Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Edition (DVD)

The movie is fantastic. The sets, the costumes and the dialog showcase the actors abilities in ways that seem to be forgotten.The seller shipped the disc immediately and as described.

A true classic that any appreciator of cinema should watch.

Classic movie seen 3 times

My ultimate old time movie.I have it in VHS, but this DVD it's much better.

DVD as described. Played very well. Ben HUR is an Epic movie about a man who learns comes to faith. Charlton Heston is excellent in part. The Visuals are great. The music set the mood and can be chilling at times. Stephen Boyd as Masala is a scarry bad guy. Jack Hawkins also provides an excellent characterization of a Roman General with empathy.

EXACTLY AS DESCRIBED

I bought this set sometime ago (from Amazon) because as a kid I loved the movie along with the great theme & music. I was in 12thgrade and went on a weekend trip to Chicago with the 11th grade class to see this movie (1960). Since then I have probably becomemore of a critic of this movie than any other. MGM was beginning to decline as a great studio and this was a good attempt to reviveits market value (I think). Anyhow, 15 mill was spent on the thing based on the Wallaces book that I read (boy, some job that was!)and I think very successfully. It was faithful to the book, beautifully photographed and well acted with an astounding chariot raceat the end of the film (almost the end; still and hour or so to go). Anyhow, the villain is vanquished, family freed but the well stagedcrucifixion of Jesus was the high note and beautifully done. Few films musical themes moved me as well as the Ben Hur themes from thebeginning birth star to the blood mixing with the water at the end. I was moved though I am more of a mystical agnostic than religious. The movie was filmed in what was called Camera 65 (70mm?) and it looked well on the huge screen. I give this moviefour stars only for what I will criticize in a moment. Still, It is a masterpiece in its present form.Here we go. My primary gripe is that the costumes were not always accurate. I am a kind of Romanophile and have dozensof books (ancient & modern) on Roman, Greek & Egyptian histories. The soldiers uniforms looked chincy, shields looked madeof tin, and togas were beige, not white. The sea battle was superbly done, but I don't believe Romans used slaves as rowers;fiction ideas back in the 1860s when the book was written (Lew Wallace, Union General). Want to see good Roman uniforms,watch FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE; beautifully done costumes. And if a Roman had a stripe on their togas, it would bepurple, not red; a common error by Hollyweird. But Heston & Boyd played off each other very well. The rest of the cast waswell chosen & scripted. But can you imagine how well this film might have looked with CGI effects. Maybe it is just as well.I am beginning to tire of CGI in every film today and MGM did a great job with what was available at the time. And the film isvery respectful to Jesus as it portrayed the crucifixion. If you like films with action, spiritual portions and entertainment andsome historical elements, this one is for you.

Such a great movie!