Arena Theater Film Club Presents "Ben Hur" • May 2 This Epic 1959 Film Hits The Big Screen at Arena Theater
“Ben-Hur” is MGM's three and a half hour, wide-screen epic Technicolor blockbuster—a Biblical tale, subtitled “A Tale of the Christ.” The film won a record 11 Oscars.
If you're not familiar with the storyline, Charlton Heston plays a Palestinian Jew who is battling the Roman Empire at the time of Christ. His actions incur the wrath of a childhood friend, now a Roman tribune. Although forced into slavery on a galley and compelled to witness the cruel persecution of his family, he survives, harboring dreams of vengeance. Heston finally meets his rival in a justly famous chariot race and rescues his suffering family.
A battle at sea and a chariot race are among the memorable sequences. The chariot race sequence in the Circus Maximus (an amazing replica of the one in Rome) is one of the most thrilling and famous in film history. The site of the race, the Circus Maximus in Jerusalem (Judea), was constructed on over 18 acres of backlot space at Cinecitta Studios outside Rome, and the filming of the sequence took about five weeks. Except for two of the most spectacular stunts, both Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd did all their own chariot driving in the carefully-choreographed sequence.
It's worth noting that a recent (2016) version of the film was made, to which the Hollywood Reporter opined, "What's the point of making a cut-rate version of "Ben Hur"? Point taken. See the 1959 classic, Monday, May 2, 7:00pm. Directed by William Wyler, the film stars Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe, and as goes the old cliché, a cast of thousands. The film runs 203 minutes.
Attendees must be fully vaccinated. Masks are strongly recommended but not required.
The Arena Theater Film Club is a membership-based film society which meets the first Monday at the Arena Theater to screen and discuss a variety of movies, including recent independent releases, classics and foreign films. Screenings are $7 to current Arena Theater members (memberships are $60 per year); their guests are welcome at $10 each. For a schedule of upcoming films, visit the Arena Theater Film Club’s website, www.arenatheaterfilmclub.org/
