In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.
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Charlton Heston
Judah Ben-Hur
Stephen Boyd
Messala
Hugh Griffith
Scheich Ildirim
Jack Hawkins
Quintus Arrius
Haya Harareet
Esther
Martha Scott
Miriam
Cathy O'Donnell
Tirzah
Sam Jaffe
Simonides
Finlay Currie
Balthasar
Frank Thring
Pontius Pilatus
Director
William Wyler
Screenplay
Karl Tunberg
Tagline
"The entertainment experience of a lifetime!"
Status
Released
Original Language
EN
Budget
$15,000,000
Revenue
$164,000,000
Production
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
John Chard
December 24, 2018
Majestic in scope and story telling. The truth is, is that Ben-Hur deserved every award that was showered upon it. It's a titanic film both in structure and scope. It doesn't need me to go over old ground about how much the film cost to make, the number of extras, the number of sets and etc, it's now folklore that this film could have bankrupted MGM such was the investment, but they needn't hav...
sykobanana
April 24, 2021
What can be said about this film that hasnt already been said? I could (justly) use every superlative known and it still does not cover just how amazing this film is. It is the essence of EPIC (and not just historical epic). It is easy to see why it was not matched in the number of Oscars given for 50 years (and those 'equals' did not include any acting oscars and had more categories to cho...
CinemaSerf
June 1, 2024
It will probably be remembered for it's chariot race long after all of the rest of it has faded away, but this is more than just that. It is a story about friendship, religion, power and opportunity - it is also about sheer bloody-mindedness and cruelty. It resonates all the more because these are all human traits that abound in all of us to some extent. The film looks truly amazing and Miklós Rós...
JPV852
March 9, 2026
This is one I had never seen before but finally say down for the 3.5 hour running time and found it thoroughly engaging, though after the chariot race scene, felt it slowed down quite a bit. Still, great performances all around and the scale, not just for its time but even today, was amazing. **4.5/5**
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