PROMOTION: How Ben-Hur Became The Ultimate Biblical Epic

Everything about Ben-Hur is big. William Wyler’s 1959 adaptation of the 1880 Lew Wallace novel had – at the time of its production – the largest budget of any film, totalling over $15 million. It had gigantic sets, teeming with thousands of extras. It was shot on super-wide Panavision 65mm film, a vast cinematic canvas. And its story is an all-out odyssey – told across nearly four hours, including an overture, interval, and entr’acte – in which Charlton Heston’s Jewish prince Judah Ben-Hur is wrongly accused of attempting to kill a Roman governor, is forced into slavery, sails across oceans, becomes a champion chariot driver, and goes in search of his long-lost family. All that, and it’s all set against the backdrop of the life of Jesus – making it a true Biblical epic. Now, for the first time, you can watch Ben-Hur in stunning 4K Ultra-HD.

It’s a film that every cinephile should experience – a shining example of the kind of historical opus that Golden Age Hollywood was founded on. It was very much intended that way; Ben-Hur had already been adapted as a 1925 silent film, and studio MGM imagined that making a new version could be a chance to outdo 1956 smash The Ten Commandments, even going to far as to cast that film’s Moses, Heston himself, in the lead role. It worked: Ben-Hur won 11 Oscars, made almost 10 times its huge budget on initial release, and earned rave reviews from critics too.

Today, Ben-Hur still stands as a must-see. For all the incredible feats that modern day filmmakers are capable of, there’s something about the sheer scale of Ben-Hur that remains staggering – the myriad faces crammed into the frame in the sprawling crowd scenes, the epic naval battle, the chariot race filled with thunderous stunts. Its influence can be felt in everything from the gigantic practical productions of Christopher Nolan’s work, to Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (with its personal revenge plot set against a historical backdrop), to Star Wars(Episode I’s high-speed podrace is clearly inspired by Ben-Hur’s chariots).

On 4K, Ben-Hur has truly never looked better.

On 4K, Ben-Hur has truly never looked better – and it was already a visual masterpiece. Those stunning ultra-wide frames (it was shot in 2.76:1 aspect ratio; the image is nearly three times as wide as it is tall) are teeming with detail, while the use of Technicolor adds a vivid vibrancy. Take the rich reds and purples of the Roman gowns; the crisp blues of the ocean as Ben-Hur escapes his sinking galley; the verdant greens during the Sermon On The Mount. It all leaps off the screen.

Such visual mastery would mean little if Ben-Hur’s narrative wasn’t so compelling. But it boasts the kind of elemental storytelling that never diminishes; the story of a man in the wrong place at the wrong time, dealt a personal betrayal that sends his life way off course, forcing him to persevere in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds to make things right. While Ben-Hur and his Roman associate Messala (Stephen Boyd) start off as friends, they soon become mortal enemies; the simple act of a falling roof tile sees Ben-Hur accused of treachery against the Romans, which Messala capitalises upon to boost his own status, condemning Judah into slavery, and his mother Miriam and sister Tirzah to Roman captivity.

When Judah and Messala finally come head-to-head, it’s in the film’s most famous sequence: the chariot race, a jaw-dropping ten-minute action extravaganza that was over a year in the planning, all shot practically with real horses on real tracks, requiring Heston and Boyd to learn how to drive their chariots.

The results remain astonishing; fast, furious, and full of heart-in-mouth storytelling beats, the pure adrenaline compounded by the emotional stakes as Judah races against the man who wronged him years previously. Nearly seven decades on, the sequence has lost none of its power, and remains one of the greatest feats ever committed to celluloid.

Ben-Hur isn’t just a historical epic. It’s a Biblical epic, juxtaposing its own tale of a man’s turbulent life against the most extraordinary of backdrops: the life and death of Jesus. Throughout the film, Judah periodically comes into contact with Jesus of Nazareth, whose face is never seen; he’s more of a presence, who rewards Ben-Hur’s faith and resilience, at times offering divine intervention, all while facing his own trials and tribulations. Notably, the final reel, in which Ben-Hur seeks out the family he was forced to leave behind, plays concurrently with the crucifixion; all adding to the scope of the narrative, placing Ben-Hur in the lineage one of cinema’s most foundational genres.

Whether you’re watching Ben-Hur for the first or the tenth time, one thing’s for sure: you’ve never quite seen it look as good as it does in this brand-new 4K restoration.

Own it on 4K Ultra-HD or 4K digital, and revisit one of cinema’s all-time-greats – visit warnerbros.co.uk for more.