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25/12/1925 Adventure, Drama, Romance, Action 2h 23m
73
User score

Amazing! Thrilling! Colossal! Mighty!

Overview

Erstwhile childhood friends, Judah Ben-Hur and Messala meet again as adults, this time with Roman officer Messala as conqueror and Judah as a wealthy, though conquered, Israelite. A slip of a brick during a Roman parade causes Judah to be sent off as a galley slave, his property confiscated and his mother and sister imprisoned. Years later, as a result of his determination to stay alive and his willingness to aid his Roman master, Judah returns to his homeland an exalted and wealthy Roman athlete. Unable to find his mother and sister, and believing them dead, he can think of nothing else than revenge against Messala.

  1. Fred Niblo

    Director

Top billed cast

  1. Ramon Novarro

    Judah Ben-Hur

  2. Francis X. Bushman

    Messala

  3. May McAvoy

    Esther

  4. Betty Bronson

    Mary

  5. Claire McDowell

    Princess of Hur

  6. Kathleen Key

    Tirzah

  7. Carmel Myers

    Iras

  8. Nigel De Brulier

    Simonides

  9. Mitchell Lewis

    Sheik Ilderim

  10. View more

Full Cast & Crew

Reviews

A review by sykobanana
Written by sykobanana on 2021-04-24
What an epic. Watching this, you can see why Wyler wanted to remake it in the 50s.
In this, you can see the emotions of the characters that are much more fleshed out compared to the first (unauthorised) screen version. Set design and costumes are grand, though the hairstyling is reminiscent of the 1920s (but maybe Romans were into that). The score is typical silent movie fare.
Colourising the "Biblical scenes" is a neat touch (reminiscent of "red letters" in a lot of Bibles), it focuses the viewers attention to where Wallace wanted the attention drawn. This is very faithful to the boo...read the rest
Read All Reviews

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  10. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World72%
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  12. I Still Believe75%
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  14. Winter's Tale62%
  15. Pocahontas69%
  16. Kingdom of Heaven70%
  17. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny62%
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  19. Moby Dick70%
  20. Breathe74%

Status
Released

Original Language
English

Budget
$3,900,000.00

Revenue
$9,000,000.00

Keywords