*** Welcome to piglix ***

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925 film)

Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur-1925.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Produced by
Screenplay by
Based on Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ
by General Lew Wallace
Starring
Music by
Cinematography
Edited by Lloyd Nosler
Production
company
Distributed by Loew's, Inc.
Release date
  • December 30, 1925 (1925-12-30) (United States)
Running time
143 minutes
Country United States
Language
  • Silent
  • (English intertitles)
Budget $4 million
Box office $10.7 million

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a 1925 American epic silent film directed by Fred Niblo and written by June Mathis based on the 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by General Lew Wallace. Starring Ramon Novarro as the title character, the film is the first feature-length adaptation of the novel and second overall, following the 1907 short.

In 1997, Ben-Hur was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Ben-Hur is a wealthy Jew and boyhood friend of the powerful Roman Tribune, Messala. When an accident leads to Ben-Hur's arrest, Messala, who has become corrupt and arrogant, makes sure Ben-Hur and his family are jailed and separated.

Ben-Hur is sentenced to slave labor in a Roman war galley. Along the way, he unknowingly encounters Jesus, the carpenter's son who offers him water. Once aboard ship, his attitude of defiance and strength impresses a Roman admiral, Quintus Arrius, who allows him to remain unchained. This actually works in the Admiral's favor because when his ship is attacked and sunk by pirates, Ben-Hur saves him from drowning.

Arrius then treats Ben-Hur as a son, and over the years the young man grows strong and becomes a victorious chariot racer. This eventually leads to a climactic showdown with Messala in a chariot race, in which Ben-Hur is the victor. However, Messala does not die, as he does in the more famous 1959 remake of the film.

Ben-Hur is eventually reunited with his mother and sister, who are suffering from leprosy but are miraculously cured by Jesus.


...
Wikipedia

...