Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince betrayed by his boyhood friend Messala and condemned to the Roman galleys, survives to return to Judea, search for his mother and sister, and face Messala in a chariot race. His path repeatedly crosses that of Jesus of Nazareth.
One of the most expensive productions of the silent era, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ ran wildly over budget in Italy before MGM brought it home to Culver City; its multi-camera chariot race set a benchmark for action spectacle that the 1959 remake consciously echoed. It is preserved in the National Film Registry.
Background
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ began filming in Italy before a troubled production, plagued by cost overruns and organizational problems, led MGM to bring it back to its Culver City studio to finish. It became one of the most expensive films of the silent era. Ramón Novarro stars as Judah Ben-Hur, whose story of betrayal, enslavement, and revenge runs alongside glimpses of the life of Jesus.
What to watch for
The chariot race, filmed with multiple cameras positioned around a purpose-built arena, was the film’s centerpiece and set a benchmark for large-scale action sequences that later films, including the famous 1959 remake with Charlton Heston, consciously built on. Watch for the scale of the production, both in the chariot race and in the sea-battle sequence, and note how much of the film’s reputation rests on these two set pieces rather than on the more conventional melodrama surrounding them. It is preserved in the National Film Registry.
