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Ben-Hur (1959)

Director: William Wyler, Andrew Marton

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6 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Although a bit like a four-hour Sunday school lesson, 'Ben-Hur' is not without its compensations, above all, of course, the chariot race (which was directed not by Wyler but by Andrew Marton, and it shows). The rest is made interesting by the most sexually ambivalent characters sporting togas this side of Satyricon. When not fondling phallic substitutes, Heston and Boyd gaze admiringly into each other's eyes, but when they fall out - well, hell hath no fury like a closet queen scorned. Heston ends up naked in the galleys where he's rowing and Jack Hawkins is commanding; one look at Chuck's rippling muscles, and Hawkins adopts him. Heston goes back for revenge on Boyd, who's lying around in the baths with his men looking like they're auditioning for Sebastiane. Along the way, an unbilled Jesus performs miracles for Ben's kinsfolk, which are convincing enough to convert him. The movie could be trying to say that for some people religion is an escape from their sexuality, but it seems unlikely.

Author: SM

Time Out Film Guide

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User reviews of this film

John said...

Posted on Dec 31 2011 19:37 How in hell do you think there is homosexual overtones in Ben-Hur? The movie isn't about sex, it's about Jesus Christ and a man's personal struggle with the Roman Empire. Not anything about being naked on a ship.. Those thoughts didn't even race through my mind when watching this great movie. That's sick.

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Tony said...

Posted on Mar 22 2011 03:09 This is possibly the worst review I've ever read. I think you got just about everything wrong.

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John said...

Posted on Mar 08 2011 14:38 I recently watched Ben Hur after seeing Wyler’s film ‘The Heiress,’ which has the most extraordinary production design. I was wondering what Wyler would do with Hollywood sword-and-sandal boilerplate. Sans the Eisenhower-era indifference to authentic historical milieu and lighting that’s often bland, it really holds up. It cannot be easy to orchestrate so much action without drowning in minutiae. Although this is ‘the story of the Christ,’ it’s the attraction and conflict between Hur and Messala that creates and drives the drama. The religious sub-plot is woven into the personal drama and historical sweep without trivializing it and without a trace of preachiness.

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Preston Venzant said...

Posted on Jul 03 2010 01:54 Ben Hur captures the death of Christ better than any movie ever made. And they do it without comment, a masterful work from a masterful director. Amazing.

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Movie Review said...

Posted on Dec 27 2009 03:34 I can't believe this review. This film was by no means a lecture but rather an epic action flick that periodically provides you with edge-of-your seat fun. The 3.5 hour movie breezed bye, even its exposition was enjoyable.

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Paul Bradley said...

Posted on Jun 27 2007 21:16 Over the years it has become the norm for most British critics to attack 'Ben-Hur', with the usual stinging comments of "wooden dialogue", "over-inflated" and "overlong" thrown at it. It clearly looks expensive but it is meant to be an expensive spectacular. It simply looks great and the story is enhanced by effective performances including Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd (who had won a Golden Globe for his performance as Messala in 1960). The sea battle works and the now legnedary chariot race is worth the admission fee alone. To call a religious epic pompous and preachy (as many critics do) is to call the Queen dutiful. This is a religious epic and one of the finest epics ever to grace the screen.

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