Laura Hollis writes: "As any student of history knows . . . that which is not said is as important as that which is." And this brings us to the 1959 motion picture, "Ben-Hur." Here's what some have written about the blockbuster film:
"Although it is a spectacle film, the story of how a man takes on the tyranny of the Romans, with all sorts of horrible consequences to himself and his family, is powerful and gripping"
"The chariot race sequence in 'Ben-Hur' is still just as heart-pounding and incredible in today's age as it was back at the time of its release."
"Ben-Hur still ranks among Hollywood's finest examples of pure entertainment."
So they say today about the 1959 movie, "Ben-Hur," which won an Oscar record of 11 of the 12 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Charlton Heston).
A reviewer said, "Filmed on location in Italy, on a budget of some $15 million, Ben-Hur was the most expensive movie ever made up to that point. The film’s famous chariot race scene took three weeks to shoot and used some 15,000 extras. The setting for the race was constructed on 18 acres of back-lot space of a movie studio outside Rome.
"Aside from a few of the most
daredevil stunts, Heston and Stephen Boyd (who played Messala, (Judah
Ben-Hur’s boyhood friend turned bitter enemy) did most of their own
chariot driving. In the New York Times, Bosley Crowther called the scene a 'stunning complex of mighty setting, thrilling action by horses and men,
panoramic observation and overwhelming dramatic use of sound.' All this was before computer generated scenes we see today."
Lew Wallace, rock-ribbed Republican who fought in the War Between the States for the North, wrote Ben-Hur: At Tale of the Christ. He wrote most of the novel during his spare time in the evening, while traveling, and at home in Crawfordsville, Indiana. He often wrote outdoors during the summer, sitting under a favorite beech tree near his home. (The tree has been called the "Ben-Hur Beech.")
Wallace moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico, after his appointment as governor of the New Mexico Territory, where he served from August 1878 to March 1881. It was during that time that he had dealings with Billy the Kid who petitioned him for a pardon and a meeting. Neither developed.
Wallace completed Ben-Hur in 1880, a novel which has been called the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century. In 1900, Ben-Hur became the best-selling American novel of the 19th century, surpassing Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin which was no small feat.
He had such a reverence for Christ that he insisted in the theatrical portrayals of his book, the Messiah's face never be shown. He was so super-serious about it that it was a contractual arrangement.
CBS has shown the movie on national television, but the vast majority of viewers don't realize that the movie has been cut (censored?) There's something the network did not allow the movie to depict that was part of the original film and you can still see it via subscription services
What was censored? The Incarnation featuring the Star, Mary, Joseph, the Baby, and the shepherds. The Magi are shown kneeling before the Baby. The question is why? Some would suggest because the film is too long, very long by today's standards, coming in at 3 hours, 32 minutes. But if time were a problem, there were scenes that could have been cut that didn't advance the plot, such as the festive dance at a banquet et al. Today's football games take forever to finish with their incessant commercials and the irritating referees' on-field reviews of contested plays. To the execs, no problem with the length of a football game but the inclusion of the Incarnation was a problem.
Whatever the reason was, it's a reminder that what is not stated can be just as important as what is. Out of sight, out of mind, as the saying goes.
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