Ben-Hur

The calf in the stable is a Holstein, a breed that did not exist at the time, and was unknown in the area until 1922.

Nine chariots start the chariot race.

After the first crash, there appear still to be nine chariots in the race.

After the third crash, six are shown, but as Ben Hur passes to catch up, clearly there is a total of seven in the race.

After five have crashed, five are left.

Messala is the sixth chariot to crash, but Ben Hur and three others finish the race.

Thus, nine chariots start the race, six crash, and four finish.

During the chariot race, when we see the third fish lowered, the following shot shows briefly the fishes and the third is still up.

Messala damages Ben-Hur's chariot with his saw-toothed wheel-hubs, but when Ben-Hur drives up to Pontius Pilate to receive his prize, his chariot is undamaged.

During the chariot race, shadow lengths/directions clearly show that passage of time (filming) inconsistent with length of "actual" race.

Ben-Hur presents ring to be returned to Rome.

Pontius Pilate moves so that he is always facing the camera as the angle reverses.

As they are preparing for the chariot race, a raised platform is shown which is made of galvanized steel.

When Esther and Tirzah and Miriam seek shelter, the storm is violent enough to cause earth to fall in front of the cave, and the sound of the wind is deafening.

Yet trees visible in the background (from the mouth of the cave) do not so much as sway in the breeze.

During the scene in which Judah and Messala are talking in the courtyard of Judah's home, road noise from motorcycles can be heard in the background.

The shadow of the camera can be seen on Christ's back as Ben Hur is leaving Nazareth to go to the galleys (widescreen version).

When Ben-Hur's and Messala's chariots lock wheels, Messala's wheel shatters.

In the shot of the overturning chariot, the wheel is intact.

When the audience first sees Ben-Hur and Messala together and they both throw a spear at the wall, the sound of Ben-Hur's voice does not match up with his lips.

Sheik Ilderim pins a Star of David onto Ben Hur's belt before the race, obviously to goad the Romans.

The Star of David didn't become a symbol of Judaism until the Middle Ages, in Eastern Europe.

The first reference occurs in the 12th Century.

Just before the Roman galley is rammed, the condemned men behind Ben-Hur are clearly dummies.

Modern books with covers can be seen, at a time when only scrolls were used.

Most of the Roman soldiers seen are not displaying the Roman Army's "Winged Lightning" symbol on their shields.

The mezuzah shown at the entrance to Ben-Hur's home is mounted diagonally.

That practice was not adopted until the middle ages, by Ashkenazi Jews, as a compromise between the rules offered by 2 medieval Rabbis.

When Messala breaks a tile on Ben Hur's terrace, we can see a broken tile at his feet whereas on the shot before there was no tile.

During the scene in which Judah and the Consul are rescued from the water, the waves breaking in the background reveal the end of the studio.

In the chariot race Ben Hur and Messala are side by side for several laps.

When they turn corners they remain side by side.

Tire tracks from the camera truck are visible in the sand of the circus during the chariot race.

An establishing shot of Jerusalem in the opening sequence shows a hooded Ben-Hur, long before he is born.

The scene appears again later in the film as Judah Ben-Hur returns to Jerusalem from Rome.

A close-up of the saw-toothed wheel hubs, just before the race shows the modern welding.

When Christ is carrying His cross, the Latin title Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum ("Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews") is written backwards.

A Roman soldier is shown carrying the title ahead of Him, with the Latin characters reversed (from right to left).

A few moments later the title appears again, only this time the Latin is written correctly (from left to right).

Jesus' ministry seems to last 5 years in this movie.

Although this is traditionally seen as lasting only 3 years, the Bible gives no such specific chronology, Making it 5 years is a reasonable artistic decision.

As Pontius Pilate comes out to watch the chariot race, as he takes his seat.

A Roman officer behind calls out orders to attention to his men, but no sound is heard from the officer - it has been dubbed out in post production.

One of the chariot heralds has been claimed to be wearing a watch, but other viewers report that this is an oddly positioned shadow.

A character refers to the Roman Emperor as "The Divine Tiberius.

" Although Tiberius was never deified, he claimed descent from the Roman deities Jupiter and Venus, so he was "divine" in that sense.

It is well documented that Messala's horses in the chariot race were dyed black (their natural color was brown).

They appear solid black during the pre-race procedures.

During the race, when the horses are running flat out, most of the dye wore off and in closeups, they appear to be brown.

A pretty good breeze is blowing the sheik's robe around when he comes to visit Judah just before the race starts, but the wind and his garments are abruptly still in the second slightly tighter shot.

During the race, just before the first chariot goes down, the left wheel of that chariot is removed by Messala's chariot, but in the next shot you can view both wheels intact before it goes down.

During the ship battle, a slave is released from below and is missing his left hand.

About ten seconds later, he is seen running through the ship with his left hand still attached.

When Judah visits Messala after the chariot race, as he enters the room he lays his wreath on a chair next to the door.

When he leaves, the wreath is missing.

As the Romans are marching to Jerusalem, Drusus asks Messala what town they are in and Mesala answers "Nazareth," but when he says "we shall arrive in Jerusalem tomorrow night," his mouth is not moving.

When Ben Hur is summoned to Arias' quarters aboard the ship, the personal belongings of Arias that are in the background, appear and disappear between shots After announcing the arrival of Ben Hur, the position of the centurion's hand on his sword changes position between shots.

When Messala assumes command of the garrison, the outgoing commander, Sextus is seen in the doorway as they are going into the barracks, yet when Messala is talking to Drusus about being in command, in the closeup shot Sextus is not in the doorway.

When Ben Hur and Messala are arguing in the courtyard, the sound of a horn from an automobile of bus can be heard in the background When the new governor is knocked unconscious from the falling tiles, the soldiers lift him up and you can see the unconscious governor using his legs to help lift himself.

On the way to the galleys, a prisoner on the march dies and is cut loose from the rest.

When he is pushed down the sand dune, you can see his arms pulling himself down.

Christ is always seen from the back, but when He is condemned to death He is facing Pilate and His face is obscured by a shadow.

No other shadows appear in the shot.

During the chariot race just before Ben Hur's chariot jumps the wrecked chariot, the stunt double can be seen dropping the reins and grabbing hold of the side of the his chariot.

How i remember when i was a child and watch ben hur, ben hur was a hero. but here.

Maybe today isn't the day for me to watch a film about a Jewish Chad rise up from enslavement to become rich again.

I have watched a lot of great movies but this one tops. From the production design to cinematography to great casts considering the year that the movie was made.

Admittedly, re-telling the story of Ben-Hur in modern cinema seems remarkably unnecessary since the original film was already so good in it's own merit. But to say that this is a bad movie would be a lie.

Watching 'Ben-Hur (1959)' is a lot like paying a visit to the Colosseum. Situated in Rome, Italy, this massive elliptical amphitheatre is the largest ever built in the Roman Empire, able to seat up to 80,000 spectators for gladiatorial games and various public spectacles.

I think this is my first review after years, but I just think that most of the qualifications are done comparing the original. Please, there is no comparison, but that doesn't mean that is a very well done movie.

One of the greatest Hollywood epics of all time, the first film ever to win the record amount of 11 Academy Awards, most of them well deserved. Charlton Heston stars as the Jewish nobleman Judah Ben-Hur, who finds out his once close friendship with the young Roman aristocrat Messala (Stephen Boyd) has succumbed to his strict duties as a Roman officer.

Old movies ... Their story goes on and on acting is exaggerated editing and flow are discontinued.

How can you not give 10/10?The power, the might, the energy, in modern age big budget movies everything is so colorful so perfect it actually seems fake, even with CGI, 3D, 4D or whatever you feel you are there but not that much, whereas with Ben Hur you feel you are there, you feel the authencticity you feel the power the scale of it all.