| Overall: | A- |
|---|---|
| Violence: | C+ |
| Sexual Content: | B+ |
| Language: | A- |
| Drugs/Alcohol: | A- |
| Run Time: | 222 |
| Theater Release: | |
| Video Release: | 07 Feb 2012 |
| MPAA Rating: | |
| See Canadian Ratings | |
| How We Determine Our Grades | |
Another epic film featuring Charlton Heston (this time as John the Baptist) is The Greatest Story Ever Told. If you are looking for movies set during the life of Christ, check out The Robe.
Home Video Extra Features
Blu-ray Notes: Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Edition
Release Date: 7 February 2012
Ben-Hur releases in a 50th Anniversary Edition in a 4-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack. Bonus extras include:
- Commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher and Charlton Heston
- Music-only track showcasing Miklós Rózsa’s score
- Theatrical trailers
Home Video Release: Ben-Hur: 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition
Release Date: 27 September 2011
The classic movie Ben-Hur releases to Blu-ray in a 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector’s Edition 2, which includes:
- Charlton Heston & Ben-Hur: A Personal Journey (HD Documentary)
- Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic
- Screen Tests
- Vintage Newsreels
- Highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards Ceremony
- Trailers
- Audio Commentary
- Ben-Hur: The 1925 Silent Version
- Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures
- Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema
A Limited and Numbered Edition of Ben-Hur is also available and features a reproduction of Charlton Heston’s Personal Diary.
Release Date: 13 September 2005
If Ben-Hur wasn’t of epic proportions before, it sure is now! This four-disc set answers everything you could ever even think of to ask about this 1959 classic. Bonus materials include: a commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher (with scene-specific comments from Charlton Heston), a vintage newsreels gallery, highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards ceremony, a theatrical trailer gallery, screen tests (of Leslie Nielsen and Cesare Danova, Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler, as well as George Baker and William Russel) and details about actress Haya Harareet’s hair and make-up.
There is also a wealth of documentaries. Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema provides interviews with current filmmakers, such as Ridley Scott and George Lucas, and their reflections on the importance and influence of this movie. The 1994 Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic, hosted by Christopher Plummer, and the1986 Emmy Award-nominated film directed by William Wyler are part of the package too. Fans of pre-production paraphernalia will appreciate, Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures - an audiovisual recreation of the film via stills, storyboards, sketches, music and dialogue, while film historians will be happy to take a look at the 1925 feature-length silent version of Ben-Hur, presented with a stereophonic orchestral score by composer Carl Davis.
The Ben-Hur: Four Disc Collector’s Edition is available in English and French (both audio tracks are recorded in Dolby Digital 5.1), with subtitles in English, Spanish, and French.
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About the Reviewer: Kerry Bennett
Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for nearly 10 years. She serves as Vice President of the Alberta Association for Media Awareness. She and her husband Garry have four sons.
