Hollywood, the birthplace of the film industry, has witnessed the best productions created around biblical and religious stories, which are now part of the cult films of Holy Week, films that have great popularity in the world and despite the fact that remakes have been made, they have not managed to surpass the originals. Among them is Ben Hur, a film that raised the name of actor Charlton Heston (Planet of the Apes).
The film was based on the novel by American writer Lewis Wallace, first published on November 12, 1880. This voluminous book tells us the story of a Jewish prince in a world where a new faith is awakened with the earthly presence of Jesus, the son of God. Its version for the big screen has a duration of 211 minutes, 3 and a half hours, although it was reduced for television adaptations. Next, we tell you interesting facts about Ben Hur that you don't know and will help you understand its beginning and end.
FUN FACTS ABOUT BEN HUR
1. It is the only Hollywood production to be included in the list of films approved by the Vatican in the category of religion.
2. During the filming, director William Wyler noticed that one of the extras was missing a hand. He made a request to the makeup department to build him a prosthesis that has a false bone sticking out to cover the man's stump for the scene in which a pirate ship. He did the same thing with another actor who was missing a foot.
3. Paul Newman (Robert Benton's Twilight) was offered the role of Ben-Hur, but he turned it down because he had already made a biblical film, The Silver Chalice (1954), and he hated the experience. He also said that he “did not have legs to wear a tunic”.
4. The 300 sets that were built for the film required five years of research and 14 months of work.
5. Jesus was played by Claude Heater, American opera singer, born in Oakland, California. This one was not credited in his only film role because he never spoke.
6. The director took over the project because he wanted to make a film in the style of Cecil B. DeMille, responsible for The 10 Commandments, Samson and Delilah, among other cinematographic works.
7. With 2 hours, 1 minute and 23 seconds, the protagonist's performance in this film is the longest ever to win an Academy Award for Best Actor and the second longest to win in any category.
8. Actor Stephen Boyd (Messala, Roman tribune) used platforms on his shoes to make his height more like that of Charlton Heston.
9. Originally, the film was intended to be made in 1956 with Marlon Brando (The Godfather) in the title role.
10. In the original novel, Ben-Hur's mother has no name, but for the film, she was called Miriam.
SINOPSIS DE BEN HUR 1959
Prince Judah Ben-Hur is sentenced to slavery on a ship when his childhood friend Messala returns to Jerusalem as an arrogant commander of the Roman forces. Thanks to his ferocity in battle and good fortune, the protagonist returns to the current capital of Israel to take revenge and rescue his mother and sister.
Elenco: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O’Donnell, Sam Jaffe, Frank Thring, Terence Longdon, George Relph, André Morell, Finlay Currie y John Le Mesurier.
Direction: William Wyler.
WHERE TO WATCH BEN HUR, EASTER MOVIE?
This mega-production starring actor Charlton Heston, which has become an Easter classic, is available on streaming platforms. Enjoy this film in:
- HBO Max: find prices and plans at S/ 19.90 and S/ 29.90
- Google Play: rent the movie for $3.99 and buy it for $12.99
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