Before I commit a bit of cinematic blasphemy, let me get the good stuff out of the way first…
This brand new 4K release of Ben-Hur is the best the movie has ever looked on home video, which is really saying something because it’s been nicely presented on both Blu-ray and DVD over the years. With a much sharper image and more vivid color, the overall picture quality alone makes this worth picking up. It also includes two audio options, a DolbyAtmos track and a DTS-HD 5.0 Master Audio track. Both are excellent.
In terms of bonus features, this version actually includes fewer supplements than some previous ones (more specifically, the 2011 Ultimate Collector’s Edition). However, it does includes a couple of new featurettes to go along with a handful of archival extras…and a digital copy, if that’s you’re thing (but it shouldn’t be).
As for the movie itself…look up the word ‘epic’ in a dictionary and you’ll probably see a picture of ol' Chuck Heston riding a chariot. Ben-Hur is an epic in every sense of the word…the scope, the budget, the cast of thousands, the storytelling, the length (it takes up two of the three discs in this set). Even presented in one of the best 4K transfers I’ve ever seen, watching it from the comfort of a living room sofa will never equal the experience of seeing it in a theater. And for two-thirds of its running time, Ben-Hur remains one of the most massively entertaining movies of the 1950s, with engaging characters, solid performances, compelling drama and thrilling action (the legendary, lengthy chariot race still ranks among the most jaw-dropping sequences ever shot).
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| "Could you throw a shirt on or something? The rest of us feel pretty inadequate." |
Of course, this film and every other Ben-Hur adaptation are based on Lew Wallace’s Christianity-driven novel, and removing those elements would be unthinkable to some (hell, probably most). I realize Ben-Hur was never intended as a tale of revenge. But for the first two-and-a-half hours, it’s such a phenomenal tale of revenge that you could chop-off the entire last act and still be left with one hell of a movie. Or at the very least, Judah’s epiphanies could’ve been wrapped up more succinctly than director William Wyler does. That’s probably why I usually shut the movie off shortly after Judah confronts bloody, battered, ex-bestie Messala on his deathbed.
Still, Ben-Hur remains one of Hollywood’s definitive epics and arguably deserved most of the 11 Oscars it won (a record at the time). But as someone who always viewed it more as a cinematic experience than a spiritual one, I just don’t think it ever needed to be a biblical epic. It’s a minority opinion, of course, one that certainly won’t (and shouldn’t) carry any weight among classic movie lovers who continue cherish the film. Those people will absolutely love this new 4K release, because it looks and sounds absolutely stunning.
EXTRA KIBBLES
FEATURETTES - Ben-Hur: Anatomy of an Epic and The Cinematography of Scale are a couple of brief new featurettes that are more of an overall appreciation of the film than anything informational; Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures consists of still photos and storyboards.
CHARLTON HESTON AND BEN-HUR: A PERSONAL JOURNEY - Though not new, this feature length doc is a nice look that Heston’s personal and professional life around the time he was making the film, told by his children and others. Includes a lot of home movie footage.
BEN-HUR: THE MAKING OF AN EPIC - Similarly, this hour-long piece is nothing new, but is arguably the most comprehensive making-of documentary you’ll find about the movie.
SCREEN TESTS
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