The Wasteland Reviewer

The Wasteland Collection: Ben-Hur (1959)

What is your first reaction to hearing the term “faith-based film”? For those believers out there, you probably have a sense of fulfillment and a feeling of being seen. Many other filmgoers just might roll their eyes at the idea of watching such a film. That is a harsh way to look at it, but it is the truth. There is a reason for this aversion to faith-based cinema, and it is quite clear. Many filmmakers who create such films have lost the plot…literally. So many faith-based films have one singular objective and that is to push a message and that is it. Lack of characterization and plotting leaves many of these films feeling lacking. But that was not always the case. Once upon a time, cinema released faith-based films that were truly epic and told some of the grandest stories of all time. The crown jewel of this era of grand historical epics is most certainly William Wyler’s Ben-Hur.

What did Wyler’s film mean for faith-based themes and ideas? When you look at this epic historical drama, you witness a film that is (at it core) a film about forgiveness and belief. Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince whose childhood best friend is now a Roman leader who makes his way back to Judea. Messala frames an accident on Judah to send a message to the Jewish populace which sends our protagonist to the gallows and his mother and sister to prison. But there is a parallel journey that is threaded into the narrative that captures the spirit of Christianity. The original novel’s subtitle is Tale of the Christ and that is clear when the film opens to the nativity and Balthasar witnessing the birth of Jesus. After Messala’s betrayal, Judah’s life becomes a single-minded existence…revenge. As he is dying of thirst on his way to the sea, Judah is given water by an enigmatic man with quite the aethereal presence (Jesus). When Judah’s life becomes defined hy his heroism during a naval battle and becoming a masterful charioteer, he meets Balthasar who mistakes him for the son of God, Jesus, and attempts to give Judah perspective. After defeating Messala in the Circus and finding his mother and sister alive (but now lepers), Judah does not find peace until he witnesses Jesus carrying the cross and his death for our sins. This powerful act inspires Judah to find a new path of love and forgiveness. This faith (and a healing rain) cures his mother and sister which allows Judah to have his family together once again. Ben-Hur tells a Christian tale that is so deeply rooted in its faith, but it never fails to tell a great story. That is what makes it stand apart compared to most modern faith-based films. There are action, thrills, and emotion in such a powerful way.

But Ben-Hur isn’t just a benchmark for faith-based cinema, is it? This is one of the greatest examples of historical epics of all time. The 50s into the early 60s was a significant time for film and the theater going experience. Television was the new and exciting medium of entertainment. Studios realized that they needed to make films an event. One such way was to make films bigger and grander. The historical epic became one of the key pieces of this new strategy. The Ten Commandments and The King of Kings were some of the key examples of success but Ben-Hur rose to new heights. This film became a box office smash and still ties the record for the most wins in the history of the Academy Awards (11 wins including Best Picture). There are key elements of this film that make it so grand. Just look at the production design. Even from the house of Hur, you can see the effort and budget that went into the construction of these sets. The naval battle is grand in scale with plenty of ships on actual water while capturing full sets of the massive gallows inside them. When Judah meets Tiberius Caesar, you see one of the largest thrones you will ever see in a film with an incredible number of extras that give the film scale. The Circus Maximus is one of the grandest and most detailed structures brought to life on screen with plenty of personality. Even the scene on the mount with the crucifixion of Jesus as a grand and powerful feel to it. There is nothing small or meek about the way Wyler brought his film to life. Few filmmakers even today can capture the immense scale of Ben-Hur and that is why it still has impact upon rewatch.

There is another genre Ben-Hur had a grand impact on, isn’t there? You might not think of Ben-Hur as an “action” movie but there are so many action set pieces in film after this that find their influences centered on Wyler’s incredible film. There are two set pieces in this film that have left their mark on modern action filmmaking. Few films up to this point capture the dangers of naval battles quite like Ben-Hur. They might now have shot on the real ocean, but the impressive filmmaking is rooted in practicality. The ships are detailed and well-constructed miniatures that are captured in-camera perfectly. You get the correct sense of scale for the film as these miniatures look like actual size ships on the sea. The giant water tank they used on the backlot is done well since you never see the seams of this manufactured shot. You never question the actual size of the body of water since the camerawork is done so precisely. But is the chariot race that has become the most influential element to come out of this film. The impressive editing throughout this sequence (which runs for more than 10 minutes) gives the race a propulsive pace that never lets up. Every shot is perfectly framed to draw attention to what is most important to drive the action. The lap markers. The barbed wheels on Messala’s cart. Messala’s whip. The horses racing. You feel the impact of every moment. This is long before CGI, so these are real horses racing around which gives the sequence more of a tangible feel. The editing also conceals the stunts perfectly when we seamlessly cut between stuntmen, Charlton Heston, and Stephen Boyd. The stunt work is incredible as well with Judah flipping over his cart when it ramps off another cart as well as Messala being dragged underneath another chariot. George Lucas was so influenced by Ben-Hur that he designed an entire set piece around it with the pod race from The Phantom Menace.

They just don’t make movies like Ben-Hur anymore, do they? Outside of Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, you are not seeing filmmakers capturing grand scale with practical effects and tangible experiences like Wyler’s historical epic. You also never get faith-based films that are so bold and ambitious with their filmmaking and stories. Ben-Hur earned all its Academy Awards with a cast full of incredible performances (led by Heston), a powerful and iconic score by Miklos Rozsa, and the grand visuals brought to life by cinematographer Robert Surtees. Ben-Hur stands the test of time and exists as one of the grandest films ever created.