Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film)

Last updated

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
Ben-Hur-1925.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Screenplay by
Based on Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
1880 novel
by General Lew Wallace
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited by
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
Running time
141 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Budget$4 million [1] [2]
Box office$10.7 million [1] [2]

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama film directed by Fred Niblo and written by June Mathis based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace. Starring Ramon Novarro as the title character, the film is the first feature-length adaptation of the novel and second overall, following the 1907 short.

Contents

In 1997, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." [3] [4]

Plot

Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur.jpg
Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur

At the Joppa Gate in Jerusalem, Mary and Joseph pass through on their way from Nazareth to Bethlehem. They stop at the inn at the entrance to the city, but they have no available room. Mary is pregnant and, as labor begins, they settle in a nearby a cave where a baby is born in Bethlehem among the shepherds and visited by the Magi.

Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish son, returns from Antioch and reconnects with his Roman childhood friend, Messala. Judah invites him to his palace with his mother, Miriam, and younger sister, Tirzah. Messala fully embraces Rome's glory and imperial power over the Jewish people while Judah remains devoted to the Jewish people's freedom.

Valerius Gratus, the new Roman governor of Judea, and his procession enter the city, as Judah and Tirzah watch from the upper terrace. Loose roof tiles fall, spooking the governor's horse and throwing him off. Messala condemns Judah to the galleys and imprisons Miriam and Tirzah. Judah vows revenge upon Messala. As he and other slaves are marched to the galleys, they stop in Nazareth. Denied water, Judah collapses but is revived when Jesus, the carpenter's son, offers him water.

Judah is sentenced to slave labor in a Roman war galley. Once aboard ship, his attitude of defiance and strength impresses a Roman admiral, Quintus Arrius, who allows him to remain unchained. Soon, his ship is attacked and sunk by pirates, and Judah saves him from drowning. Arrius then adopts Judah as his son, and over the years, Ben-Hur becomes a victorious chariot racer. He receives permission from Arrius to travel to Antioch, where he meets with Simonides, a former merchant for the Hur family. Judah remeets with Esther, Simonides's daughter, whom he encountered years earlier. He is told by Simonides that Miriam and Tirzah are dead. Meanwhile, Sheik Ilderim is competing in a chariot race and selects Judah to drive his horses. He refuses at first until he learns Messala will compete in the race.

At the arena, Judah has a flirtatious romance with Iras, who then tells Messala that Judah is alive. Before the chariot race, Ben-Hur and Messala confront each other, in which Judah wages fifty-thousand pieces of gold if he wins. During the race, Messala wrecks his chariot when it comes too close to Judah's. He is trampled by another chariot while Judah wins the race. However, Messala does not die.

In Ilderim's tent, he is visited by Balthazar who states the Messiah is an adult man. Judah pledges to give Jesus his wealth in hopes he will overthrow the Romans. Judah and Balthazar head back to Judea where Judah finances two legions. Pontius Pilate is the new governor of Judea who releases prisoners held without a documented crime record. Miriam and Tirzah, who have developed leprosy, are freed and venture into the Valley of the Lepers. On their way, they see Judah sleeping outside of the Hur palace. Judah and Esther reunite, but he leaves when he learns Jesus has been arrested. Esther eventually spots Miriam and Tirzah and conceals their whereabouts from Judah.

The next day, convinced that Jesus can heal them, Esther takes Miriam and Tirzah to meet him. During the crucifixion, Judah hears Jesus's voice, stating his kingdom is not of this world and to put away his sword. Jesus later revives a dead child and miraculously cures Miriam and Tirzah. Judah sees his healed mother and sister and reunites with them. Jesus dies and an earthquake erupts. Balthazar informs the legion armies of Jesus's death and disperses them, telling them to forgive their enemies and love one another.

Reunited with his family, Judah states Jesus is not dead but he will live forever in the hearts of men.

Cast

Promotional still of the chariot race in Ben-Hur Ben Hur (SAYRE 14896).jpg
Promotional still of the chariot race in Ben-Hur

Main

Some notable crowd extras during chariot race

Production

Full film; runtime 02:20:52

Ben-Hur: A Tale of The Christ had been a great success as a novel, and was adapted into a stage play which ran for twenty-five years. In 1922, two years after the play's last tour, the Goldwyn company purchased the film rights to Ben-Hur. The play's producer, Abraham Erlanger, put a heavy price on the screen rights. Erlanger was persuaded to accept a generous profit participation deal and total approval over every detail of the production.

Choosing the title role was difficult for June Mathis. Rudolph Valentino and dancer Paul Swan were considered until George Walsh was chosen. When asked why she chose him, she answered it was because of his eyes and his body. Gertrude Olmstead was cast as Esther. [6] [7] While on location in Italy, Walsh was fired and replaced by Ramon Novarro. [5] The role of Esther went to May McAvoy.

Technicolor frames from the film's trailer. Ben-Hur (38).jpg
Technicolor frames from the film's trailer.

Shooting began in Rome, Italy in October 1923 under the direction of Charles Brabin who was replaced shortly after filming began. Other re-castings (apart from Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur) and a change of director caused the production's budget to skyrocket. After two years of difficulties and accidents, the production was eventually moved back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Culver City, California and production resumed in the spring of 1925. B. Reeves Eason and Christy Cabanne directed the second unit footage. [8]

Production costs eventually rose to $3,900,000 ($67,760,000 today) compared to MGM's average for the season of $158,000 ($2,750,000 today), [2] making Ben-Hur the most expensive film of the silent era. [9]

A total of 200,000 feet (61,000 m) of film was shot for the chariot race sequence, which led editor Lloyd Nosler eventually cut to 750 feet (230 m) for the released print. [10] Film historian and critic Kevin Brownlow has described the race sequence as "breathtakingly exciting, and as creative a piece of cinema as the Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin ", the Soviet film also released in 1925, directed by Sergei Eisenstein who introduced many modern concepts of editing and montage composition to motion-picture production. [11] Visual elements of the chariot race have been much imitated. The race's opening sequence was re-created shot-for-shot in the 1959 remake, copied in the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt , and imitated in the pod race scene in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace . [12] [13]

Some of the scenes in the 1925 film were shot in two-color Technicolor, most notably the sequences involving Jesus. One of the assistant directors for this sequence was a young William Wyler, who would direct the 1959 MGM remake. The black-and-white footage was color tinted and toned in the film's original release print. MGM released a second remake of Ben-Hur in 2016. [8]

Reception

Messala's winged helmet, worn by Francis X. Bushman in Ben-Hur, sold at the Debbie Reynolds auction of film memorabilia (2011) Debbie Reynolds Auction - Francis X Bushman "Messala" historic winged charioteer helmet from the 1925 "Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ" (5851596201).jpg
Messala's winged helmet, worn by Francis X. Bushman in Ben-Hur, sold at the Debbie Reynolds auction of film memorabilia (2011)

The studio's publicity department was relentless in promoting the film, advertising it with lines like: "The Picture Every Christian Ought to See!" and "The Supreme Motion Picture Masterpiece of All Time". Ben Hur went on to become MGM's highest-grossing film, with rentals of $9 million worldwide. Its foreign earnings of $5 million were not surpassed at MGM for at least 25 years. Despite the large revenues, its huge expenses and the deal with Erlanger made it a net financial loss for MGM. It recorded an overall loss of $698,000. [2]

In terms of publicity and prestige however, it was a great success. "The screen has yet to reveal anything more exquisitely moving than the scenes at Bethlehem, the blazing of the star in the heavens, the shepherds and the Wise Men watching. The gentle, radiant Madonna of Betty Bronson's is a masterpiece," wrote a reviewer for Photoplay. "No one," they concluded, "no matter what his age or religion, should miss it. And take the children." [14] It helped establish the new MGM as a major studio. [15] [16]

The film was re-released in 1931 with an added musical score, by the original composers William Axt and David Mendoza, and sound effects. As the decades passed, the original two-color Technicolor segments were replaced by alternative black-and-white takes. Ben-Hur earned $1,352,000 during its re-release, including $1,153,000 of foreign earnings, and made a profit of $779,000 meaning it had an overall profit of $81,000. [2] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 96% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 23 reviews, with an average rating of 7.8/10. [17]

The film became controversial after its release for the harm to animals involved in the filming. A reported one hundred horses were tripped and killed merely to produce the set piece footage of the major chariot race. Animal advocates especially criticized the use of the "running W" on set, a wire device that could trip a galloping horse. It would take a decade before such devices lost favor in Hollywood. [18]

The movie was banned in the 1930s in China under the category of "superstitious films" due to its religious subject matter involving gods and deities. [19]

Restoration

The Technicolor scenes were considered lost until the 1980s when Turner Entertainment (who by then had acquired the rights to the MGM film library) found the crucial sequences in the Czechoslovak Film Archive (now the Czech National Film Archive ). Current prints of the 1925 version are from the Turner-supervised restoration which includes the color tints and Technicolor sections set to resemble the original theatrical release. There is an addition of a newly recorded stereo orchestral soundtrack by Carl Davis with the London Philharmonic Orchestra which was originally recorded for a Thames Television screening of the movie.

Home media

Ben-Hur was released on DVD, complete with the Technicolor segments, in the four-disc collector's edition of the 1959 version starring Charlton Heston, as well as in the 2011 "Fiftieth Anniversary Edition" Blu-ray Collector's Edition three-disc box set.

See also

Related Research Articles

Ben-Hur or Ben Hur may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephen Boyd</span> Northern Irish actor (1931–1977)

William Millar, better known by his stage name Stephen Boyd, was an actor from Northern Ireland. He emerged as a leading man during the late 1950's with his role as the villainous Messala in Ben-Hur (1959), a role that earned him the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture. He received his second Golden Globe nomination for the musical Billy Rose's Jumbo (1962).

<i>Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ</i> 1880 novel by Lew Wallace

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a novel by Lew Wallace, published by Harper and Brothers on November 12, 1880, and considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century". It became a best-selling American novel, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852) in sales. The book also inspired other novels with biblical settings and was adapted for the stage and motion picture productions.

<i>Ben Hur</i> (1907 film) 1907 American film

Ben Hur is a 1907 American silent drama film set in ancient Rome, the first screen adaptation of Lew Wallace's popular 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Co-directed by Sidney Olcott and Frank Oakes Rose, this "photoplay" was produced by the Kalem Company of New York City, and its scenes, including the climactic chariot race, were filmed in the city's borough of Brooklyn.

<i>Ben-Hur</i> (1959 film) 1959 American epic film directed by William Wyler

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. A remake of the 1925 silent film with a similar title, it was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay is credited to Karl Tunberg, but includes contributions from Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The cast also features Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell and Sam Jaffe.

<i>Ben Hur</i> (2003 film) 2003 animated film based on the Lew Wallaces 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

Ben Hur is a 2003 American-Canadian animated drama film based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, by Lew Wallace. It is the fourth film adaptation of the novel, the prior three of which were the 1907 silent short film, the 1925 silent film, and the Academy Award-winning 1959 film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Bible in film</span> Film that accounts Biblical narratives

Stories from the Bible have frequently been used in films. There are various reasons for motion picture producers to turn to the Bible as source material. The stories, in the public domain, are already familiar to potential audiences. They contain sweeping, but relatively straightforward, narratives of good versus evil, and feature crowd-pleasing battles, sword fights, natural disasters, and miracles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May McAvoy</span> American actress (1899–1984)

May Irene McAvoy was an American actress who worked mainly during the silent-film era. Some of her major roles are Laura Pennington in The Enchanted Cottage, Esther in Ben-Hur, and Mary Dale in The Jazz Singer.

Tirzah is a biblical name, one of the daughters of Zelophehad, and subsequently the name of a biblical city.

Through a Naked Lens is a 2005 American play by author George Barthel. It received its world premiere Off-Broadway at the Wings Theatre in New York City. The play itself uses historical evidence and imagined circumstances to depict the rise of early Hollywood film star Ramón Novarro. While a celebration of Novarro’s life, the drama is told largely through the perspective of reporter Herbert Howe. While Barthel places Howe and Novarro in a romantic relationship, it is unknown if such a connection actually existed. Howe did, however, spend a great deal of time with Novarro as his publicist. The play also features Alice Terry, Rex Ingram, Irving Thalberg, Jim Quirk, Adela Rogers St. Johns, and Louis B. Mayer as characters.

<i>Ben-Hur</i> (play)

Ben-Hur was an 1899 theatrical adaptation of the novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1880) by Lew Wallace. The story was dramatized by William W. Young and produced by Marc Klaw and A. L. Erlanger. The stage production was notable for its elaborate use of spectacle, including live horses for the famous chariot race. The hippodrama had six acts with incidental music written by American composer Edgar Stillman Kelley. The stage production opened at the Broadway Theater in New York City on November 29, 1899, and became a hit Broadway show. Traveling versions of the production, including a national tour that ran for twenty-one years, played in the United States, Great Britain, and Australia. By the end of its run in April 1920, the play had been seen by more than twenty million people and earned over $10 million at the box office. There have been other stage adaptations of Wallace's novel, as well as several motion picture versions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Currier</span> American actor

Frank Currier was an American film and stage actor and director of the silent era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Walsh</span> American actor (1889–1981)

George Frederick Walsh was an American actor. An all-around athlete, who became an actor and later returned to sport, he enjoyed 40 years of fame and was a performer with dual appeal, with women loving his sexy charm and men appreciating his manly bravura.

Ben Hur Live is a 2009 stage adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Produced by Franz Abraham with music and narration by Stewart Copeland, it premièred on 17 September 2009 at the O2 Arena in London, the first date of its European tour.

<i>Ben Hur</i> (miniseries) 2010 multi-national TV series or program

Ben Hur is a television miniseries that first aired in 2010. Based on Lew Wallace's 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, the series was produced by Alchemy Television Group in association with Drimtim Entertainment and Muse Entertainment in Montreal. It aired on Canada's CBC network on April 4, 2010, and aired later in 2010 on ABC in the United States.

Production of <i>Ben-Hur</i> (1959 film)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) originally announced a remake of the 1925 silent film Ben-Hur in December 1952, ostensibly as a way to spend its Italian assets. Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor were reported to be in the running for the lead. Nine months later, MGM announced it would make the film in CinemaScope, with shooting beginning in 1954. In November 1953, MGM announced it had assigned producer Sam Zimbalist to the picture and hired screenwriter Karl Tunberg to write it. Zimbalist was chosen because he had produced MGM's Best Picture-nominated Christians-and-lions epic Quo Vadis in 1951. The studio then announced in July 1954 that production would start in March 1955 with 42 speaking parts and 97 sets. MGM said Sidney Franklin would direct, that the script by Tunberg was finished, that shooting would occur in Rome and in Spain, and that Marlon Brando was up for the lead. 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, however, suspended production in early 1956.

<i>Ben-Hur</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Timur Bekmambetov

Ben-Hur is a 2016 epic historical drama film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Keith Clarke and John Ridley. It is the fifth film adaptation of the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace following the 1907 silent short film, the 1925 silent film, the Academy Award-winning 1959 film and the 2003 animated film; it is the third version produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It has been termed a "re-adaptation", "reimagining", and "new interpretation" of the novel, and follows Judah Ben-Hur, a young prince who is falsely accused by his step-brother, an officer of the Roman army, and is sent to slavery, only to escape and seek vengeance. The film stars Jack Huston as the titular character, alongside Toby Kebbell, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Morgan Freeman. Principal photography began on February 2, 2015, in Matera, Italy and lasted about five months, finishing in June 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judah Ben-Hur</span> Fictional character

Judah Ben-Hur, shortened to Ben-Hur, is a fictional character, the title character and protagonist from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The book covers the character's adventures and struggle against the Roman Empire as he tries to restore honor to his family's name after being falsely accused of attacking the Roman governor. Judah encounters Jesus Christ and becomes a Christian.

Lloyd Leonard Nosler was an American film editor, director, and screenwriter who worked in Hollywood in from the 1910s through the 1950s.

References

Explanatory notes

    Citations

    1. 1 2 "Ben-Hur (1925)". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved January 7, 2012.
    2. 1 2 3 4 5 H. Mark Glancy, 'MGM Film Grosses, 1924–28: The Eddie Mannix Ledger', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 12 No. 2 1992 pp. 127–44 at p. 129
    3. "New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". Library of Congress. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
    4. "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
    5. 1 2 Keel, A. Chester (November 1924). "The Fiasco of Ben Hur". Photoplay. 26 (6). Chicago, Illinois: Photoplay Magazine Publishing Company: 32–33, 101.
    6. Marshall, Eunice (April 1924). "What Will Happen to Ben-Hur?". Screenland. New York. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
    7. Marshall, Eunice (April 1924). "What Will Happen to Ben-Hur? (Continued)". Screenland. New York. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
    8. 1 2 "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ". silentera.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
    9. Hall, Sheldon; Neale, Stephen (April 15, 2010). Epics, Spectacles, and Blockbusters: A Hollywood History. Wayne State University Press. p.  163. ISBN   978-0-8143-3008-1.
    10. Brownlow, Kevin (1968). The Parade's Gone By... New York: Bonanza Books. p.  409. ISBN   978-0-5200-3068-8.
    11. Brownlow, p. 413.
    12. Bowman, James (1998). "Prince of Egypt, The", article published 1 December 1998, online journal of the Ethics and Public Policy Center (EPPC), Washington, D.C. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
    13. MrRazNZ (2021). The Pod Race: How George Lucas copied, transformed and combined" on YouTube, scene-by-scene video comparison of race in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace with the races in Ben Hur and in the 1975 Norwegian stop-motion animated feature The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix ; uploaded 12 August 2021 to YouTube (San Bruno, California). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
    14. "The Shadow Stage". Photoplay . New York. March 1926. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
    15. Hoffman, Scott W. (2002). "The Making and Release of Ben-Hur". St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2021 via BNET.
    16. Hagopian, Kevin. "Film Notes: Ben-Hur". New York State Writers Institute . Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
    17. "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1926)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved November 16, 2021.
    18. "8 troubling tales of animal abuse on film shoots". The Week . November 19, 2012. Retrieved August 12, 2021.
    19. Yingjin, Zhang (1999). Cinema and Urban Culture in Shanghai, 1922–1943. Stanford University Press. p. 190. ISBN   978-0-8047-3572-8.

    Further reading