Ben-Hur

Last night we finished our second evening of watching the classic movie, Ben Hur, starring Charleton Heston. It's a long movie (3 1/2 hours), produced in 1959 when our attention spans weren't coddled. It was also produced when no expenses were spared, with an extensive cast and superbly realistic sets.

This historical fiction movie focuses on Judah Ben-Hur, who is a wealthy Jewish man living at the time of Christ. We get a glimpse of the iron bondage of the Roman conquerors over the Jewish people, as we watch Judah sent to the galleys to row the Roman ships, and his mother and sister imprisoned, all because of an accident...and because of the ambition of Judah's former friend who is now a Roman military commanding officer.

Periodically throughout the story, we are given glimpses of the life of Jesus affecting the lives of some of the characters, until the climax, when the glimpses become the profound reality. Reverence for Jesus is paramount throughout the movie, with his face never shown and the very music calling for awe. Each episode involving Christ brought tears to my eyes and a meaningful silence to my guys.

As the end of the movie nears, we watch the characters witness the Crucifixion. The final theme is that of the hope and joy that this supreme miracle brings to us.


Our copy of the movie was one that we videotaped from t.v. about twenty years ago, but the movie is available from Amazon.