Ben-Hur (DVD)

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Most important, though, is the spectacle. Wonderfully detailed matte shots, immense sets, and the aforementioned cast of thousands lend to the monumental size of the production, in every way an epic in its own right, and most often a pleasure to dazzle the eye.

What's more, the movie is prefaced by the statement that this video version has the "original tints and Technicolor sequences restored." The restoration is so good, the film belies its eighty-odd years. The alternately black-and-white, sepia, lavender, and color segments lend variety to its visual aspect, while the definition is reasonably sharp, and age marks, scratches, and similar blemishes are scarce. The early Process-2 Technicolor is obviously not as bright or vivid as it would later develop, but it is well utilized in a few key scenes, like the birth of Christ, the arrival in Rome, the Last Supper, and the Crucifixion.

As in the remake, the old movie's chariot race is still the highlight of the show, but the sea battle is rousing as well. So there's a little of everything in this 1925 classic to please most anybody interested in motion pictures. The early "Ben-Hur" makes a delightful appendage to the 1959 epic.

Video:
The 1959 film is epic in scope, too, and it's nice to see it transferred to disc for optimum quality. Originally filmed by MGM in something called Camera 65, the screen ratio was projected at a ratio of about 2.76:1. Warner Bros., now handling the movie, brought it to disc the first time around in a ratio that measured about 2.44:1, almost the widest screen size of any movie I'd seen on DVD, but this time it's even wider, around 2.50:1, displaying even more information on the left and right sides of the screen. The width is requisite to convey the breadth and grandeur of the settings, and when you see the Roman legions marching from one end of the screen to the other, you know it's wide.

To complement the screen's vast dimensions, the color and definition are better than ever as well. Although the bit rate in the new transfer measures about the same as it did in the first edition and the film is again spread over two sides (the first edition used the front and back of a single disc; this one uses two discs), the image appears to be slightly more brilliant and more clearly delineated than before. The disc case says the film has been newly transferred from restored 65mm elements, which perhaps accounts for its being so good. As before, you can practically reach out and feel the velvet tunics and white silk robes of the players. All in all, a good picture gets better--wider, brighter, sharper, and clearer.

Audio:
The audio engineers have retained pretty much the same sound as in the first DVD edition, a Dolby Digital 5.1 processing of the film's multichannel sonics that comes up well. There's a commendably wide front-stereo stage, and for a change the characters' voices can be heard moving across the sound field. There is a very small amount of background noise, but it's of little importance. Rear-channel reproduction is limited mainly to musical ambiance for the first three-quarters of the film, but then in the climactic crucifixion scene, the rears come to life in noises of wind and storm. In addition, the subwoofer gets a terrific outing. While the sonics remain a tad on the hard side, I doubt that anyone will be disappointed with the disc's audio qualities.

Extras:
To do justice to an epic picture, WB have provided it with an epic presentation on four DVDs. Discs one and two contain the movie itself, with English and French spoken languages; English, French, and Spanish subtitles; and a remarkable sixty-one scene selections. In addition, the film is accompanied by an audio commentary with film historian T. Gene Hatcher, author of a book on the making of "Ben-Hur," and scene-specific comments by the film's star, Charlton Heston. The lengthy Overture gives Hatcher a chance to provide us some plot overview and a history of the story and its creation. I rather enjoy these academic approaches to film commentary because they are usually more informative than typical directors' commentaries. Heston's comments were apparently recorded separately, and they are, understandably, more intimately involved with the nuts and bolts of the filmmaking. Then, for good measure, the first two discs also include a music-only track showcasing Miklos Rozsa's celebrated music.

Disc three contains the 1925 silent version of "Ben-Hur," along with thirty-nine scene selections.

Disc four contains a newly made, 2005 documentary, "Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema." Fifty-seven minutes long and divided into ten chapters, it includes interviews with a host of current filmmakers as well as people who actually worked on the project. Ridley Scott, George Lucas, and others commend the film, and director Wyler speaks of the film from vintage clips. The documentary is typical of the kind of thing the Warner studios do so well. Additionally, there is a 1993 documentary, "Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic." Fifty-eight minutes long, divided into twenty chapters, and hosted by Christopher Plummer, it contains a good deal of behind-the-scenes information, too, but I especially liked the history it paints of the story from novel to stage to screen. Then, there's a five-minute montage of stills and movie clips called "Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures," that recounts the story's plot, characters, themes, music. It's followed by a series of screen tests of Leslie Nielsen (he was tested for the part of Messala, back in his serious leading-man days) and Cesare Danova; Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler; George Baker and William Russell; and Haya Harareet in hair and makeup tests; about ten minutes of highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards ceremony; six vintage newsreel clips about the film; and five separate widescreen theatrical trailers
for the film originally issued between 1959 and 1969.

The DVDs are housed in a foldout, plastic-and-cardboard Digipak case, along with the printed contents for all four discs and an illustrated, thirty-six page informational booklet. The whole affair is further enclosed in an attractively decorated and handsomely embossed slipcover.

Parting Thoughts:
"Ben-Hur" may not be as intellectually satisfying as "Spartacus" or "Lawrence of Arabia," but it's an equally intimate portrait of an equally heroic man. In its new, special-edition trappings, the movie is more than ever a must-buy for any film lover, videophile, or home-theater buff.

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