NF Ben Hur

[TerryB]

Just got back from seeing it in an almost empty theater. I liked it and would give it 3stars.

 

[Private Watkins]

Do you think Lew would have liked it...?

 

[Bee]

Just got back from seeing it in an almost empty theater. I liked it and would give it 3stars.

I pine for the days of the last original sword and sandal movie that I saw: Gladiator. I saw that movie 10 times in Italian (It was our Guide version of Gettysburg) Anyhow, do you see this movie as one that a person would watch again? (I watch the original Ben Hur every year around Passover/Easter)

 

[gary]

Did the new Ben Hur have a mustache or not? If he did, then his likeness would be as Lew Wallace envisioned Ben Hur to appear.

 

[FarawayFriend]

I did not even know that there is a new version of "Ben Hur"! If so, I probably will not like it... Charlton Heston is unbeatable to me. Just because he is Charlton Heston, LOL.

@Bee, "Gladiator" is so full of mistakes, I could not even watch it to the end, although I do adore Russell Crowe in that one... Who made you watch it as guidance for tours?? (if that is what it was thought for). I don't want to ruin your memories of a great movie, but if you feel strong enough, look here:
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film541

(and I know, Charlton Heston should have gotten rid of his wristwatch before the chariot race, too... )

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

I pine for the days of the last original sword and sandal movie that I saw: Gladiator.

That's one of the last films I watched in a theater. Hard to believe that movie was released almost 17 years ago.

Everything I've heard about the "new" Ben Hur has been positive, but I'm afraid there's not much interest in such movies today.

(I watch the original Ben Hur every year around Passover/Easter)

Same here, it's almost a tradition.

Charlton Heston is unbeatable to me. Just because he is Charlton Heston, LOL.

Agreed !

Charlton will always be the only Ben.

 

[Bee]

I did not even know that there is a new version of "Ben Hur"! If so, I probably will not like it... Charlton Heston is unbeatable to me. Just because he is Charlton Heston, LOL.

@Bee, "Gladiator" is so full of mistakes, I could not even watch it to the end, although I do adore Russell Crowe in that one... Who made you watch it as guidance for tours?? (if that is what it was thought for). I don't want to ruin your memories of a great movie, but if you feel strong enough, look here:
http://www.moviemistakes.com/film541

(and I know, Charlton Heston should have gotten rid of his wristwatch before the chariot race, too... )

Exactly: it was the mistakes that made it so fun to go time after time (only for entertainment -- no official standing). It became a great party to bring someone new on our team to see if he could pick out all of the errors. Plus, we liked to recite the best lines, too (like in Gettysburg movie) We loved it for all of its melodrama and heroes and villains. I love being able to root for the good guy. Nowadays, the good guys are just as morally flawed as the bad guys, so it's sometimes hard to tell them apart.

 

[Bee]

Charlton will always be the only Ben.

"Get your hands off me, you dam dirty ape!"

-- Planet of the Apes​

Indeed -- there was only one Charlton Heston

 

[7th Mississippi Infantry]

"Get your hands off me, you dam dirty ape!"

-- Planet of the Apes​

No doubt.

That's one of his best lines.

 

[Martini-Henry]

I watched it & must confess to being a tad disappointed. I don't want to give any plot details away. But no, I didn't enjoy it.

 

[donna]

For me there is only one Ben Hur, the one with Charlton Heston. I have seen it so many time. Own that DVD too.

Have many of his movies, as he was one of my favorite actors.

How about him in The Ten Commandments. Hope they don't remake that one. Both he and Yul Brynner were great in that one.

 

[TerryB]

Do you think Lew would have liked it...?
View attachment 111645

I haven't read the book, so I'd only be guessing.

 

[TerryB]

Did the new Ben Hur have a mustache or not? If he did, then his likeness would be as Lew Wallace envisioned Ben Hur to appear.

He has short hair and a trimmed beard, but everything grows long while he's on the galley. My favorite scenes in the movie were the sea battle and the chariot race. Both were very well done and kept me on the edge of my seat.

 

[TerryB]

I pine for the days of the last original sword and sandal movie that I saw: Gladiator. I saw that movie 10 times in Italian (It was our Guide version of Gettysburg) Anyhow, do you see this movie as one that a person would watch again? (I watch the original Ben Hur every year around Passover/Easter)

I would definitely watch it again, although only Morgan Freeman is an A List actor. The others were unknowns to me, much as in "The Passion of the Christ," which I've watched several times. I might even buy a Ben Hur dvd.

 

[civilwarincolor]

(I watch the original Ben Hur every year around Passover/Easter)

You watch the original Ben-Hur every year? You mean the 1907 15 minute silent version?

Or did you mean the 1925 2 1/2 hour version?

I know you where not thinking of the 3 1/2 hour 1959 version. That one did not come out till 52 years after the original and 24 years after the remake.

BTW, Ben- Hur was presented many times as a play in the 19th century. They used real horses in the chariot race scenes in the theater. I have read some accounts where on some nights the "wrong" horse won and they just had to continue as if Ben-Hur had won. I would love to have seen the live stage version. No re-takes, no stunt doubles.

Expired Image Removed

 

[MaryDee]

Last saw the Charlton Heston Ben Hur dubbed into Italian, in Sorrento, Italy the evening of Easter 2001.

I stopped watching Gladiator when Russel Crowe appeared riding with stirrups!