💿 Technical Specifications
The Film
"Very long, but still potent and glorious on a scale few other films ever achieve."
William Wyler's incredible masterpiece, Ben-Hur, has lost none of its power in the 50 years since its release. To date, it remains one of the most staggering epics ever created, even if you have to sidestep some ugly politics and gaudy religious propaganda in the process.
In theory, Ben-Hur is a bible story, but that's merely a bookend to a near-four-hour epic about love and betrayal in ancient Rome. It remains a fascinating insight into how Hollywood operated at the time, and the internal politics that forced Wyler and his actors to tiptoe around censorship and morality police. Originally, Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) and Messala (Stephen Boyd) were written as lovers – or at least heavily implied as such – where the spurned affections of the latter set the grand tragedy in motion.
Naturally, it took decades for behind-the-scenes drama to get out, as Hollywood was (and often still is) notoriously against queerness on-screen. One of the film's writers, Gore Vidal, spoke about it at length in interviews that aren't present on the disc, which is another crime, especially for an otherwise faultless restoration.
But, watched simply as an entertaining old-school epic, Ben-Hur remains astounding. From the impeccable set design to the jaw-dropping chariot race that has come to define the film, there isn't a single moment out of place. Even when, in typical Hollywood fashion, a very white Christ (Claude Heater) meets Ben-Hur, Wyler somehow manages to make the platitudes palatable.
The 4K restoration spans two discs, and there's a natural stopping point midway through where the film plays an overture for switching to the next one. I saw Ben-Hur for the first time at the cinema, and it's one of my favorite filmgoing experiences. At home, I was surprised at how much of that exhilaration Wyler's grand romantic saga still captured, and I'd argue that anyone seeing it for the first time will be just as spellbound.
Video quality
"Pristine visual fidelity."
The 4K version of Ben-Hur is downsampled from a reported 8K intermediate, which is the closest we can get to the stunning 65mm film stock MGM used for the production. The results are flawless, and every bit of Ben-Hur looks astonishing. Viewed on either an LCD or OLED panel (both tested for the review), you're hard-pressed to find anything to complain about.
Colors are vibrant, fine detail impeccable, there are no compression artefacts to speak of, and everything looks exactly as I remember it looking at the cinema. This is a spectacular showcase of a high-quality historic restoration, one made by those devoted to the craft, with no insufferable AI fakery in sight.
Sound quality
"An incredible sound mix for a classic."
The Dolby Atmos sound mix is another upgrade from earlier versions, most notably the DTS-HD Master Audio version found on the Blu-ray from a few years back. Here, Atmos impresses with even greater clarity in dialog, but especially with punchy mids and lows, amplifying some of the most memorable set pieces faultlessly.
For example, give a listen to how the ship creeks and how the oars thunk against the wood in the sequence where Ben-Hur is a galley slave. Then, check out the way the tires in the chariot race crackle against the sand and how incredible the roar of the audience sounds even on smaller speakers.
Simply put, Ben-Hur has never, ever sounded better, and this is the prime example of why 4K restorations matter for art.
Extras
"One dry commentary track and nothing else."
American and British releases, including a limited edition you can still find in the Nordics, come with a wealth of extras. Sadly, this barebones version is the most common one out there, and it has nothing but a dry, if occasionally interesting, commentary track that offers little to anyone but the hopelessly devoted.
It's true that Ben-Hur is a tough sell for a big and lavish edition in an area where the film hasn't been a hit for 70 years, but I still wish we'd have the option for a better edition than this one. Right now, the barebones model is fine, especially because the technical qualities are faultless, but it still feels cheeky to ask for full price for something that gets none of the extras that other areas get, often for less money.
Verdict
"An otherwise spectacular restoration brought down by a complete lack of extras."
Ben-Hur is one of the most exciting and impossibly entertaining biblical epics ever made, and while it definitely is a product of its time, there's no denying that William Wyler's astonishing vision of the ancient past resonates throughout the ages.
The technical presentation is faultless, even if the extras are a bummer. But if you're interested in some of the finest old-school Hollywood filmmaking available, you owe it to yourself to get the best possible version of it. That's this one.
