Filipe Neto Some movies are so good that they leave no room for eventual remakes. Even so, there are attempts. This is a movie intended for TV and that plays the story of Lew Wallace on the revenge of Judah Ben-Hur. The plot is too well known, so I will not talk about it. The film has a naturally lower budget than its predecessor of 1959 and puts entirely aside any epic ambition, to the detriment of a close reading of historical truth. So we don't have a grandiose scenario or thousands of extras, but a very realistic scenario with some ambitions of historical truth and very similar to what we could see in the Middle East during the life of Jesus. It's evident the influence that "Ben-Hur" (1959), "The Passion of the Christ" or the TV series "Rome" had in the building of the scenarios and environments. The visual and special effects are quite realistic but manage to be discreet enough for the audience to keep their attention on the plot. Joseph Morgan was a very satisfying Ben-Hur and has good chemistry with Emily VanCamp and Lucía Jiménez. Stephen Campbell Moore and Ben Cross also don't disappoint. Overall, the cast was OK. To summarize: without having the ambition of a cinema masterpiece, this is a good TV movie, divided into two parts that, together, would have approximately three hours long. It's not an epic, but it never had that ambition. It's a movie for entertainment and it works well if we watch in that light.

ma-cortes This Television monumental version of 180 min and 2 parts about the renowned story during the time of Christ which was filmed several times, concerning on a wealthy Jewish named Ben-Hur results to be an acceptable movie with huge production design and wonderful scenarios . Ben Hur tells the story of two childhood friends whose lives go in drastically different directions leading to an unforgivable betrayal and lifelong quest for vengeance . The story is well known , a rich Jewish nobleman Ben Hur (Joseph Morgan -The Vampire Diaries- in the title role) and his confrontation to military Messala (Stephen Campbell Moore, Season of the witch , Hunted), though they were childhood friends . When happen a distress , a tile falls during a Roman parade, Judah and his family are wrongfully accused and Ben Hur incurs the hostility his previous friend and is condemned to galley slavery , reduced to manning an oar ; then his family is sent to prison during several years and subsequently his mother and sister are banished as lepers . Judah Ben-Hur is wrongly accused of inciting a riot that endangered the life of Pontius Pilate (Hugh Bonneville, Downton Abbey). As a result, Judah's former best friend , and now up-and-coming Roman soldier Messala (Stephen Campbell , earlier performed by Stephen Boyd) condemns . When he's in a galleon as slave rower saves to Quinto Arrio (Ray Winstone , previously played by Jack Hawkins) who subsequently appointed him as a heir . Years later he goes back to seek revenge upon his Roman tormentor .As he returns Palestina where his mother Miriam and sister Tizrah (roles performed by Alex Kingston and Kristen Krouk , and formerly by Martha Scott and Cathy O'Donnell respectively) are prisoned at Antonia fortress . This culminates in a groundbreaking chariot race . The classic tale is added religious issues about Jesus life , as are described the pilgrimage , Mountain sermon , Passion , crucifixion and resurrection .Lavishly produced by various countries , this miniseries does attempt to achieve television levels of epicness and by channeling HBO's Rome, this miniseries succeeds . Adequate main cast such as Joseph Morgan as the noble wrongfully punished and sent away to be a slave and Stephen Campbell as his friend and nemesis . Being a Britain/Spain co-production the film has an enjoyable cast formed by English actors as Joseph Morgan, Stephen Campbell Moore, Ray Winstone, Alex Kingston, Hugh Bonneville and Spanish players as Simon Andreu , Miguel Angel Muñoz and Lucia Jimenez . This 3 hr 12 minutes recounting of this religion-infused revenge saga turns out to be a not-terrible way to spend time . However , it has some inappropriate sexual scenes and nudism which does not fit with clean and pure earlier versions . The Series achieved success , it is probably related to the fact that nearly the entire cast has been featured in popular TV shows this season . Though its aspirations are far more modest, I went in expecting Ben Hur to be similar to the recent History Channel miniseries, The Bible. I slogged through it because I still find a lot of the stories exciting . Most sets designed by Benjamin Fernandez -who made Gladiator- , a real research, and several months of labor were required for the film . Well staged battle ships made by computer generator and a breathtaking chariot races , being filmed in Valencia , Spain . The dialogue , colorful images , majestic set design , glamorous photography by Ousama Rawi , evocative musical score combine to cast an entertaining movie . Rousing soundtrack by Rob Lane who composes thrilling as well as sensitive melodies . The motion picture was compellingly realized by director Steven Shill who has directed many episodes of famous series such as ¨Shameless¨ , ¨Missing¨, ¨V¨, ¨Law and order¨, ¨Rome¨ , ¨The good wife¨, ¨Los Tudor¨ , ¨Criminal Minds¨ , ¨Soprano¨ , among others . There are numerous renditions based on Lee Wallace's Ben Hur , as stage version , classic MGM's mammoth silent version ¨Ben Hur¨ (1926) by Fred Niblo with Ramon Novarro; and the remake Ben-Hur (1959) in which Stuntman Cliff Lyons worked as a stuntman/chariot driver in both Ben Hur (1925) and this 1959 retelling . Ben Hur is a big budget version by William Wyler that won a record of 11 Oscars and was the most expensive picture of its time , being one of the greatest movies of all history. Cartoon version (2003) by Bill Kowalchuk in which a prologue and epilogue narrated by Charlton Heston ; and this ¨Ben Hur TV series¨ (2010) by Steven Shill with Joseph Morgan as Judah Ben-Hur , Stephen Campbell Moore as Messala , Emily VanCamp as Esther as Kristin Kreuk as Tirzah , Ben Cross , Simón Andreu , Alex Kingston , James Faulkner , among others .

dbdumonteil The main problem with these mini miniseries (2 episodes) is that the screenwriters forgot that the novel was subtitled " a tale of the Christ";and all that concerns Jesus is botched ;Wyler never showed his face and all his appearances in the 1959 version were memorable ,particularly when he gives some water to Ben Hur en route to the galleys.The first part of Lewis Wallace's- who said he was influenced by French writer Alexandre Dumas and his "Comte De Monte Cristo"- novel was entirely devoted to the Magi and the nativity.Ben Hur and Messala only appear simultaneously on page 74 of my edition!One should also note that there's an episode,never transferred to the screen ,when Ben Hur tries to raise an army to fight Rome and to save Jesus.He gives up,on the Golgotha,because a divine invisible intervention tells him HE must die.Joseph Morgan,as an user has already pointed out by an user ,is too "Nordic" to be a convincing hero;Emily VanCamp as Esther is too gamine to compare favorably with Haya Harareet in the 1959 version.Nevertheless ,the story is catchy and entertaining,in spite of (or because of) the changes the script has undergone:Messala ,for instance,is (so to speak) still alive -like in the novel-when the Christ is crucified;characters not present ,either in the silent version or in Wyler's were introduced in a tale even more melodramatic than the original: a Greek slave/courtesan who is skilled in love making (There is a hot sex scene between her and a virgin(?)Ben Hur)and in "special" beverages-perhaps an equivalent of Wallace's perfidious Iras;and a treacherous Jew named David,in love with Esther ;the valley of the lepers is ,if we are to believe the screenwriters,a safe place ,as we see Esther bringing bread to the unfortunate sick outcasts ;in Wyler 's version ,she kept her distance ,at least in her first visits.(in the book ,it's a servant who feeds the poor women and takes them to the Christ)The political side,on the other hand ,is more detailed in the MTV work in the first sequences ,and Messala's attitude makes more sense after the tile incident (caused by the hero,like in the book,not by his sister).By the way,the mother,Miriam (no name in the book)has become Ruth,we can wonder why.And in the end,the death of Messala is more human than in the 1959 movie or in the book ,in which the character works behind the scenes:he and Ben Hur do not have any conversation when they meet again.Save it for a rainy day:it's no masterpiece,and the chariot race seems cheap ,but the subplots are numerous,the hints at Juda/Messala childhood are relevant and the supporting cast is up to scratch,with Ray Winstone,the stand out.Best scene:the suicide of Arius in his bath ,as the water turns red.

phd_travel For people who loved the 1959 Charlton Heston version, no one could possibly expect any remake to match the original and it doesn't try to. This 2010 TV version is interesting for contrast and to look a the differences between them. It actually makes one appreciate the 1959 version more for how well done it was. After watching it, I read up about the 1959 version and found out that the 1959 story was actually different plot wise from the novel. The screenwriters made the story much more dramatic and enjoyable with priceless dialog. This 2010 TV version is probably more true to the novel. Firstly the good points. The costumes, sets and filming in Morocco are well done - it doesn't feel cheap. There are a lot more characters and I guess it is more realistic. The minus points. There is some terrible casting. The actor who played Messala, Stephen Moore is quite nondescript and forgettable. Compared with Stephen Boyd he is so much less charismatic. Ben Hur is played by Joseph Morgan who is just too North European looking. If they were going for a more realistic version why not try a bit more of a Mediterranean look. Emily Van Camp as Esther just looks puffy and daft. No romance or chemistry here. Kristin Kreuk as Ben's sister Tirzah surprisingly looks quite suitable even though she is pan Asian. Alex Kingston as Ben's mother Ruth was a mistake. A lot of supporting cast are badly cast too. The actor who played Quintas Arrias is terribly un Roman looking. All the strong regional British accents are just out of place. Couldn't they tried to have some what of a Middle Eastern accent? It was like a British high school production. Some scenes like Messala's death are just so much worse than in the 1959 version. While the galley scenes were quite OK, the chariot race was pretty lame - more like a county fair dog race. I know the budget was probably smallish but still its such a let down. Overall for Ben Hur fans its worth a watch for contrast and differences but be prepared to cringe a lot. Hope this isn't the first version of Ben Hur anyone sees. Compared to the recent unnecessary remakes of perfect Hollywood classics like South Pacific with Glenn Close, Roman Holiday with Catherine Oxenberg, this at least has some effort but its still pretty barfarific.