Ben-Hur
Produced by MGM and released Nov. 18, 1959, in Ultra Panavision 70mm 2.76:1 widescreen color, stereo sound, 212 mins.; Laserdisc released 1991 with 2.60:1 ratio and Dolby Digital sound
Production:
- Directed by William Wyler
- Written by Lew Wallace ( from the novel), Karl Tunberg, Maxwell Anderson, Christopher Fry, Gore Vidal
- Produced by Sam Zimbalist
- Original music by Miklos Rozsa
- Cinematography by Robert Surtees
- Film Editing by John D. Dunning, Ralph E. Winters
- Art Direction by Edward C. Carfagno, William A. Horning
- Set Decoration by Hugh Hunt
- Costume Design by Elizabeth Haffenden
- Sound Recording by Franklin Milton, Sash Fisher, William Steinkamp
- Visual Effects by Matthew Yuricich
Cast:
- Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur
- Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius
- Haya Harareet as Esther
- Stephen Boyd as Messala
- Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim
- Martha Scott as Miriam
- Cathy O'Donnell as Tirzah
- Sam Jaffe as Simonides
- Finlay Currie as Balthasar
- Frank Thring as Pontius Pilate
- Terence Longdon as Drusus
- George Relph as Tiberius
- Andre Morell as Sextus
Notes:
This film cost $15 million to produce, one of the highest budgets of the era, and grossed $70 million over its 2-1/2 year American and European exhibition. The film won 11 Oscars, not equaled until Titanic in 1997. A special Academy Award was won by MGM for developing its Ultra Panavision process known as MGM Camera 65. The very wide 2.76:1 screen ratio from the 70mm print with 6-stripe magnetic soundtrack was shown for a year in special roadshow theaters. The 35mm anamorphic print released to first-class theaters had a ratio of 2.35:1 and a 4-stripe magnetic soundtrack with a monaural optical soundtrack.
Links:
revised 12/7/02 by Schoenherr | Filmnotes
