The Ben Hur movie of 1959 is one of my favorite movies of all time. So after reading all the reviews and praise about this old version, I had to give it a try.
The movie starts a bit slowly. And even though I got a bit bored in the beginning(I ended up watching it at a 1.5 speed), I just couldn't stop watching. Thankfully the movie picked up pace quickly and at some point, I was completely hooked.
There's something unique about this movie. Something that has kept me watching in the beginning and that kept glued to the screen afterwards. I call it the magic of old movies. The movie felt extremely raw and intense. The actors actually looked malnourished, their clothes looked cheap too. During the ship battle, one of the ships actually took fire and the stunt doubles were truly distressed at the time. This all made the events look very realistic.
I still prefer the 1959 version, but this one IS definitely a must watch too. They both had different feels.
The 1959 version was more romanticized. Ben Hur's fight against Messala and his pain seeing his mother and sister in that state felt much more dramatic. The whole 1959 movie revolved toward Ben Hur. He was the hero of the movie and we follow his revenge, sadness, perils and fights. That made the chariot race all the more important and the ending all the more satisfying.
The 1925 movie on the other hand focused less on Ben Hur and more on the events at the time. We see more of the Christ and more of the roman's oppression and consequently we feel more sympathy for the jews at the time. Also Ben Hur in this version didn't seem like the hero, but as a true believer who kept fighting relentlessly, but who also was in dire need of saving.
The movie starts a bit slowly. And even though I got a bit bored in the beginning(I ended up watching it at a 1.5 speed), I just couldn't stop watching. Thankfully the movie picked up pace quickly and at some point, I was completely hooked.
There's something unique about this movie. Something that has kept me watching in the beginning and that kept glued to the screen afterwards. I call it the magic of old movies. The movie felt extremely raw and intense. The actors actually looked malnourished, their clothes looked cheap too. During the ship battle, one of the ships actually took fire and the stunt doubles were truly distressed at the time. This all made the events look very realistic.
I still prefer the 1959 version, but this one IS definitely a must watch too. They both had different feels.
The 1959 version was more romanticized. Ben Hur's fight against Messala and his pain seeing his mother and sister in that state felt much more dramatic. The whole 1959 movie revolved toward Ben Hur. He was the hero of the movie and we follow his revenge, sadness, perils and fights. That made the chariot race all the more important and the ending all the more satisfying.
The 1925 movie on the other hand focused less on Ben Hur and more on the events at the time. We see more of the Christ and more of the roman's oppression and consequently we feel more sympathy for the jews at the time. Also Ben Hur in this version didn't seem like the hero, but as a true believer who kept fighting relentlessly, but who also was in dire need of saving.