
Joseph Fearn is an entertainment and television aficionado who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a keen eye for what’s hot in the world of TV, Joseph keeps his readers informed about the latest trends and must-see shows.
