Tuesday, March 26, 2013

1925 - BEN HUR, the spectacular silent version


My DVD is the restored version of the silent film complete with color sequences and scenes tinted to achieve a special visual mood. 

Anyway you look at it, this is quite an incredible film.  The two large scale action sequences, the battle at sea with the pirates and the famous chariot race are very exciting and impressive sequences. 




The story does change things a bit from the 1959 remake with Ben Hur raising an army to place under the command of Jesus in order to expel the Romans from Judea.  The 1959 version dropped this subplot probably for the better but it does give this version a fascinating twist.

The 1925 version of Ben Hur took 2 years to film with lots of production problems which included, a change of directors and leading men.  The production started filming in Italy and was closed down and relocated to Hollywood.

This is still a pretty incredible film even compared to the remake which is a very good film as well.

143 minutes.

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