10:30 a.m. Ovation Mon. He singled out the galley rowing sequence, Jesus's journey to the place of crucifixion, and nearly all the sequences involving the lepers. [65] Marie Ney was originally cast as Miriam, but was fired after two days of work because she could not cry on cue. 1 of 3 Charlton Heston poses in character, in the title role of the motion picture Ben-Hur on April 29, 1958, at Cinecitta studios in Rome, Italy. Heston, an experienced horseman, took daily three-hour lessons in chariot driving after he arrived in Rome and picked up the skill quickly. However, a number of countries—including France, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom—were also considered. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. [31], Wyler did not formally agree to direct the film until September 1957,[30] and MGM did not announce his hiring until January 3, 1958. [77] Wyler was best known for composition in depth, a visual technique in which people, props, and architecture are not merely composed horizontally but in depth of field as well. [148] Outside of North America, it earned $32.5 million in rentals (about $72.2 million at the box office) for a worldwide total of $66.1 million in rental earnings, roughly equivalent to $146.9 million in box office receipts. ", Pryor, Thomas M. "Seven Arts Group Teaming With U.A. 7 p.m. Blazing Saddles (1974) ★★★ Ovation Sun. [12] In September 1955, Zimbalist, who continued to claim that Tunberg's script was complete, announced that a $7 million, six- to seven- month production would begin in April 1956 in either Israel or Egypt in MGM's new 65mm widescreen process, MGM Camera 65. [42] Vidal said that he believed that Messala's vindictiveness could only be motivated by the feeling of rejection that a lover would feel, and claimed to have suggested to Wyler that Stephen Boyd should play the role that way, and that Heston be kept in the dark about the Messala character's motivations. [16][126][q] Economic conditions in Italy were poor at the time, and as shooting for the chariot scene wound down only 1,500 extras were needed on any given day. It is a very challenging thing to do that and get no complaints from anybody. [94], The sea battle was one of the first sequences created for the film,[106] filmed using miniatures in a huge tank on the back lot at the MGM Studios in Culver City, California, in November and December 1957. Ovation is an independent television and digital media company dedicated to celebrating and supporting all forms of arts and culture. "Ben-Hur," AFI Catalog of Feature Films, American Film Institute, 2014, "The 32nd Academy Awards (1960) Nominees and Winners". [20] Zimbalist hired Wyler's long-term production supervisor, Henry Henigson, to oversee the film, and art directors William A. Horning and Edward Carfagno created the overall look of the film, relying on the more than five years of research which had already been completed for the production. Still Lancaster refused. [c][9] Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor were reported to be in the running for the lead. The second-unit director in charge of the chariot race was B. Reeves “Breezy” Eason, known for his genius with action scenes involving horses. ", Nichols, Peter. Roman soldier standing along wall pitches forward as one chariot passes, is run over by second. [106][o] William Wyler stated that his goal was to bring the running time down to three and a half hours. Watch Versailles Season 3 Episode 10 - L'h?ritage. [115] Like most film musical soundtracks, it was issued as an album for the public to enjoy as a distinct piece of music. It was watched by 85.82 million people for a 37.1 average rating. [134] For the other charioteers, six actors with extensive experience with horses were flown in from Hollywood, including Giuseppe Tosi, who had once been a bodyguard for Victor Emmanuel III of Italy. ", Gaver, Jack. Actresses Martha Scott and Cathy O'Donnell spent almost the entire month of November 1958 in full leprosy make-up and costumes so that Wyler could shoot "leper scenes" when other shots did not go well. Messala enlists in the Roman army and fights in the Roman Empire's wars in Germany. During the race, Messala drives a chariot with blades on the hubs to disable his competitors. The Internet Movie Database labels as false the rumor that the stunt double for Stephen Boyd (the villain Mesalla) was killed during the chariot race. It was the fastest-grossing, as well as the highest-grossing film of 1959, becoming the second highest-grossing film in history at the time, after Gone with the Wind. [21] Principal cast members, stand-ins, and stunt people made 100 practice laps of the arena in preparation for shooting. As of 2020[update], only Titanic in 1998 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in 2004 have matched the film's wins. [115] The score contains no leitmotifs for the main characters. … The following is a chronological listing of the stunts in the chariot race scene of the 1959 version of Ben-Hur: © 1995 - 2021 by Snopes Media Group Inc. [50] The ships were constructed based on plans found in Italian museums for actual ancient Roman galleys. Judah becomes a champion charioteer, then returns to Judea. Arrius' galley is rammed and sunk, but Judah frees as many other rowers as he can and rescues Arrius. Videos. [g] Paul Newman turned it down because he said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic. [127][129] The four statues atop the spina were 30 feet (9.1 m) high. [147], During its initial release the film earned $33.6 million in North American theater rentals (the distributor's share of the box office), generating approximately $74.7 million in box office sales. The answer, my friend, is flowing in the vein. (See the end of this article for a listing and analysis of the individual stunts.) [48] Three months later the paper published a 1,200 word response from Vidal, which included the statement that, with regard to the controversial scene's subtext, he had been delegated to inform Boyd (who was "delighted"), but that Wyler had warned "don't tell Chuck because he'll fall apart". This is the incident in which Canutt is pitched forward and receives a minor cut to his chin. [137], One of the most notable moments in the race came from a near-fatal accident when stunt man Joe Canutt, Yakima Canutt's son, was tossed into the air by accident; he incurred a minor chin injury. Charlton Heston has claimed that Fry was Wyler's first choice as screenwriter, but that Zimbalist forced him to use Vidal. 8.1 3 h 42 min 1959 X-Ray G. A member of the Jewish nobility living in Jerusalem, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) lives a religious life and peacefully opposes the tyrannical occupation of Judea by Rome. Is This a 2,000-Year-Old Depiction of a Cat? Ben-Hur is a 1959 American religious epic film directed by William Wyler, produced by Sam Zimbalist, and starring Charlton Heston as the title character. This difference causes tension between the friends, and results in their split after Messala issues an ultimatum demanding that Judah deliver potential rebels to the Roman authorities. Zimbalist hired a number of screenwriters to cut the story down and turn the novel into a script. [102] Seventy-eight horses were bought and imported from Yugoslavia and Sicily in November 1957, exercised into peak physical condition, and trained by Hollywood animal handler Glenn Randall to pull the quadriga (a Roman Empire chariot drawn by four horses abreast). The final, choreographed pile-up, in which Mesalla meets his end, was shot later at the cost of five horses. 2014. The four-hour mini-series Ben Hur will debut on Ovation on March 31 at 8 PM.. Based on the novel “Ben-Hur: A tale of Christ” by Lew Wallace follows Judah Ben Hur (Joseph Morgan from The Vampire Diaries), a wealthy Jewish prince who is betrayed by his childhood friend, Messala.Eventually enslaved, Ben Hur becomes a hero when he saves the life of a Roman leader and soon receives new … A Jewish nobleman, Judah Ben-Hur, and his adopted Roman brother Messala are best friends despite their different origins. The early days of the film industry was particularly hard on stunt people. [184], The movie was banned in China under the regime of Mao Zedong for containing "propaganda of superstitious beliefs, namely Christianity. [154] He found the film so uninvolving and lengthy that he said, "I felt like a motorist trapped at a railroad crossing while a long freight train slowly trundles by. The soundtrack was recorded in six-channel stereo. Ben-Hur (1959) ★★★★ TCM Fri. 5 p.m. Beverly Hills Cop (1984) ★★★ HBO Wed. 8 p.m. [53] A massive backdrop, 200 feet (61 m) wide by 50 feet (15 m) high, was painted and erected to hide the city and hills in the background. The scene was used in the final print: But there was an earlier, silent version of Ben Hur, also produced by MGM and released in 1926 (this date varies with sources). The 70mm lenses had a minimum focusing distance of 50 feet (15 m), and the camera was mounted on a small Italian-made car so the camera crew could keep in front of the chariots. ’18 Reasons I Won’t Be Getting a COVID Vaccine’ Post Filled With Reckless Falsehoods. [76] To overcome these difficulties, Surtees and Wyler collaborated on using the widescreen lenses, film stocks, and projection technologies to create highly detailed images for the film. Did Kanye West and Kim Kardashian Crash a Jet Ski in This Video? "'Ben-Hur' Rides Again. [97] Some additional desert panoramas were shot in Arizona, and some close-up inserts taken at the MGM Studios, with the final images photographed on February 3, 1958. [53] The life-size galleys and pirate ships were dismantled to prevent them from being used by competing studios. [173] It was listed as number 491 on Empire's 500 Greatest films of all time. Messala’s chariot disintegrates, and he is pitched out, dragged behind, and finally trampled by the horses of another chariot. [145] A high school study guide was also created and distributed. ", Pryor, Thomas M. "Hollywood Dossier: New Market Analysis Is Set Up. [40] Vidal admitted to William Morris in March 1959 that Fry rewrote as much as a third of the dialogue which Vidal had added to the first half of the script. Some changes made the film's storyline more dramatic. In 1998, the American Film Institute named it the 72nd best American film and the second best American epic film in the AFI's 10 Top 10. The chariot race lasts just over 8-and-a-half minutes. [102] Over 250 miles (400 km) of metal tubing were used to erect the grandstands. [74], Robert L. Surtees, who had already filmed several of the most successful epics of the 1950s, was hired as cinematographer for the film. Back in March, Ovation aired the mini-series Ben Hur on Sunday, March 31. Although later years saw fewer deaths, and less secrecy, the legacy of studio spin-doctors and confusion between the two movies helped create a movie legend. Home. [78] The MGM Camera 65 used special 65mm Eastmancolor film stock with a 2.76:1 aspect ratio. Going through this in slow motion, you can clearly see that the figure pitched out of the chariot, dragged and trampled is a dummy. I turned and saw him up there — it was like a slow-motion film. Ben-Hur appeared at #72 on the 100 Movies, #49 on the 100 Thrills, #21 on the Film Scores, #56 on the 100 Cheers and #2 on the AFI's 10 Top 10 Epic film lists. Ovation is set to air new version of the classic miniseries Ben Hur to be penned by Alan Sharp of the Rob Roy fame. ", "'GWTW' Knocks ABC Out of First for Week, Sets Modern Nielsen Record. Sadly, the animation is second rate and nowhere near the quality of "Prince of Egypt." The long-serving congresswoman's comments were taken out of context. Some suggested he was not much more caring with stuntmen. [142] Heston, in a DVD commentary track for the film, mentions that a third urban legend claims that he wore a wristwatch during the chariot race, but points out that he wore leather bracers up to the elbow. ", Schumach, Murray. During a parade for the new governor of Judea, Valerius Gratus, loose tiles fall from the roof of Judah's house. It was decided to give up the Rome location. Tunberg cut out everything in the book after the crucifixion of Jesus, omitted the sub-plot in which Ben-Hur fakes his death and raises a Jewish army to overthrow the Romans, and altered the manner in which the leperous women are healed. The women beg Esther to conceal their condition from Judah, so Esther tells Judah they died. [29] Zimbalist showed Wyler some preliminary storyboards for the chariot race and informed him that MGM would be willing to spend up to $10 million, and as a result, Wyler began to express an interest in the picture. [100] Cinecittà Studios, a very large motion picture production facility constructed in 1937 on the outskirts of Rome, was identified early on as the primary shooting location. [90] However, the Libyan government canceled the production's film permit for religious reasons on March 11, 1958, just a week before filming was to have begun. [110] The most difficult editing decisions, according to Dunning, came during scenes that involved Jesus Christ, as these contained almost no dialogue and most of the footage was purely reaction shots by actors. Your eye just wanders out of curiosity. Versions of the rumor include Wyler’s leaving the fatal accident in the final cut (against the wishes of the stuntman’s widow), yet no published discussions of the film mention the accident, and Charlton Heston’s 1995 autobiography In the Arena specifically states that no one was seriously injured during the filming of the scene. The production company purchased a more powerful American car, but the horses were still too fast, and even with a head start, the filmmakers only had a few more seconds of shot time. Whether any died is debatable. Brownlow again quotes Bushman as saying to Niblo, “My God, Fred, they’re drowning, I tell you!” as they watched the catastrophe. 3 hr 32 mins. Where to Watch. "[155] Jack Gaver, writing for United Press International, also had praise for the acting, calling it full of "genuine warmth and fervor and finely acted intimate scenes". Libya, which was at war with Israel, had enacted legislation in 1957 banning any individual or company from doing business with Israel or Jews. [62] His salary was $250,000 for 30 weeks, a prorated salary for any time over 30 weeks, and travel expenses for his family. [d][25] According to Wyler, Vidal, their biographers (see bibliography below) and the sources that follow them, Zimbalist was unhappy with Tunberg's script, considering it to be "pedestrian"[25] and "unshootable". Everyone already has his own concept of him. [53] Almost all the filmmaking equipment was turned over to the Italian government, which sold and exported it. [49], The final script ran 230 pages. ", Crowther, Bosley. No human was seriously injured in the U.S. filming. Report. The crowd rioted, throwing stones and assaulting the set's gates until police arrived and dispersed them. [125] Knowing that the chariot race would be primarily composed of close-up and medium shots, Wyler added the parade in formation (even though it was not historically accurate) to impress the audience with the grandeur of the arena. [129], Planning for the chariot race took nearly a year to complete. "Ben-Hur' Grandiose, Gripping Spectacle. 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