Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur is a 1959 epic film directed by William Wyler, the third film version of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It premiered at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1959.

The mother of all sword-and-sandals epic movies, Ben-Hur, was fêted grandly at the Golden Globe awards ceremony on March 10, 1960. William Wyler’s 3 hours and 30 minutes film received four Globes (Best Picture Drama, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Stephen Boyd) and many nominations, including one for Best Actor for Charlton Heston, who surprisingly lost to Anthony Franciosa (for Career).

This late August box office session was pretty slow and offered no quarter for newcomer Ben-Hur. MGM and Paramount’s remake of the Hollywood golden-age classic failed to throw Suicide Squad off its perch.

Losing 30 pounds while working in one of the prime gastronomical destinations in the world – Rome – and spending hours in the gym to acquire the lean and muscled look of Hebrew prince-tuned-slave-turned-champion-charioteer Judah Ben-Hur were worthy sacrifices, according to English actor Jack Huston (Boardwalk Empire, American Hustle, The Longest Ride). In this exclusive interview to our own Katherine Tulich (with camerawork by Mirai Konishi), Huston and Brit cast mate Toby Kebbell (Black Mirror, War Horse, The Counselor, Warcraft) reveal their insights into director Timur Bekmambetov’s re-imagining of Lew Wallace’s 136 year old novel, already brought to the screen three times (plus stage and television adaptations going all the way back to 1899).