I see this terrible thing in your eyes, Judah Ben-Hur. But no matter what this man has done to you, you have no right to take his life. He will be punished inevitably. Your whole life is a miracle. Why will you not accept God’s judgment? You do not believe in miracles, yet God once spoke to me out of the darkness, and a star led me to a village called Bethlehem where I found a newborn child in a manger. And God lived in this child. By now, he is a grown man, and must be ready to begin his work. And that is why I have returned here, so that I may be at hand when he comes among us. He is near. He saw the sun set this evening as we did. Perhaps he’s standing in a doorway somewhere on a hilltop. Perhaps he is a shepherd watching, a fisherman. But he lives in all our lives. From now on we’ll carry his mark. There are many paths to God, my son. I hope yours will not be too difficult.
The cast
Charlton Heston ................Judah Ben-Hur
Jack Hawkins................... Quintus Arrius
Stephen Boyd ...................Messala
Haya Harareet ..................Esther
Hugh Griffith ..................Sheik Ilderim
Martha Scott ...................Miriam
Sam Jaffe ......................Simonides
Cathy O’Donnell ................Tirzah
The first movie ever that boasts of reaching the 11 oscars mark with Titanic in 1997 to tie in on this. The movie took 6 years for completion and yet as some people claim there were loose ends if one watches closely ( pun intended because some of them were seen wearing wrist watches). the most expensive in the making and took about 6 years to complete.
The Story
An uncrowned Prince, Judah finds himself at the Receiving end of a Roman Tribunals passion for Rome. Separated from his family and condemned to the galley where he would be expected to row till you drop dead. At every stroke of the oar Judah Benhur kindles in himself hatred and bitterness, for his once upon a time friend Tribune Messala who had persuaded but in vain to convince Judah to reveal the Jewish resistance who plot to overthrow the Roman government. Judah’s luck or as they call it, favors him twice. The first time when he almost died of thirst and hunger and the guards refused to give him any water, a stranger walks up to him give him water. Little does he know the stranger who saved his life was Jesus Christ, A carpenter from Nazareth. the Second time was with the Roman counsel, who had Judah Unchained while the entire condemned crew was chained.
After Surviving the galley Ordeal and the war, Judah is taken to Rome by his new benefactor, who owes his life to Judah since he saved his life. He was taken in as a slave for the Counsel and drove all his chariots to victory. Soon enough Judah is adopted by the counsel as his own son and the ring seal was passed on to Judah fulfilling the Roman laws for Adoption.
Now Judea has several ’’unfinished business’’. Get his mother and Sister back from the Dungeon and settle the score with Messala, who once scoffed at him when Judah swore he would return to get revenge. Will Judah get his revenge and his family out of the dungeons ?
A strange portrayal of Christ ( His face was never shown) and the similarity of Christ and Judah what seemed to amaze me. Both of them punished for treason against the Romans. Judah betrayed by his friend and Christ crucified by his own people, exchanged in return for a captured bandit( although these details were not shown in the movie).
Christ was mentioned on more than one occasion to Judah ( refer the opening lines on this review) unknown to Judah was that the person in question was the same stranger who helped him before being taken to the galleys. ’’A stranger helped me once , I dont know why !!!’’
Favorite Quotes
# 1
Rome is an affront to God. Rome is strangling my people and my country and the whole earth, but not forever. I tell you, the day Rome falls, there will be a shout of freedom such as the world has never heard before.
# 2
You have the spirit to fight back but the good sense to control it. Your eyes are full of hate, Forty-One. That’s good. Hate keeps a man alive. It gives him strength.
# 3
Judah: If you were not a bride, I should kiss you goodbye.
Esther: If I were not a bride, there would be no goodbyes to be said.
# 4
Benhur: May God grant me vengeance. I pray that you live till I return.
Messala replies mockingly: Return?
# 5
Messala: Triumph complete, Judah. The race won. The enemy destroyed.
Ben-Hur: I see no enemy.
Messala: What do you think you see? The smashed body of a wretched animal! Is enough of a man still left here for you to hate?
And for Desserts ...
A man like Judah Benhur, who has been facing injustice and everything including his family being taken away from him has a reason to hate. But soon enough finds out that hatred and vengeance takes a back seat when you actually forgive and look at a totally different perspective. All his life his bitterness has hurt him and those he loved. Shows two different people with different purposes total strangers to each other ( Christ and Benhur) and how one has changed the other.
In our short tenure of human existence , we have many reasons to be vengeful. But one begets another. If you avenged one you need another reason, till you realise you have missed out on a lot of beautiful things in life. If this Movie has taught me this, it may have taught you something more or different.
The times Judah Benhur has been going through seemed nothing compared to what Christ had to go through. but Still Judah was amazed at the way Christ was willing to forgive those who crucified him.
A vain attempt perhaps to match the review written on Ben Hur by Sujay Marthi ( Ms Id sujay_marthi). but I did the best I can.
Do check this Review on Ben Hur if you have the time
https://mouthshut.com/readreview/17418-1.html
comments are welcome
Davie