Ben-Hur [3 Disk Edition] [Blu-ray] [1959]

Ben Hur is, quite simply, a lesson in filmmaking. Once you take a step back its hard to believe that, what is arguably one of the top ten greatest motion pictures of all time was produced over 50-years ago, and twelve-million dollars was breaking the bank of MGM. Yet it remains as epic as what it surely must have been when it was first released, and perhaps most prevalent, is even more inspiring than what can expect today from any release. This is sad, for it demonstrates that no matter how much computer power you can pack into a room, or how monstrous a budget the studio and producer are willing to settle, neither technology nor money can conjure up epic craftsmanship. It is clearly a sign that something has gone wrong when we can today fail so miserably with more resources than anyone could even need. This is where Ben Hur strikes hot - the amount of heart that was put in to every single aspect of the production. The whole reason MGM were willing to spend so much when they were already in trouble was to create the "modern masterpiece", the film to which others could be judged beside. This testament holds true even now. When you watch the famous chariot race scene, you are completely aware that just about every Health and Safety procedure we know today is completely abandoned. So crucifying are some of the stunts and moves as thrown riders are dodging and trampled by horses that you can't help but gasp and cringe. Equally, Heston's inspiring performance cannot help but bring a tear to the eyes of anyone watching as he is reunited with mother and sister at the end of the film, following the sacrifices of 'Jesus'. I'm far from a religious man, but it says a lot when a film can so artistically portray the wonders of biblical adventure, and make it worthy to sweep '11' Academy Awards. The restoration for this Blu-ray is another achievement on its own, given the apparent state of the original negatives. It was an 8K scan (currently the highest resolution possible) on the original 65mm film, which itself is already a leap up from regular 35mm film stock. Aside from some very minor 'streak' issues now and again (which are barely noticeable to the untrained eye), it is a revitalisation to which others should be judged by. It is breathtaking. Natural grain is readily intact, and appears very filmic as it doesn't have the 'floaty' or smudged look that many studios compromise when cleaning up their films. The film shows absolutely no signs of digital enhancement or tampering in the cause of clean up. Detail is simply amazing for a film this old; I would say it easily surpasses any 'modern' film I've seen on Blu-ray. What I'm most intrigued by is how much of that detail fills the backgrounds, for you can see so far into the distance and everything is still defined. Even the colours have a natural Technicolor glow and show no signs over over-saturation which, again, can happen in some film restorations. Of course, since the film has such a wide aspect ratio (2.76:1) you will certainly need at least a 32" TV to start appreciating the detail and scale of this movie. I'm pretty envious of those fortunate enough to have projectors/plasma displays! Ben Hur's soundtrack also plays a major contribution to the enjoyment of the film, so fans will be pleased that this also has an excellent new reproduction. It sounds absolutely marvellous for its day, so you won't be afraid of cranking it up in all its uncompressed glory. Its like having an orchestra in your room. Included are a modest variety of bonus features that do a great job of outlining the films production; the best being one dedicated to Charlton Heston's own diary, as narrated by his son, daughter, wife and many other people whom were a part of his life. This is a very fascinating documentary that, at almost one and a half hours long, cottons rare home film footage (16mm), pictures and accounts of his life. The film is spread across 2 x Blu-ray discs, with a third being dedicated to the extras to ensure maximum quality of the film. Less is probably more when reviewing a film like Ben Hur, as it has been documented so much already. All the customer needs to know with this release is that it represents ridiculously good value for money; you're getting one of the best films ever made, a restoration that has surely set a new standard and some excellent quality bonus features. Don't forget the posh slip-cover too!

I first saw Ben Hur shortly after its initial release in 1959 and went on to see it at the cinema at least six or seven times more. It is my favourite film ever, and I believe the best depiction of the christian story, woven into a fictional tale. It is amazing that with all the high tech tricks available today, I think little could have been done to improve this film - albeit some scenes could have been shot more cheaply. When Ben Hur came out on Video I purchased a copy and subsequently on DVD. However, I recently purchased a Sony Vaio laptop which has Bluray and 3D and enables 3D simulation from any HD disc. I was therefore very interested to see the latest edition of Ben Hur in BluRay. At first I was skeptical as to whether, at the price, it was going to be a substantial improvement. However, other people's reviews were impressive, so I sent for a copy. I am living in Poland at this time and it cost an additional £4.50 to have it sent. I am pleased to say it was worth every penny. The sound, colour and sharpness are excellent. It was like seeing it at the cinema again. I must have now seen this film countless times and really I have only been able to find two things in it to criticise, and these are personal views. Firstly I believe that Ben Hur's mother and sister should have kept their faces covered until after they were miraculously healed. When the prison jailer sees them as lepers he is horrified, as is the Roman soldier, yet when we see them, there are just the odd few spots and blemishes. Not realistic. Since it was not appropriate to make them look horrific, best to keep them covered. Secondly, I feel that Pontius Pilate looks more like an Arab than a senior Roman Official. Not how I would have cast him. However, it is amazing that after so many times of seeing the film I can only find two things to say about it that do not somehow sit right with me. This completely new edition - going back to the original material - makes a HUGE improvement in the enjoyment of the film - also for those younger folk who were not around when it was first released. I would thoroughly recommend it. There is also a disc included with additional material which is not HD but may be of interest to some.

Always been a favourite of mine and after watching it again glad I bought the dvd to relive old memories.

I don't need to review the film: everyone has seen it on TV every year for fifty years. What is absolutely jaw dropping is the restoration. I can see now why the movie is split over two Blu Ray disks maintaining the bit rate. The level of detail is just incredible, better than you could imagine was captured on a sixty six year old film and the colours just pop without being unnatural. The digital sound is also sumptuous and the perfect balance of music and dialogue. It takes an already epic classic and elevates it to levels I did not think possible. One of the greatest relmasters of an old film I have ever witnessed. Disk 3 is full of extras for nerdy collectors like myself. Brilliant

This is a piece of movie history so should be in any film buff's collection. The picture quality was very good with sharp bright vibrant colours. I have seen sharper, but that is to be expected as it is an old film. Sound is not bad for Blu Ray as the levels are much more synced in with the human ear. Most Blu Rays I find have ridiculous sound levels as the speech is so low you can't hear it unless unless you turn the volume up all the way. The problem with that is that as soon as some music starts, you will blow your windows out. This disc thankfully didn't suffer from that as much as most. I have the same film on DVD which still has far superior sound levels (I can hear what they are saying without turning the volume up, yippee!) but visually this is much better. It's a long one, but some serious eye candy and a very well crafted film that doesn't flag which is surprising considering the epic run time. I'd recommend it.

Ben-Hur Blu-ray, Video Quality Wow. Just stop there and you basically have the gist of everything that can be said about Ben-Hur's astonishing--really breathtaking, and I mean that literally--debut on Blu-ray courtesy of an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.76:1. Is there any other studio that has so lovingly gone back to its iconic catalog as Warner has? Once again the studio has returned to the original negative to source new high-res scans, along with a frame by frame restoration, to present this film in high definition, and to say the results are spectacular is something of an understatement. This well over three hour film has been wisely spread across two BD-50's, so kiss any latent fears of compression artifacts goodbye, especially since the bulk of the supplements are included on a third Blu-ray disc. Everything from the copious Roman foliage to the ornate grillwork in the Hur compound resolves perfectly, with precision and absolute accuracy. Colors are incredibly well saturated and those gorgeous Technicolor reds and purples are all that they should be. True aficionados of Ben-Hur on various home theater media know that the film has routinely, if sometimes slightly, been misframed. We finally are offered the full glory of the M-G-M Camera 65 process (Camera 65 was a 70mm format that afforded 65mm for the image and 5mm for the magnetic audio tracks). Wyler worked hand in hand with cinematographer Robert L. Surtees to craft compositions which exploited the widescreen process and those artful displays of vast vistas are impeccably represented on this Blu-ray. Pay special attention to Surtees' expert use of focus, often in different parts of the frame, which also look spectacular in this high definition outing. Previous trouble spots like aliasing and significant crush have all but disappeared in this new transfer. Shadow detail is often astounding. All sorts of information which was previously murky in such dank sequences as the nighttime scenes at the Hur compound or the bowels of the prison where Judah's mother and sister are held captive are now visible, from shiny rock surfaces to background matte paintings. In fact the increased resolution has one detriment, and that's that some of the admittedly gorgeous matte work as well as some of the miniatures (particularly in the sea attack scenes) are noticeably fake looking. Some of the process photography also shows its seams (literally), with fairly apparent haloing (not in the artifacting sense) around the foreground characters in front of the process backgrounds. Ben-Hur instantly becomes the gold standard for what can be achieved in high definition restoration and transfers of catalog titles. While it perhaps may not be financially feasible to devote this much care and effort (not to mention copious moolah) to upgrade every catalog release to these standards, other studios (are you listening, Universal?) should take this new release of Ben-Hur as a sterling example of what can be accomplished if there is the necessary support and willpower.

Perfect condition so far. My original film must have deteriorated with age therefore very pleased with your DVD. Thank you. Happy New Year!

Judah Ben Hur is reunited with his childhood friend Messala who is a Roman and has been promoted to tribune of Jerusalem. After a disagreement over religion and Ben Hur refusing to name Jewish citizen who oppose Rome, Messala ends up condemning him to a life time of slavery and his mother and sister are sent to the dungeons. Ben Hur however gains his freedom and returns to Jerusalem for revenge. Charlton Heston was born to play Ben Hur, he has a imposing physical stature and a brings life to the character, some of the scenes really stuck in my mind, the ones where he discovers his mother and sister are plagued by leprosy, his confrontation with Messala trying to prove their innocence and his encounters with Jesus Christ. Stephen Boyd is menacing as Messala, his cruel face and hardened voice make his character seem even more evil and after watching the extra features I did notice the sexual undertones hinted at between him and Ben Hur. The rest of the cast features talanted actors such as Jack Hawkins as a Roman General who Ben Hur saves the life of, Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate and Hugh Griffith as the wealthy Arab Sheik Ilderim. As everyone who has seen this film will know the two key scenes in the film are the naval battle and the Chariot race. Both scenes are impressively staged but its defiantly the race that really stands out as a perfect example of classic film making without any use of CGI but all the excitement anyone could ask for. The scenes where the fellow riders are killed are as brutal as any you will see in a film today, most notably Messala's death as he trampled as his chariot flips over. Overall a classic Hollywood epic filled with a cast of thousands, impressive sets and a haunting score by Miklos Rozsa that's a must see. DVD Quality is very good and a duel sided disc, the second side features a very interesting documentary about the making of both the silent version and the 1959 versions of Ben Hur.

The only thing wrong with this picture is its 3.5 hour length, but even with this, you don't realize you are watching it for this long. It is clear right from the get-go director William Wyler set out to direct an epic and he succeeded. Only bad part about it, and it really isn't bad, is the Bible doesn't say how many wise men there were. We assume there were three from the three gifts Jesus was given. That being said, this picture won 11 academy awards, including Best Picture, Actor, music, supporting actor, etc. It was awesome in 1959 when i first saw it, and it is still awesome today. This dvd is super good and a perfect rendition of the original theatrical presentation, complete with overture and intermission music. I miss overtures and intermission music, they really added a lot to the presentation. I remember listening to the so-called soundtrack album which was issued at the time and thought there was a lot of music not there. Now, with CD's available, the complete score is also available for a totally satisfying experience. I hope this movie stays around for 50 more years.

Película imprescindible. Excepcional calidad de imagen. Extraída directamente del master original. Sonido muy bueno, teniendo en cuenta que es muy antigua. Viene completamente en español castellano. Edición 3 discos.

Da muss man nicht viel schreiben. Der Film ist ein Klassiker. Ein Jude, Ben Hur, der immer ein treuer römischer Staatsbürger, wird durch einen blöden Zwischenfall zum Staatsfeind. Er kämpft um zu überleben. Der Film endet mit dem spektakulärsten Wagenrennen der Geschichte. Ein Sandalenfilm der Extraklasseße.

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