Ben Hur

first impressive thing is the ambition to create a new adaptation to a classic book. than to look the best way to be more than a great movie remake.and not the last, to have success. result - an adaptation for new generations. not original but good. interesting, giving new nuances - Stephen Campbell Moore does a real seductive Messala, more credible than in 1959 version, Ben Cross is a realistic Tiberius and Joseph Morgan is far to be another Charlton Heston. but the last fact could be a virtue because it is Ben Hur of a new time, part of a chain of blockbusters who use the Greek- Roman mythology and histories.so, a good film. for script, cast but, more important, for science to present a story in right nuances. and that fact is important.

The 1959 version of "Ben-Hur" is without a doubt one of the truly great motion picture epics, so it was with surprise, and dismay, that I saw this 2010 re-make mini series appear on my local TV channel, and against my better judgment started to watch, what could only be, this travesty. To my surprise I found within 30 minutes I was totally hooked and engrossed by a deeply touching and superior Television experience. What it lacks in sheer magnificence of the 1959 version, it more than makes up in the human story of a family torn apart by terrible misfortune and fate. Wisely the makers chose a superb young cast in the leads, with Joseph Morgan (as Ben-Hur) and Stephen Campbell Moore (as Messala) not only doing justice to these epic characters but imbuing them with true human emotions. The story is very much the same as the original, and even though it was said the makers played down the religious aspect, I personally found that by doing this they actually heightened it in some respects to truly wonderful effect, especially during the last hour of the story which left this viewer with more than a few tears in his eyes. Naturally the sexual aspect is more explicit, but if one watches the original 1925 silent version you realize that is is something which has always been there but left and only implied in the 1959 version. The famous chariot race of the 1959 version can never be duplicated and the film makers obviously did not have the budget or tried to do so, but apart from that, if you have the opportunity to see this version, do yourself a favor and do so. I think, like me, you will be pleasantly surprised.

I am a huge fan of the 1959 film so I thought I would give a the miniseries a go. Throughout most of its run time it is a engaging retelling of the tale that focuses more on the political machinations that Ben-Hur (could have) does (done) especially in terms of the Roman court. Add in a lot more sexuality and less grand more earthly production values and the resulting adaptation plays like an engaging Game of Thrones episode while Christ story, more human and less religious, plays in the background. It is all very good fun. I especially like how Judah's time in Rome is flesh-out more and how the Great Sea Battle was more tactical. The lower budget forced a lot of the choices to make the story more psychological and grittier but it's nice counterpoint to the 1959 classic.

There is, however, two areas of concern. First because the film greatly down plays the religious (divine) elements a huge part of the ending does not make much sense; I think it would be incomprehensible how a certain "cure" happens without seeing the 59' version first. It also annoyed me that Christ's "forgive them they know not what they do" is ripped from its context completely and it is thematically problematic to have Judah the recipient of that utterance. Second, Morgan is miscast; his sandy blond hair and blue eyes reminder you too much of Heston and make Judah seem even less Jewish than in the 59' version. After about 30 minutes you get use to it and Morgan becomes an engaging hero but it is initially very distracting.

The chariot race in this version is no where near as grand, but it is still very exciting and the stripped down more documentary feel to it gives it a neat visceral edge. I'm not sure why they didn't cut the number of horses down to 2 per chariot through. I think that would have fit the paired down more earthly tone of this version.

The 59' is the gold standard of this story. The 25' is more religious version. But 2010 is the political intrigue version. Good stuff

I am only an hour into this version of Ben Hur - I love the 1959 version and must have seen it dozens of times. I never thought that it could be done as engagingly again. I think that Wyler's version might have benefited from a closer attention to the young Judah and Messala's relationship at the beginning as this TV version does, though briefly. I was a little disappointed with the casting of Judah Ben Hur - he does not have the masculinity of Charlton Heston - but Stephen Campell Moore as Messala is really good if not quite as evil as Stephen Boyd's young roman in 1959. This version works very well so far and has brought an interesting insight into Messala's motivations. He is not all bad as he was in Wyler's film.

Judah Ben-Hur (Joseph Morgan) is a rich Jewish merchant in Jerusalem. He, his sister Tirzah (Kristin Kreuk) and Roman commander Messala (Stephen Campbell Moore) were childhood friends. Ambitious Messala returns from Rome pushing Judah to inform on the Jewish revolt. He tries to stop the demonstration. He gets betrothed to Esther (Emily VanCamp). While the Governor of Judaea Pontius Pilate (Hugh Bonneville) marches in, a tile falls onto him and starts a riot. Messala is demoted. Judah is sent into slavery and encounters Jesus Christ on his way to the crucification. He is pressed into rowing a gallery where he rescues Roman admiral Quintus Arrius (Ray Winstone) after a battle. Arrius adopts him naming him after his dead son Sextus Arrius. He returns to avenge Tirzah and his mother Ruth (Alex Kingston).

This is a solid TV mini-series. There are some great actors. The younger leads are mostly TV stars. Joseph Morgan has more youth but not quite the presence of Charlton Heston. The big action is compensated by the modern CGI. The gallery scene works well. The chariot scene is less epic. I like some of the early exposition laying out the political situation. This series may not be necessarily but it is an interesting addition to the '59 classic.