It was the best of (movie) times.... Ben-Hur

Today I watched the epic, Ben-Hur, number 100 on the AFI list for best movies of all time.  I have been debating on how to approach these things... and have decided to do a quick summary of the plot followed by my reaction.  So... Here goes.

The movie begins with the census of Caesar Augustus, in Bethleham.  We follow Joeseph and Mary through the Nativity. We see the wise men arriving at the stable and giving their gifts. Then we jump ahead to twenty-six years later.  A young Roman named Messala is ariving in Judea.  After a quick meeting with another Roman, he is visited by his childhood friend, Judah Ben-Hur.  Judah is a jewish prince who grew up with the young Roman.  At first they are happy to see each other again.  But that soon turns sour, as Messala has big political dreams and hopes to use Judah as a "snitch" to root out rebels in the area.  Judah tells him to shove it and they part ways.  Esther is now introduced.  Her father and Esther are slaves to the Ben-Hur family and Esther is getting married.  Judah grants her permission and her freedom as a wedding present.  In the next scene, they find themselves alone and it plays out that they are in love.  Judah takes Esther's slave ring and places it on his own finger.  He swears not to remove it until he meets the woman he is to marry. They share a kiss and the story moves on.

The new governor of Judea arrives and a parade happens.  Judah and his sister watch from the roof of the Ben-Hur estate.  By pure bad luck, a tile from the roof falls and spooks the governor's horse, which in turn injures the governor.  Judah and his mother and sister are arrested and hauled off.  Messala, even though he believed the truth in Judah's claim of the incident being an accident, condemns Judah to the galleys and the women to the dungeons.  Judah swears revenge and is hauled off.  The Romans have it in for Judah on his long walk to the galleys and at a water stop in Nazareth don't allow Judah to have water.  A mystery man gives him water in the face of the aggression of the Roman guards.  (of COURSE it's Jesus... I say mystery man because they don't show his face)  This stranger's kindness gives Judah the strength to keep living.

Judah survives for three years in the galleys when he meets a Roman named Quintus Arrius.  Arrius arrives on Judah's ship in order to lead the fleet in a battle against enemies raiding the Roman fleet.  Before the battle, Arrius finds out that Judah has survived three years and is impressed.  Arrius owns gladiators and offers to take Judah and put him in his line-up.  Judah doesn't answer positively, but then he has to return to his oar, as the battle is upon them.  Arrius tells the overseer to unchain Judah before the battle.  During the battle, the ship sinks, Judah saves as many people as possible, including Arrius.  They end up on a raft together.  As Judah saved his life, Arrius takes Judah in.  He finds that Judah has a talent with horses and has him drive his team in the Circus.

Arrius is so taken with Judah that he adopts him as his son.  But on the evening of than announcement, Judah tells him that he must return to Judea.  So, Judah leaves Rome to go home.  On the way, Judah meets a Sheikh and Balthazar (yes, the wise man from the Nativity).  The Sheikh is a gambler who is having problems finding the right driver for his horses.  He tries to tempt Judah by telling him that his revenge could happen in the ring, because Messala races there as well.  Judah turns him down after a conversation with Balthazar.  Balthazar tells him that he hopes his journey is "not difficult" and to leave revenge fantasies behind.  Judah can't, and so he goes home.

When he arrives, he finds that Esther and her father are living in the rundown estate, and she did not in fact marry the merchant her father arranged for her.  He is driven to find his mother and sister, who no one has heard from or about.  After announcing to Messala that he was back and the adopted son of a Roman citizen, Messala tries to find out what happened to the women.  In their long captivity, they have become lepers and are released.  They pay a visit to the estate to see if Judah made it back and make Esther promise not to tell Judah what has really become of them.

So... Esther tells Judah that his family is dead.  Judah then changes his mind and races the Sheikh's horses in a race against Messala.  Messala is fatally wounded, and sends for Judah.  When Judah arrives, Messala tells Judah where his mother and sister actually are.  He goes to try to see them, but Esther persuades him to allow them to believe that he is in the dark.

Pontious Pilot is now the governor of Judea and sends for Judah and tells him that his father, Arrius, has arranged for Judah to become a Roman citizen.  Judah, filled with bitterness, decides to turn this offer down. On the walk back home, Esther and Judah once again meet Balthazar on his way to listen to a rabbi speak.  Esther goes with Balthazar but Judah decides that a rabbi talking about forgiveness is not what he needs right now and continues home.  When he arrives, we find out that Esther went to hear the Sermon on the Mount and tries to deliver it's message to Judah, who is just too filled with bitterness to listen.

A few weeks later, Esther delivers food to Judah's mother and sister, but the sister is absent.  Judah has followed Esther and discovers that his sister is dying and rushes in to see her.  Esther insists that if only they could hear this rabbi, everything would be alright, so the four of them walk to Jerusalem.  Just in time for Jesus to be walking with his cross through the streets.  Judah tells Esther to get his family home while he goes to see.  Balthazar is there and explains to Judah that Jesus knew this was why he was here, to die for the world's sins.  The storm then moves in.

The women seek shelter during the storm.  Both Judah's mother and sister cry out in pain.  But as the storm subsides, they discover that they are both cured of their disease.  Judah arrives home and tells Esther that he heard Jesus say "Forgive them, they know not what they do." and with that, "His voice took the sword from my hand."  Esther hugs him and as they move into the estate, Judah sees his cured family and all is well.

The movie closes on a beautiful shot of three empty crosses on a hill as a shepherd leads his flock to graze.

*deep breath*  This was a long one!  (three and a half hours, in fact)  So, I apologize for the length of the summary.  BUT on to what I think.

This movie was BIG.  Everything about it was BIG.  The cast had to be the size of  a small city.  I counted thirteen credited parts, and over sixty uncredited parts PLUS the extras (yes, I think that they are different here...).  The chariot course was the largest set built to date.  And does it get much bigger than Charleton Heston in a religious epic?  I was almost overwhelmed by the huge imagery.  The big sweeping story.  Everything.  But, in following Judah through his life, it made it a little more accessible.

I know that many don't like Heston.  I admit, I am really used to him as Moses.  HOWEVER, Judah is a flawed guy trying to do right by his family and by his people.  This makes him more... human, more approachable.  I really liked his performance here.  He had a great half-smile that flashed across his face.  You can see how much he cared for his family and friends.  And you even understand his behavior.  There are no WTF moments in his motivations.  In fact, there aren't really any in anyone else's motivations either (aside from WHY Messala decides that Judah should know his family is sick. Why does he do that?)

This is not to say that there weren't a couple of things that raised my eyebrow.  (this movie was released in 1959, so there has to be some eyebrow raising)  The first one is when Jesus gives Judah water.  The Roman soldier says something but then stops and just looks... lost.  I am sure that the idea was that he was awed by Jesus's divinity, but all I kept thinking was that he needed directions.  The other scene that sticks out was the scene in the Shiekh's tent.  Judah and the Sheikh are talking about wives, the Sheikh tells him he should buy one soon, and then asks Judah to meet them.  And the curtain raises... on his horses.  I really think that I probably missed a line or transition somewhere, but I really thought that this movie had taken a really dark turn for a second.  A really dark turn.  I am sure that there are more, but this entry is really long as it is...

If you like epic stories and BIG, Ben-Hur is great.  Even if you don't really like the religious movies of that time, it's still a great story.  BIG BIG BIG.  I can't say it enough.  However, should it be on AFI's list?  Yeah. Yeah, I really think so.  It's well written, well put together, well acted, well costumed (I could go on forever about the costumes!).  A beautiful movie all the way around.

This one I am going to cut off a little shorter on the opinion than I would like... I just feel like this is running really long.  But worry not!  The next one will be heavy on the opinion, I am sure.  Feel free to share your opinions on any of these movies with me.  I would love to discuss!

*sigh*  And now I get to watch Meet the Spartans.  Fan-freakin-tastic.

GGC