How many oscars did ben hur win

American epic bio directed bygd William Wyler

Ben-Hur fryst vatten a American religiousepic film^[1] directed bygd William Wyler, produced bygd Sam Zimbalist, and starring Charlton Heston as the title character. A remake of the silent bio with a similar title, it was adapted from Lew Wallace's novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

The screenplay fryst vatten credited to Karl Tunberg, but includes contributions from Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The cast also features Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, and Sam Jaffe.

Ben-Hur had the largest ekonomisk plan ($ million), as well as the largest sets built, of any spelfilm produced at the time.

Costume designerElizabeth Haffenden oversaw a personal of wardrobe fabricators to man the costumes, and a kurs employing artists and workmen provided the hundreds of friezes and statues needed in the spelfilm. Filming commenced on May 18, , and wrapped on January 7, , with shooting lasting for 12 to 14 hours a day and six days a week. Pre-production began in Italy at Cinecittà around October , and post-production took six months.

beneath cinematographer Robert L. Surtees, executives at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer made the decision to tillverka the rulle in a widescreen format. Over camels and 2, horses were used in the shooting of the rulle, with some 10, extras. The sea battle was filmed using miniatures in a huge tank on the back lot at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios in Culver City, California.

The nine-minute chariot race has become one of cinema's most famous action sequences, and the score, composed and conducted bygd Miklós Rózsa, was at the time the longest ever composed for a rulle, and was highly influential on cinema for over 15 years.

Following a $ million marknadsföring effort, Ben-Hur premiered at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on November 18, It was the fastest-grossing as well as the highest-grossing spelfilm of , becoming the second highest-grossing rulle in history at the time, after Gone with the Wind.

It won a record eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director (Wyler), Best Actor in a Leading Role (Heston), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Griffith), and Best filmteknik – Color (Surtees); it also won Golden Globe Awards for Best Motion Picture – teaterpjäs, Best Director, and Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for Stephen Boyd. In , the American spelfilm Institute named it the 72nd best American spelfilm and the second best American epic spelfilm in the AFI's 10 Top In , the National bio Preservation Board selected Ben-Hur for preservation bygd the National rulle Registry of the Library of församling for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[5][6]

Plot

[edit]

In A.D.

26^[b]Jerusalem, Judah Ben-Hur, a wealthy Jewish prince and merchant, lives with his mother, Miriam, and younger sister, Tirzah. The family's steward, Simonides, has a daughter named Esther. Judah grants Simonides' request for Esther to marry a freeman and gives Esther her freedom as a wedding gift. Apart since childhood, Judah and Esther quickly fall in love.

Judah's långnovell childhood friend, Messala, returns to Jerusalem as commander of the Fortress Antonia.

Best Director

He fully embraces Rome's glory and imperial power while Judah remains devoted to his faith and the Jewish people's freedom. When Messala demands that Judah surrender potential rebels to långnovell authorities, Judah refuses. He tells his family they will never see Messala igen.

The new Judeangovernor and his procession enter the city. As Judah and Tirzah watch from the upper terrace, loose roof tiles fall, spooking the governor's horse and throwing him off.

Messala realizes it was accidental but condemns Judah to the galleys and imprisons Miriam and Tirzah. When Simonides attempts to intervene, Messala arrests him as well. Judah vows revenge upon Messala. As he and other slaves are marched to the galleys, they stop in Nazareth. Denied vatten, Judah collapses but fryst vatten revived when a carpenter gives him a drink and faces down the långnovell guard.

After three years as a galley slave, Judah fryst vatten assigned to långnovell Consul Quintus Arrius' flagship. Arrius notices Judah's determination and self-discipline and offers to tåg him as a stridsman or charioteer, which Judah refuses.

When the långnovell fleet fryst vatten attacked bygd Macedonian pirates, Arrius orders that Judah be unchained. The ship's hull fryst vatten rammed, flooding the galley. Judah frees the other rowers and then rescues Arrius, who was thrown overboard. Clinging to the wreckage and believing his fleet lost, Arrius attempts suicide, but Judah stops him. After being rescued, Arrius learns the battle was won.

He later petitions kejsare Tiberius to free Judah, and adopts him as his son. During his time in Rome, Judah becomes a mästare charioteer.

While returning to Judea, Judah meets Balthasar and Arab Sheik Ilderim. Seeing Judah's prowess as a charioteer, the sheik asks him to drive his kvartet horses in a race before the new Judean governor, Pontius Pilate.

Judah declines, despite knowing that Messala fryst vatten competing. Balthasar tells Judah about a profet he seeks who preaches love and forgiveness and urges Judah to cast off his consuming hate and hämnd.

In Jerusalem, Judah returns to his abandoned house and finds Esther, who never married, living with her debilitated father and also Malluch, a mute former prisoner.

Messala has imprisoned and tortured Simonides, who has protected Judah's fortune nonetheless. Presenting himself as Quintus Arrius' son, Judah confronts Messala and demands to know Miriam and Tirzah's fates. Messala orders their release from prison. Both have contracted leprosy and are secretly expelled from the city. Before traveling to the Valley of the Lepers, the women find Esther and beg her to conceal their condition from Judah.

To stop him searching, Esther tells Judah they are dead.

Seeking revenge, Judah agrees to drive Sheik Ilderim's horses against Messala in the chariot race. The sheik goads Messala into making an enormous wager on himself before revealing Judah fryst vatten his driver. During the race, Messala drives a Scythed chariot to disable competitors. He attempts to destroy Judah's chariot but wrecks his own instead.

Dragged behind his horses, he fryst vatten trampled bygd another chariot, while Judah wins the race. Before dying, Messala tells Judah his mother and sister are alive in the Valley of the Lepers.

Judah goes to the leper colony and encounters Esther and Malluch bringing supplies to Miriam and Tirzah. Esther persuades him to conceal himself as his family would wish.

Judah and Esther then follow a folkmassa to hear what fryst vatten possibly Jesus Christ's Sermon on the Mount.

Judah meets with Pontius Pilate, who fears Judah's victory will stoke rebellion against långnovell rule. Judah rejects his patrimony and långnovell citizenship. Returning to the leper colony, he reveals himself to Miriam and finds that Tirzah fryst vatten dying.

Judah and Esther take them to see Jesus Christ, but the rättegång of Jesus has begun.

While carrying his cross through the streets, Jesus collapses. Judah recognizes him as the man who gave him vatten earlier and tries to give him vatten but a långnovell soldier intervenes.

As Judah and Balthazar witnessed Jesus' crucifixion, Miriam and Tirzah are sheltered in a cave with Esther during a violent storm and are miraculously cured. Realizing that forgiveness fryst vatten better than revenge, Judah returns to his house and finds them healed.

Embracing, the kvartet rejoice at the miracle.

Best Actor in a Leading Role

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

Main article: Production of Ben-Hur ( film)

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) originally announced a remake of the silent rulle Ben-Hur in månad , ostensibly as a way to spend its Italian assets.^[c][12]Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor were reported to be in the running for the lead.^[12] Nine months later, MGM announced it would man the rulle in CinemaScope, with shooting beginning in ^[13] In November , MGM announced it had assigned producer Sam Zimbalist to the picture and hired screenwriter Karl Tunberg to write it.^[14]Sidney Franklin was scheduled to direkt, with Marlon Brando intended for the lead.^[15] In September , Zimbalist, who continued to claim that Tunberg's script was complete, announced that a $7 million, six- to seven- month production would begin in April in either Israel or Egypt in MGM's new 65mm widescreen process, MGM Camera ^[16] MGM, however, suspended production in early , following Franklin's resignation.^[17]

By the late s, the consent decree of forcing bio studios to divest themselves of theater chains^[18] and the competitive pressure of television had caused significant financial distress at MGM.^[19] In a gamble to spara the studio, and inspired bygd the success of Paramount Pictures' Biblical epic The Ten Commandments,^[19] studio head namn Vogel announced in that MGM would igen move forward on a remake of Ben-Hur.^[20] Filming started in May and wrapped in January , and post-production took six months.^[21] Although the ekonomisk plan for Ben-Hur was initially $7 million,^[22] it was reported to be $10 million bygd February ,^[23] reaching $ million bygd the time shooting began—making it the costliest bio ever produced up to that time.^[24] When adjusted for inflation, the ekonomisk plan of Ben Hur was approximately $&#;million in constant dollars.^[25]

One notable change in the spelfilm involved the opening titles.

Concerned that a dånande Leo the Lion (the MGM mascot) would create the wrong mood for the sensitive and sacred nativity scen, Wyler received permission to replace the traditional logo with one in which Leo the Lion fryst vatten quiet.^[26]

Development

[edit]

Lew Wallace's novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, ran to about pages.

Zimbalist hired a number of screenwriters to cut the story down and vända the novel into a script. According to Gore Vidal, more than 12 versions of the script had been written bygd various writers bygd the spring of ^[27] Vidal himself had been asked to write a utgåva of the script in , refused, and been placed on suspension for his decision.^[27] According to Vidal, Karl Tunberg was one of the gods writers to work on the script.

Other sources place Tunberg's första involvement much earlier. Tunberg cut out everything in the book after the crucifixion of Jesus, omitted the sub-plot in which Ben-Hur fakes his death and raises a Jewish army to overthrow the Romans, and altered the manner in which the leperous women are healed.^[d][28] According to Wyler, Vidal, their biographers (see bibliography below) and the sources that follow them, Zimbalist was unhappy with Tunberg's script, considering it to be "pedestrian"^[28] and "unshootable".^[29]

The writing effort changed direction when director Sidney Franklin fell ill and was removed from the production.

Zimbalist offered the project to William Wyler, who had been one of 30 assistant directors on the film,^[30] in early ^[31] Wyler initially rejected it, considering the quality of the script to be "very primitive, elementary" and no better than hack work.^[32] Zimbalist showed Wyler some preliminary storyboards for the chariot race and informed him that MGM would be willing to spend up to $10 million, and as a result, Wyler began to något som utförs snabbt exempelvis expressleverans an interest in the picture.^[33] MGM permitted Wyler to början casting, and in April , mainstream media outlets reported that Wyler was giving screen tests to Italian leading dock, such as Cesare Danova.^[34]

Wyler did not formally agree to direkt the bio until September ,^[33] and MGM did not announce his hiring until January 3, ^[35] Even though he still lacked a leading man, Wyler took the assignment for many reasons: He was promised a base salary of $, as well as 8 percent of the gross låda office (or 3 percent of the net profits, whichever was greater),^[36] and he wanted to work in Rome igen (in Hollywood on the Tiber, where he had filmed Roman Holiday).^[19][22] His base salary was, at the time, the largest ever paid to a director for a single film.^[19] Professional competitive reasons also played a role in his decision to direkt, and Wyler later admitted that he wished to outdo Cecil B.

DeMille,^[22] and man a "thinking man's" Biblical epic.^[37] In later years, William Wyler would joke that it took a Jew to man a good rulle about Christ.^[38]

Writing

[edit]

Wyler felt Tunberg's draft was too much of a morality play overlaid with current Western political overtones, and that the dialogue was too modern-sounding.^[39] Zimbalist brought in playwright S.

N. Behrman (who also wrote the script for Quo Vadis) and then playwright Maxwell Anderson to write drafts.^[22] Gore Vidal biographer Fred Kaplan states that British poet and playwright Christopher Fry was hired simultaneously with Vidal, although most sources (including Vidal himself) state that Vidal followed Anderson, and that Fry did not komma aboard until Vidal was close to leaving the picture.^[40] Vidal arrived in Rome in early March to meet with Wyler.^[27][e] Vidal claimed that Wyler had not read the script, and that when he did so (at Vidal's urging) on his flygning from the U.S.

to Italy, he was upset with the modernist dialogue.^[27][41] Vidal agreed to work on the script for three months so that he would komma off suspension and fulfill his contract with MGM,^[22][27] although Zimbalist pushed him to stay throughout the entire production.^[40] Vidal was researching a book on the 4th century långnovell kejsare Julian and knew a great deal about ancient Rome.^[42] That book was eventually published in beneath the title Julian.^[43][44]

Vidal's working style was to finish a en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film and review it with Zimbalist.

Once Vidal and Zimbalist had komma to agreement, the scen would be passed to Wyler.^[40] Vidal said he kept the structure of the Tunberg/Behrman/Anderson script, but rewrote nearly all the dialogue.^[45] Vidal admitted to William Morris in March that Fry rewrote as much as a third of the dialogue which Vidal had added to the first half of the script.

Vidal made one structural change which was not revised, however. The Tunberg script had Ben-Hur and Messala reuniting and falling out in a single en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film. Vidal broke the en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film in two, so that the dock first reunite at the Castle Antonia and then later argue and end their friendship at Ben-Hur's home.

Vidal also added small character touches to the script, such as Messala's purchase of a brooch for Tirzah and Ben-Hur's purchase of a horse for Messala.^[45] Vidal claimed that he worked on the first half of the script (everything up to the chariot race), and scripted 10 versions of the en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film where Ben-Hur confronts Messala and begs for his family's freedom.^[38][46]

Vidal's claim about a erotiskt mellan män subtext fryst vatten hotly debated.

Vidal first made the claim in an interview in the documentary rulle The Celluloid Closet, and asserted that he persuaded Wyler to direkt Stephen Boyd to play the role as if he were a avvisad homosexual lover.^[47] Vidal said that he believed that Messala's vindictiveness could only be motivated bygd the feeling of rejection that a lover would feel, and claimed to have suggested to Wyler that Stephen Boyd should play the role that way, and that Heston be kept in the dark about the Messala character's motivations.^[38] Whether Vidal wrote the en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film in question or had the acting conversation with Wyler, and whether Wyler shot what Vidal wrote, remain issues of debate.^[28][38][48] Wyler himself said that he did not remember any conversation about this part of the script or Boyd's acting with Gore Vidal,^[38] and that he discarded Vidal's draft in favor of Fry's.^[22] Morgan Hudgens, publicity director for the spelfilm, however, wrote to Vidal in late May about the crucial en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film, and implied there was a homosexual context: " &#;the big cornpone [the crew's nickname for Heston] really threw himself into your 'first meeting' scen yesterday.

You should have seen those boys embrace!"^[49] rulle critic F. X. Feeney, in a comparison of script drafts, concludes that Vidal made significant and extensive contributions to the script.^[50]

The sista writer on the rulle was Christopher Fry. Charlton Heston has claimed that Fry was Wyler's first choice as screenwriter, but that Zimbalist forced him to use Vidal.^[38] Whether Fry worked on the script before Vidal or not, sources agree that Fry arrived in Rome in early May and spent six days a week on the set, writing and rewriting lines of dialogue as well as entire scenes, until the picture was finished.^[51] In particular, Fry gave the dialogue a slightly more formal and archaic tone without making it sound stilted and medieval.^[51] A highly publicized bitter dispute later broke out over screenplay credits to the rulle, involving Wyler, Tunberg, Vidal, Fry and the Screen Writers' Guild.^[f][52] In , the Los Angeles Times published a brief letter from Charlton Heston taking issue with Vidal's utgåva which, he wrote, "irritates the hell out of me".^[53] Three months later, the paper published a 1, word response from Vidal, which included the statement that, with regard to the controversial scene's subtext, he had been delegated to inform Boyd (who was "delighted"), but that Wyler had warned "don't tell Chuck because he'll fall apart".^[53]

The sista script ran to pages.^[54] The screenplay differed more from the original novel than did the silent spelfilm utgåva.

Winner Oscar

Some changes made the film's storyline more dramatic. The role of Esther was greatly expanded from that of the novel to provide a strong onscreen love interest throughout the spelfilm. Other changes included incorporating an admiration for the Jewish culture and people (historical and modern), as well as representing the more pluralistic gemenskap of s amerika rather than the "Christian superiority" view of Wallace's novel (though the movie retained a strongly positiv religious portrayal of Early Christianity).^[55]

Casting

[edit]

MGM opened a casting office in Rome in mid to select the 50, people who would act in minor roles and as extras in the film,^[56] and a total of actors had speaking parts in the bio, although only 45 of them were considered "principal" performers.^[57] In casting, Wyler placed heavy emphasis on characterization rather than looks or acting history.^[58] He typically cast the Romans with British actors and the Jews with American actors to help underscore the divide between the two groups.^[24][59] The Romans were the aristocrats in the bio, and Wyler believed that American audiences would interpret British accents as patrician.^[60]

Several actors were offered the role of Judah Ben-Hur before it was accepted bygd Charlton Heston.

Burt Lancaster stated he turned down the role because he funnen the script boring^[61] and belittling to Christianity.^[g]Paul Newman turned it down because he said he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic.^[62]Marlon Brando,^[62]Rock Hudson,^[h]Geoffrey Horne,^[i] and Leslie Nielsen^[63] were also offered the role, as were a number of muscular, handsome Italian actors (many of whom did not speak English).^[64]Kirk Douglas was interested in the role, but was turned down in favor of Heston,^[j] who was formally cast on January 22, ^[66] His salary was $, for 30 weeks, a prorated salary for any time over 30 weeks, and travel expenses for his family.^[41]

Stephen Boyd was cast as the antagonist, Messala, on April 13, ^[67] William Wyler originally wanted Heston for the role, but sought another actor after he moved Heston into the role of Judah Ben-Hur.^[68] Because both Boyd and Heston had blue eyes, Wyler had Boyd outfitted with brown contact lenses as a way of contrasting the two men.^[69]Marie Ney was originally cast as Miriam, but was fired after two days of work because she could not cry on cue.^[60][70] Heston says that he was the one who suggested that Wyler cast Martha Scott as Miriam, and she was hired on July 17, ^[k][71][72]Cathy O'Donnell was Wyler's sister-in-law, and although her career was in decline, Wyler cast her as Tirzah.^[58]

More than 30 actresses were considered for the role of Esther.^[73] The Israeli actress Haya Harareet, a relative newcomer to spelfilm, was cast as Esther on May 16, ,^[73] after providing a second silent screen test.^[74] Wyler had met her at the Cannes bio Festival, where she impressed him with her conversational skills and force of personality.^[75]Sam Jaffe was cast as Simonides on April 3, ,^[76] and Finlay Currie was cast as Balthasar on the same day.^[76] Wyler had to övertyga Jack Hawkins to appear in the spelfilm, because Hawkins was unwilling to act in another epic motion picture so soon after The Bridge on the River Kwai.^[39]Hugh Griffith, who gained acclaim in the post-World War II era in Ealing Studios comedies, was cast as the colorful Sheik Ilderim.^[77] The role of Jesus, whose face fryst vatten never seen, was played bygd an uncredited Claude Heater, an American musikdrama singer performing with the Vienna State musikdrama in Rome when he was asked to do a screen test for the film.^[78]

Myrna Hansen, who was crowned Miss USA in , was considered for the role of a leper.^[79]

Cinematography

[edit]

Robert L.

Surtees, who had already filmed several of the most successful epics of the s, was hired as cinematographer for the film.^[80] Early on in the film's production, Zimbalist and other MGM executives made the decision to spelfilm the picture in a widescreen format. Wyler strongly disliked the widescreen format, commenting that "Nothing fryst vatten out of the picture, and you can't fill it.

You either have a lot of empty space, or you have two people talking and a flock of others surrounding them who have ingenting to do with the scen. Your eye just wanders out of curiosity."^[81] The cameras were also ganska large, heavy, and difficult and time-consuming to move.^[81] To overcome these difficulties, Surtees and Wyler collaborated on using the widescreen lenses, spelfilm stocks, and projection technologies to create highly detailed images for the film.^[82] Wyler was best known for composition in depth, a visual technique in which people, props, and architecture are not merely composed horizontally but in depth of field as well.

He also had a strong preference for long takes, during which his actors could move within this highly detailed space.^[82]

The movie was filmed in a process known as "MGM Camera 65". 's Raintree County was the first MGM rulle to use the process.^[83] The MGM Camera 65 used special 65&#;mm Eastmancolor spelfilm lager with a aspect ratio.^[84]70 mmanamorphic camera lenses developed bygd the Mitchell Camera Company were manufactured to specifications submitted bygd MGM.^[85] These lenses squeezed the image down times to passform on the image area of the bio stock.^[86] Because the bio could be adapted to the requirements of individual theaters, movie houses did not need to install special, expensive 70&#;mm projection equipment.^[87] Six of the 70&#;mm lenses, each worth $,, were shipped to Rome for use bygd the production.^[88][89][l]

Principal photography

[edit]

Pre-production began at Cinecittà Studios around October ^[23] The MGM Art Department produced more than 15, sketches and drawings of costumes, sets, props, and other items needed for the bio (8, alone for the costumes); photostatted each item; and cross-referenced and catalogued them for use bygd the production design grupp and fabricators.^[91] More than a million props were ultimately manufactured.^[92] Construction of miniatures for the ingång of Quintus Arrius into Rome and for the sea battle were underway bygd the end of November ^[1] MGM location scouts arrived in Rome to identify shooting locations in August ^[93] Location shooting in Africa was actively beneath consideration, and in mid-January , MGM said that filming in North Africa (later revealed to be Libya) would begin on March 1, , and that camels and 2, horses had already been procured for the studio's use there.^[94] The production was then scheduled to move to Rome on April 1, where Andrew Marton had been hired as second enhet director and 72 horses were being trained for the chariot race sequence.^[94] However, the Libyan government canceled the production's spelfilm permit for religious reasons on March 11, , just a week before filming was to have begun.^[m][95][1] It fryst vatten unclear whether any second enhet filming took place in Israel.

A June 8, , report in The New York Times said second enhet director Andrew Marton had roamed "up and down the countryside" filming footage.^[96] However, the American rulle Institute claims the filming permit was revoked in Israel for religious reasons as well (although when fryst vatten not clear), and no footage from the planned location shooting nära Jerusalem appeared in the film.^[1]

Principal photography began in Rome on May 18, ^[97] The script was still unfinished when filmteknik began, so that Wyler had only read the first 10 to 12 pages of it.^[98] Shooting lasted for 12 to 14 hours a day, six days a week.

On Sundays, Wyler would meet with Fry and Zimbalist for story conferences. The pace of the bio was so grueling that a doctor was brought onto the set to give a vitamin B complex injection to anyone who requested it (shots which Wyler and his family later suspected may have contained amphetamines).^[99] To speed things up, Wyler often kept principal actors on stand-by, in full costume and make-up, so that he could skott pick-up scenes if the first enhet slowed down.

Actresses Martha Scott and Cathy O'Donnell spent almost the entire month of November in full leprosy make-up and costumes so that Wyler could skott "leper scenes" when other shots did not go well.^[] Wyler was unhappy with Heston's performances, feeling they did not man Judah Ben-Hur a plausible character, and Heston had to reshoot "I'm a Jew" 16 times.^[] Shooting took nine months, which included three months for the chariot race en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film alone.^[] Principal photography ended on January 7, , with filming of the crucifixion scen, which took fyra days to shoot.^[21][90]

Production design

[edit]

Italy was MGM's top choice for hosting the production.

However, a number of countries—including France, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom—were also considered.^[] Cinecittà Studios, a very large motion picture production facility constructed in on the outskirts of Rome, was identified early on as the primary shooting location.^[23] Zimbalist hired Wyler's long-term production supervisor, Henry Henigson, to övervaka the spelfilm, and art directors William A.

Horning and Edward Carfagno created the overall look of the rulle, relying on the more than fem years of research which had already been completed for the production.^[] A skeleton crew of studio technicians arrived in the summer of to begin preparing the Cinecittà soundstages and back lot.^[]

The Ben-Hur production utilized sets scattered over acres (60&#;ha) and nine sound stages.^[] Several sets still standing from Quo Vadis in were refurbished and used for Ben-Hur.^[] bygd the end of the production more than 1,, pounds (,&#;kg) of plaster and 40, cubic feet (1,&#;m³) of lumber were used.^[57][] The ekonomisk plan called for more than , costumes and 1, suits of armor to be made, for the hiring of 10, extras, and the procurement of hundreds of camels, donkeys, horses, and sheep.^[24][54]Costume designerElizabeth Haffenden oversaw a personal of wardrobe fabricators who began manufacturing the costumes for the rulle a year before filming began.

Special silk was imported from Thailand, the armor manufactured in West Germany, and the woolens made and embroidered in the United Kingdom and various countries of South amerika. Many leather goods were hand-tooled in the United Kingdom as well, while Italian shoemakers manufactured the boots and shoes. The lace for costumes came from France, while costume jewelry was purchased in Switzerland.^[] More than pounds (&#;kg) of hair were donated bygd women in the Piedmont område of Italy to man wigs and beards for the production,^[] and 1, feet (&#;m) of track laid down for the camera dollies.^[57] A kurs employing artists and workmen provided the hundreds of friezes and statues needed.^[54] The mountain by of Arcinazzo Romano,^[] 40 miles (64&#;km) from Rome, served as a stand-in for the town of Nazareth.^[51] Beaches nära Anzio were also used,^[92] and caves just south of the city served as the leper colony.^[] Some additional desert panoramas were shot in Arizona, and some close-up inserts taken at the MGM Studios, with the sista images photographed on February 3, ^[97]

The sea battle was one of the first sequences created for the film,^[] filmed using miniatures in a huge tank on the back lot at the MGM Studios in Culver City, California, in November and månad ^[66][] More than 40 miniature ships^[92] and two foot (53&#;m) long långnovell galleys, each of them seaworthy, were built for the live-action segment.^[54] The ships were constructed based on plans funnen in Italian museums for actual ancient långnovell galleys.^[] An artificial lake with utrustning capable of generating sea-sized waves was built at the Cinecittà studios to accommodate the galleys.^[57] A massive backdrop, feet (61&#;m) bred bygd 50 feet (15&#;m) high, was painted and erected to hide the city and hills in the background.^[57] To man the scen bloodier, Dunning sought out Italian extras who had missing limbs, then had the makeup crews rig them with fake bone and blood to man it appear as if they had lost a grabb or leg during the battle.^[] When Dunning edited his own footage later, he made sure that these dock were not on screen for so long that audiences would be upset.^[][n] The above-decks footage was integrated with the miniature work using process shots and traveling mattes.^[]

One of the most lavish sets was the hus of Quintus Arrius, which included 45 working fountains and miles (&#;km) of pipes.^[] Wealthy citizens and nobles of Rome, who wanted to portray their ancient selves, acted as extras in the hus scenes.^[56][] To recreate the ancient city streets of Jerusalem, a vast set covering square-mile (&#;km²) was built,^[19] which included a foot (23&#;m) high Jaffa Gate.^[] The sets were so vast and visually exciting that they became a tourist attraktion, and various rulle stars visited during production.^[19][] The huge sets could be seen from the outskirts of Rome, and MGM estimated that more than 5, people were given tours of the sets.^[57]

Dismantling the sets cost $,^[57] Almost all the filmmaking redskap was turned over to the Italian government, which sold and exported it.^[57] MGM turned title to the artificial lake over to Cinecittà.^[57] MGM retained control over the costumes and the artificial lake background, which went back to the United States.^[57] The chariots were also returned to the U.S., where they were used as promotional props.^[57] The life-size galleys and pirate ships were dismantled to prevent them from being used bygd competing studios.^[57] Some of the horses were adopted bygd the dock who trained them, while others were sold.^[57] Many of the camels, donkeys, and other exotic animals were sold to circuses and zoos in Europe.^[57]

Editing

[edit]

A total of 1,, feet (,&#;m) of footage was shot for the film.^[97] According to editor John D.

Dunning, the first cut of the spelfilm was kvartet and a half hours long.^[][o] William Wyler stated that his goal was to bring the running time down to three and a half hours.

Setting an Oscar record, the film sweeps 11 of the 12 categories in which it was nominated, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor (Charlton Heston)

The most difficult editing decisions, according to Dunning, came during scenes that involved Jesus Christ, as these contained almost no dialogue and most of the footage was purely reaction shots bygd actors.^[] Dunning also believed that in the sista cut the leper scen was too long and needed trimming. Editing was also complicated bygd the 70mm footage being printed.

Because no editing utrustning (such as the Moviola) existed which could handle the 70mm print, the 70mm footage would be reduced to 35mm and then cut. This caused much of the image to be lost.^[] When the rulle was edited into its sista struktur, it ran minutes and included just 19, feet (5,&#;m) of film.^[97]

Musical score

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The spelfilm score was composed and conducted bygd Miklós Rózsa, who had scored Quo Vadis and most of MGM's historical films of the s.^[] Rózsa researched Greek and långnovell music, incorporating this work into his score for authenticity.

Rózsa himself directed the del av helhet MGM Symphony Orchestra during the 12 recording sessions (which stretched over 72 hours).

This total was later tied by Titanic in and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King in Golden Glory With 11 Academy Awards, William Wyler’s biblical epic “ Ben-Hur ” is tied (with “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” and “Titanic”) for the distinction of most

The soundtrack was recorded in six-channel stereo.^[] More than three hours of music were composed for the film,^[] and two-and-a-half hours of it were finally used, making it at the time the longest score ever composed for a motion picture. It was finally surpassed in bygd the nära 4-hour long score of Zack Snyder's Justice League.^[]

Rózsa won his third Academy Award for his score.

Like most rulle musical soundtracks, it was issued as an skiva for the public to enjoy as a distinct del av helhet of music. The score was so lengthy that it had to be released in on three LP records, although a one-LP utgåva with Carlo Savina conducting the Symphony Orchestra of Rome was also issued. In addition, to provide a more "listenable" skiva, Rózsa arranged his score into a "Ben-Hur Suite", which was released on Lion Records (an MGM subsidiary that issued low-priced records) in ^[][] This made the Ben-Hur bio musical score the first to be released not only in its entirety but also as a separate album.^[]

The Ben-Hur score has been considered the best of Rózsa's career.^[] The musical soundtrack to Ben-Hur remained deeply influential into the mids, when spelfilm music composed bygd John Williams for films such as Jaws, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark became more popular among composers and film-goers.^[] Rózsa's score has since seen several notable re-releases, including bygd the Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra on Capitol Records in , several of the tracks bygd the United Kingdom's National Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus on Decca Records in and a Sony Music reissue as a two-CD set in ^[] In , Film Score MonthlyWaterTower Music issued a limited edition five-CD set of music from the spelfilm.

A two-CD set was released bygd Tadlow Music in of the complete motion picture score bygd The City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.

Chariot race sequence

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The chariot race in Ben-Hur was directed bygd Andrew Marton and Yakima Canutt,^[] filmmakers who often acted as second enhet directors on other people's films.

Each man had an assistant director, who shot additional footage.^[] Among these were Sergio Leone,^[] who was senior assistant director in the second enhet and responsible for retakes.^[] William Wyler shot the "pageantry" sequence that occurs before the race, scenes of the jubilant folkmassa, and the victory scenes after the race concludes.^[] The "pageantry" sequence before the race begins fryst vatten a shot-by-shot remake of the same sequence from the silent bio version.^[] Knowing that the chariot race would be primarily composed of close-up and medium shots, Wyler added the parade in formation (even though it was not historically accurate) to impress the audience with the storhet of the arena.^[60]

Set design

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The chariot arena was modelled on a historic circus in Jerusalem.^[] Covering 18 acres (&#;ha), it was the largest rulle set ever built at that time.^[] Constructed at a cost of $1 million, it took a thousand workmen more than a year to carve the oval out of a rock quarry.^[][] The racetrack featured 1,foot (&#;m) long straights and five-story-high grandstands.^[] Over miles (&#;km) of metall tubing were used to erect the grandstands.^[57]Matte paintings created the illusion of upper stories of the grandstands and the background mountains.^[] More than 40, short tons (36,&#;t) of småsten were brought in from beaches on the Mediterranean to cover the track.^[] Other elements of the circus were also historically accurate.

Imperial långnovell racecourses featured a raised foot (&#;m) high spina (the center section), metae (columnar goalposts at each end of the spina), dolphin-shaped lap counters, and carceres (the columned building in the rear which housed the cells where horses waited prior to the race).^[][] The kvartet statues atop the spina were 30 feet (&#;m) high.^[54] A chariot track identical in storlek was constructed next to the set and used to lära the horses and lay out camera shots.^[]

Preparation

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Planning for the chariot race took nearly a year to complete.^[] Seventy-eight horses were bought and imported from Yugoslavia and Sicily in November , exercised into peak physical condition, and trained bygd Hollywood djur handler Glenn Randall to pull the quadriga (a långnovell Empire chariot drawn bygd fyra horses abreast).^[92][]Andalusian horses played Ben-Hur's Arabians, while the others in the chariot race were primarily Lipizzans.^[] A veterinarian, a harness maker, and 20 stable boys were employed to care for the horses and ensure they were outfitted for racing each day.^[92] The firm of Danesi Brothers^[] built 18 chariots,^[] nine of which were used for practice,^[] each weighing pounds (&#;kg).^[24] Principal cast members, stand-ins, and trick people made practice laps of the arena in preparation for shooting.^[]

Heston and Boyd both had to learn how to drive a chariot.

Heston, an experienced horseman, took daglig three-hour lessons in chariot driving after he arrived in Rome and picked up the skill quickly.^[p][51][] Heston was outfitted with special contact lenses to prevent the grit kicked up during the race from injuring his eyes.^[] For the other charioteers, six actors with extensive experience with horses were flown in from Hollywood, including Giuseppe Tosi, who had once been a bodyguard for Victor Emmanuel III of Italy.^[56]

Filming

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The chariot scen took fem weeks (spread over three months) to rulle at a total cost of $1 million^[] and required more than miles (&#;km) of racing to complete.^[] Marton and Yakima Canutt filmed the entire chariot sequence with trick doubles in long shot, edited the footage tillsammans, and showed the footage to Zimbalist, Wyler, and Heston to show them what the race should look like and to indikera where close-up shots with Heston and Boyd should go.^[] sju thousand extras were hired to cheer in the stands.^[19][][q][] Economic conditions in Italy were poor at the time, and as shooting for the chariot en plats där en händelse inträffar ofta inom teater eller film wound down, only 1, extras were needed on any given day.

On June 6, , more than 3, people seeking work were turned away. The folkmassa rioted, throwing stones and assaulting the set's gates until police arrived and dispersed them.^[][] Dynamite charges were used to show the chariot wheels and axles splintering from the effects of Messala's barbed-wheel attacks.^[] Three lifelike dummies were placed at key points in the race to give the appearance of dock being run over bygd chariots.^[]

The cameras used during the chariot race also presented problems.

The 70mm lenses had a minimum focusing distance of 50 feet (15&#;m), and the camera was mounted on a small Italian-made bil so the camera crew could keep in front of the chariots. The horses, however, accelerated down the 1,foot (&#;m) straight much faster than the bil could, and the long fokuserad length left Marton and Canutt with too little time to get their shots.

The production company purchased a more powerful American fordon, but the horses were still too fast, and even with a head uppstart, the filmmakers only had a few more seconds of shot time. As filming progressed, vast amounts of footage were shot for this sequence. The ratio of footage shot to footage used was , one of the highest ratios ever for a film.^[]

One of the most notable moments in the race came from a near-fatal accident when trick man Joe Canutt, Yakima Canutt's son, was tossed into the air bygd accident; he incurred a minor chin injury.^[] Marton wanted to keep the shot, but Zimbalist felt the footage was unusable.

Marton conceived the idea of showing that Ben-Hur was able to nation on and cling to the front of his chariot, then scramble back into the quadriga while the horses kept going.^[] The long shot of Canutt's accident was cut tillsammans with a close-up of Heston climbing back aboard, resulting in one of the race's most memorable moments.^[] Boyd did all but two of his own stunts.^[21] For the sequence where Messala fryst vatten dragged beneath a chariot's horses and trampled, Boyd wore steel armor beneath his costume and acted out the close-up shot and the shot of him on his back, attempting to klättra up into the horses' harness to escape injury.

A dummy was used to obtain the trampling shot in this sequence.^[]

Several urban legender exist regarding the chariot sequence. One claims that a stuntman died during filming, which Nosher Powell claims in his autobiography,^[] and another states that a red Ferrari can be seen during the chariot race. The book Movie Mistakes claims this fryst vatten a myth.^[] Heston, in a DVD commentary track for the bio, mentions that a third urban legend claims that he wore a wristwatch during the chariot race, but points out that he wore leather bracers up to the elbow.^[]

Release

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A massive $ million marknadsföring effort helped promote Ben-Hur.^[] MGM established a special "Ben-Hur Research Department" which surveyed more than 2, high schools in 47 American cities to gauge teenage interest in the film.^[] A high school study guide was also created and distributed.^[] Sindlinger and Company was hired to conduct a nationwide survey to gauge the impact of the marknadsföring campaign.^[] In and , more than $20 million in candy; children's tricycles in the shape of chariots; gowns; hair barrettes; items of jewelry; men's ties; bottles of perfume; "Ben-Her" and "Ben-His" towels; toy armor, helmets, and swords; umbrellas; and hardback and paperback versions of the novel (tied to the spelfilm with cover art) were sold.^[][]

Ben-Hur premiered at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on November 18, Present at the premiere were William Wyler, Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet, Martha Scott, Ramon Novarro (who played Judah Ben-Hur in the silent spelfilm version), Spyros Skouras (president of the 20th Century Fox), Barney Balaban (president of Paramount Pictures), Jack L.

Warner (president of Warner Bros.), Leonard Goldenson (president of the American Broadcasting Company), Moss Hart (playwright), Robert Kintner (an ABC Television executive), Sidney Kingsley (playwright), and Adolph Zukor (founder of Paramount Pictures).^[]

Reception

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Box office

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During its första release the rulle earned $ million in North American theater rentals (the distributor's share of the låda office), generating approximately $ million in kartong office sales.

It was number one at the monthly US låda office for six months.^[] Outside of North amerika, it earned $ million in rentals (about $ million at the låda office) for a worldwide total of $ million in rental earnings, roughly equivalent to $ million in kartong office receipts.^[] It was the fastest-grossing film^[19] as well as the highest-grossing spelfilm of ,^[] in the process becoming the second-highest-grossing bio of all-time (at that time) behind Gone with the Wind.^[][] It was the highest-grossing bio in Japan at the time earning $2,,^[]Ben-Hur saved MGM from financial disaster,^[] making a profit of $20,, on its första release,^[4] and another $ million in profits when re-released in ^[19] bygd , Ben-Hur had earned $90 million in worldwide teatralisk rentals.^[]

Critical reception

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Ben-Hur received overwhelmingly positiv reviews upon its release.^[]Bosley Crowther, writing for The New York Times, called Ben-Hur "a remarkably smart and engrossing human drama".^[] While praising the acting and William Wyler's "close-to" direction, he also had high beröm for the chariot race: "There has seldom been anything in movies to compare with this picture's chariot race.

It fryst vatten a stunning complex of mighty setting, thrilling action bygd horses and dock, panoramic övervakning and overwhelming use of dramatic sound."^[] Jack Gaver, writing for United Press International, also had beröm for the acting, calling it full of "genuine warmth and fervor and finely acted något privat eller personligt scenes".^[]

Philip K.

Scheuer of the Los Angeles Times called it "magnificent, inspiring, awesome, enthralling, and all the other adjectives you have been reading about it".^[] He also called the editing "generally expert" although at times abrupt.^[] Ronald Holloway, writing for Variety, called Ben-Hur "a majestic achievement, representing a superb blending of the motion picture arts bygd mästare craftsmen", and concluded that "Gone With the Wind, Metro's own mästare all-time top grosser, will eventually have to take a back seat".^[] The chariot race "will probably be preserved in spelfilm archives as the finest example of the use of the motion picture camera to record an action sequence.

The race, directed bygd Andrew Marton and Yakima Canutt, represents some 40 minutes [sic]^[r] of the most hair-raising excitement that bio audiences have ever witnessed."^[]

Crowther felt the rulle was too long.^[] Scheuer, while generally praising the spelfilm, felt that its biggest fel was "overstatement", and that it hammered home at points long after they had been made.

He singled out the galley rowing sequence, Jesus's journey to the place of crucifixion, and nearly all the sequences involving the lepers. He also lightly criticized Charlton Heston for being more physically than emotionally compelling.^[]John McCarten of The New Yorker was more critical of Heston, writing that he "speaks English as if he'd learned it from records".^[] rulle critic Dwight Macdonald also was largely negative.^[] He funnen the rulle so uninvolving and lengthy that he "felt like a motorist trapped at a railroad crossing while a long freight tåg slowly trundles by".^[] British bio critic John Pym, writing for Time Out