Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

1925 143 min ★ 7.3 Adventure, Drama, Romance

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.

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Cast

Ramon Novarro

Judah Ben-Hur

Francis X. Bushman

Messala

May McAvoy

Esther

Betty Bronson

Mary

Claire McDowell

Princess of Hur

Kathleen Key

Tirzah

Carmel Myers

Iras

Nigel De Brulier

Simonides

Mitchell Lewis

Sheik Ilderim

Leo White

Sanballat

Details

Director

Fred Niblo

Tagline

"Amazing! Thrilling! Colossal! Mighty!"

Status

Released

Original Language

EN

Budget

$3,900,000

Revenue

$9,000,000

Production

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Reviews

S

sykobanana

April 24, 2021

★ 8/10

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...

T

Tourma

November 8, 2023

★ 10/10

What an amazing, absolutely beautiful film. Especially for nearly a century ago, but for any movie ever. The backgrounds, the grand sets, the sheer amounts of extras, and the animation of the stars and the coloring of the biblical scenes. Just...wow. And topless women! Its got everything. (not Mary) WI first heard about this version after seeing a video on TCM about silent films. Gonna...

C

CinemaSerf

July 27, 2024

★ 7/10

With the Roman legions securely ensconced in his Judaean homeland, Prince "Judah Ben-Hur" (Ramon Navarro) hopes that the arrival of his childhood friend "Messala" (Francis X. Bushman) might make things a bit easier for his conquered people. Fat chance! His erstwhile friend is far more concerned with impressing his boss and keeping the locals under control. An incident during the arrival procession...