Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		0.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Race to get this one.

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 15, 2026

Offered alongside the standard 4K edition, Warner Bros. has also issued a new Limited Edition Steelbook of William Wyler's biblical epic Ben-Hur, a film that famously took home 11 Oscar wins in 1959 and continues to endure. As usual, all on-disc contents are identical so collectors will want to make their choices accordingly, but both offer superlative A/V merits and a decent (but hardly definitive) collection of new and returning bonus features.

It's also been very well-represented on home video during the last few decades, as the first Blu-ray editions were issued back in 2011 as either a standard release or a much more elaborate Ultimate Collector's Edition; Diamond Luxe Edition appeared in 2013, but this was essentially just a reissue. The common thread with all of these releases is that they squeezed this 222-minute epic on two Blu-ray discs -- one 50GB and one 25GB -- but Warner Bros.' welcome new UHD edition gives it more room to breathe across two larger 4K discs; the first is 100GB, and the second 66GB. A third disc of extras is also included, regardless of which 4K option you end up purchasing.

For a synopsis of the main feature, please see Jeffrey Kauffman's UCE Blu-ray review linked above. My more modest but still favorable 4/5 rating means that I'm not quite as enamored with Ben-Hur as I appreciate it much more on a technical level than a dramatic one. Regardless, this is a very solid 4K package and well worth picking up.

Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

For details about the new 2160p/HDR10/Dolby Vision transfer, please see my review of the standard 4K edition.

Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Likewise, details about the audio can be found at my review linked above.

Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a crisp matte-finish Steelbook that goes all-in on Ben Hur's most thrilling sequence, a third-act chariot race that only encompasses nine minutes of screen time but feels at least twice as long...in a good way, of course. Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is featured prominently on the cover, of course, with his fierce rival Messala (Stephen Boyd) sharing this wide image on the on the back; both close-ups sepia-toned with some muted reds coming through. A slightly wider shot of the race can be seen on the interior splash panel. This being a three-disc set, one disc sits by itself on the left and the other two are on overlapping hubs on the right, which is always preferable to stacked discs. It's a solid effort, although I actually prefer the standard 4K edition's cover overall.

Speaking of which, all on-disc extras are identical to the wide release and detailed in the linked review.

Ben-Hur 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

William Wyler's Ben-Hur is almost in its own category as far as Golden Age Hollywood epics are concerned, delivering a widescreen spectacle that lured countless filmgoers away from their shiny new TV sets in 1959 for a visually stunning cinematic experience. That same visual precision is duly preserved on Warner Bros.' welcome new UHD edition, which easily beats the already-terrific 2011 Blu-ray with an 8K restoration and HDR10/Dolby Vision color grading. Along with two lossless audio options and a solid (but not complete) collection of extras, it's a great release and well worth buying for fans and first-timers alike. Both the standard 4K edition and this Steelbook come Highly Recommended.