8.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.9 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.9 |
Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in 1st-century Jerusalem, is unwittingly thrust into an heroic odyssey, finding himself and his family enslaved by the Romans, placing him on a path for a fateful encounter with Jesus Christ and to ultimately face his tormentors during a furious chariot race.
Starring: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins (I), Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh GriffithEpic | 100% |
Drama | 100% |
History | 91% |
Period | 82% |
Biography | 45% |
Adventure | 9% |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.76:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.75:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital Mono
Czech: Dolby Digital Mono
Hungarian: Dolby Digital Mono
Polish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Music: Dolby Digital 2.0
Isolated music track DD 2.0 48kHz@192kbps Surround encoded
English SDH, French, German SDH, Italian SDH, Portuguese, Spanish, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
A strange confluence of sociopolitical forces and technological innovations led to the 1950’s being the preeminent decade for epic Biblical dramas on film. As television made more and more inroads on the box office receipts of big screen fare from Hollywood, executives were desperate for a countermeasure to stem the tide. Perhaps that desperation put them in a prayerful mood, for stories from the Bible, or which were at least tangentially related to stories from the Bible, seemed ideally suited to a whole gamut of new technologies which were in themselves designed to lure people away from their miniature flickering black and white living room screens. Widescreen processes like Cinemascope and multi-channel recording techniques that at the very least offered two track stereo (and often much more than that) literally and figuratively surrounded the viewer with pomp and pageantry. But epic productions haven’t always been able to magnetically attract audiences, and there was something else at work in the fifties which was a symbiotic part of that decade’s ascendancy of Biblically oriented fare and the immense success it enjoyed. While the decade hadn’t yet erupted into the out and out nuclear fear that accompanied the Cuban missile crisis in the early sixties, when we actually did face nuclear holocaust, there can be no underestimating the psychological impact of the development of the hydrogen bomb and the Soviet Union’s surprisingly fast ability to “catch up” to the West in destructive capabilities. The anti-Communist paranoia also led to a culture intent on conformity and assimilation, one which seemed perfectly personified by the “grandparent” Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower. Part of that conformity was of course a conformity of belief and religious practice, and that no doubt helped to bring audiences to Biblical film dramas, as if attending these spectacles was a religious rite in and of itself. While Biblical dramas had of course existed from virtually the dawn of film, from The Robe onward, the fifties saw one gigantic production after another which sought to cash in on religious sentiment while making the most of widescreen framings and multi-channel sound design. It’s perhaps no mere coincidence that the apotheosis of this trend should have come at the decade’s end in 1959, with William Wyler’s mammoth Ben-Hur, which is of course subtitled A Tale of the Christ. While Biblical dramas certainly continued to be produced well into the sixties (and occasionally beyond), the luster was obviously off as early as 1961’s King of Kings, while at more or less the same time we faced nuclear annihiliation in the Cuban missile crisis less than stellar efforts like Sodom and Gomorrah were briefly visiting cineplexes. By the time The Greatest Story Ever Told and The Bible bombed in the mid-sixties, the handwriting was clearly on the wall, like some scribbled prophecy from the Book of Daniel. But everything that the fifties stood for and hoped to achieve in the genre of Biblical drama came together in, well, a miraculous fashion in Ben-Hur, one of the most eagerly anticipated Blu-ray catalog releases of this year, somewhat beyond the film's advertised "50th anniversary".
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 (albeit one that officially "belongs" to M-G-M) 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. I came under some passing criticism for my review of Quo Vadis? on Blu-ray some years ago (for another site), but simply pull out that disc if you have it and compare the reds in that transfer to the reds in Ben-Hur and it instantly becomes apparent what a difference a careful transfer, including absolutely accurate telecine color timing, can make for a release. The film is also stunningly damage free, with nary a scratch, speck or other distraction in view.
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.
At the risk of sounding repetitive: wow. Ben-Hur has an absolutely glorious sonic component on this new Blu-ray courtesy of a flawless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. M-G-M has obviously kept the original stems and mag tracks of this film in more or less pristine condition, and it shows throughout this stunning lossless presentation. From the first boisterous moments of Rózsa's incredible Overture, the difference, especially with regard to the low end frequencies, is instantly audible and incredibly fulsome. The 5.1 track is gorgeously spacious, with excellent use of side and rear channels, especially in some of the film's most famous set pieces, including the galley scenes and of course the iconic chariot race, which is awash in LFE and incredible panning effects. Dialogue is perfectly placed around the soundfield and is always easy to hear, but on reflection, it's the unbelievably gorgeous Rózsa score which perhaps benefits most from this new lossless audio offering. Brass blasts from the speakers in alarming clarity, while strings sound brilliantly bright but never strident. Rózsa's evocative use of harps and other percussion is also incredibly well reproduced on this new track, adding a whole new luster to one of the most celebrated scores in the history of film.
Once again Warner has assembled a very impressive and incredibly handsome package which provides a wealth of on disc supplements as well as other swag. The embossed box is enclosed in a slipcase (without the usual—and often problematic—fold around "Blu-ray" cardboard attachment). The three Blu-rays offer both previously released supplements as well as an all new documentary.
Blu-ray Supplements:
This release instantly becomes the "must have" catalog release of the year. Though some collectors bristle at the thought of these "Ultimate Collector's Editions" and their perhaps unneeded swag, this is one package that all but the most curmudgeonly should enjoy. Yes, it's big (about the same size as the "other" Heston mega-epic The Ten Commandments), but it's stuffed to the gills with great on-disc and extra-disc supplements, including the really innovative and fascinating Heston diary. The film itself is simply a reference quality example of what can be achieved with catalog releases and Warner is to be thoroughly congratulated for once again doing the right thing by one of its most iconic titles. It goes without saying Ben-Hur receives an enthusiastic Highest recommendation.
1959
Academy Awards O-Sleeve / 50th Anniversary Edition
1959
Ultimate Collector's Edition | with Figurine | 1959 and 1925 movies
1959
Diamond Luxe Edition
1959
50th Anniversary Collector's Edition
1959
Fiftieth Anniversary
1959
1956
1994
1960
1995
1963
1953
2003
2010
2010-2013
60th Anniversary Limited Edition
1962
2013
1964
2005-2006
1982
1987
1999
2013
Collector's Edition
2010
1951
The Ultimate Cut
2004