#100 on 2007 AFI 100 Greatest Movies of All Time
#72 on 1998 AFI 100 Greatest Movies of All Time
#2 on AFI's Top 10 Epics
This is a really long movie. Which, I suppose, is why it's considered an epic. We had to watch it over the course of two days, because we just ran out of time on the first day. But don't think that it was because we weren't enjoying the movie. I'm not going to recap it, because I'm sure you have either seen it or can go read the plot summaries on other websites. I am, however, going to talk about it as though you have seen it. So, if you don't like spoilers, you might not want to continue...
For the record, I had never seen Ben-Hur before; Mike had seen parts of it, but isn't sure if he had seen the whole thing. So, we sat down to watch and were immediately confronted with... the six and a half minute overture. Which led to a conversation about why we don't see overtures in movies anymore. Maybe it's because they were being more theatrical at a time when people saw movies in movie theaters and didn't have blu-ray players, or even VCRs or cable tv. Or maybe it was just a time when people would be running to the restroom or getting popcorn, or talking amongst themselves. Except, people were supposedly much better behaved back then. After having sat through overtures at various performances at the Kennedy Center, I am convinced that people today would all be checking their phones during an overture at a movie theater. Anyway, the overture was lovely. We listened to the music and stared at Adam and God's hands, and then we were told that this was "A Tale of the Christ".
I have to admit that, even though this is a super famous movie, and I've heard of it and knew certain things about it, I had no idea it was about Christ. I thought it was about a guy named Ben-Hur. Which it is, of course, but it is also occasionally about Jesus. I have nothing against Jesus, and I must say that I probably like this the best of all the religious movies I have seen to date. But I am an atheist and I tend to steer clear of religious movies. On a semi-related note, this movie was directed by William Wyler, of whom I am a big fan. William Wyler, of course, was Jewish. According to imdb, he often joked that it took a Jew to make the ultimate film about Jesus. Add this to the reasons William Wyler is on my list of dead people I would invite to dinner.
After the overtures and title cards, Jesus is born and there are wise men and lowing cows, etc. At this point, I was a little worried. But then we movied on to Jerusalem and the arrival of Messala, and things started looking up. I was very impressed by Charlton Heston, which I don't think I could even name another movie I've seen him in. Until Mike said Planet of the Apes, I didn't even think of that, and to be honest, it's been so long since I've seen the original Planet of the Apes that I'm not sure it should count. Heston had a great voice. And he wasn't bad looking. I know that people get on his acting a bit, but it doesn't bother me. I also really enjoyed the gentleman playing Messala, who we looked up on imdb and we couldn't find a single other movie we'd seen him in. Which led to the conversation about how every actor probably wants to be in just one movie like this, that will survive. Otherwise, you're only in stuff that will be forgotten in fifty years. Like, for example, Katherine Heigl. Do you think we'll still be watching 27 Dresses or One For the Money in 50 years? Doubtful. So, Stephen Boyd, who played Messala, will live on forever in this movie. Which I think is really cool.
There is a point in the movie where Judah Ben-Hur returns home and is looking for his mother and sister, and then it turns out that they are lepers. Coincidentally, I had just read a short story about a leper colony (in Lysley Tenorio's Monstress, which I highly recommend) and so we looked up leprosy. What a fascinating subject. It is not nearly as infectious as people believe, 95% of people are naturally immune, and it can be spread by armadillos. That was a very interesting tangent, but then we were back to the movie, except that it was intermission and we had to stop for the day, because Mike had to get ready for his hockey game and I had excel spreadsheets to play with. And a graded practice essay to write for my barbri class that I'm taking.
After a good night's sleep and a very long day of work, we put in disc two. Which started with an entre-acte that was prettty similar to, but slightly shorter than, the overture. So, we got back to Ben-Hur and its famous chariot race. Which I'm not so sure why people think it's so great. It is certainly impressive considering that they didn't have CGI back then, but I'm not a huge car chase fan, so maybe that's why I'm not that in to this. Of course, I also knew that Messala was going to get trampled, so it may have just been anticlimactic. What I should really be saying here is that we both enjoyed the first part a great deal more than the second part. After Messala died, it just got kind of boring. They spent all that time in the Valley of the Lepers, but we had already discussed leprosy, so it was just kind of hokey. Especially when they got healed by .... well, whatever it is that healed them. Mike thinks it was baptism that healed them. I think it was magical rainwater with Jesus's blood in it. Either way, it was the first part of the movie that somewhat offended my atheist sensibilities. And then it was over. Oh, but not until after we learned that the voice of Jesus took the proverbial sword from Judah's hand. Sigh. It was really a great movie until it got all religious at the end there.
So, there it was. The famous Ben-Hur. For now, it is the only movie on the list, so it is clearly our Number One! But I doubt it will stay there for long.
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