Ben Hur A Tale of the Christ 1925 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer American Silent Epic Film

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ is a 1925 American silent epic adventure-drama 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.“ Plot: Ben-Hur is a wealthy young Jewish prince and boyhood friend of the powerful Roman tribune, Messala. When an accident and a false accusation 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. Ben-Hur is eventually reunited with his mother and sister, who are suffering from leprosy but are miraculously cured by Jesus Christ. Cast: Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur Francis X. Bushman as Messala May McAvoy as Esther Betty Bronson as Mary Claire McDowell as Princess of Hur Kathleen Key as Tirzah Carmel Myers as Iras Nigel de Brulier as Simonides Mitchell Lewis as Sheik Ilderim Leo White as Sanballat Frank Currier as Arrius Charles Belcher as Balthazar Dale Fuller as Amrah Winter Hall as Joseph Claude Payton as Jesus Christ (uncredited) Production: Ben-Hur: A Tale of The Christ had been a great success as a novel, and was adapted into a stage play which ran for twenty-five years. In 1922, two years after the play’s last tour, the Goldwyn company purchased the film rights to Ben-Hur. The play’s producer, Abraham Erlanger, put a heavy price on the screen rights. Erlanger was persuaded to accept a generous profit participation deal and total approval over every detail of the production. Choosing the title role was difficult for June Mathis. Rudolph Valentino and dancer Paul Swan were considered until George Walsh was chosen. When asked why she chose him, she answered it was because of his eyes and his body. Gertrude Olmstead was cast as Esther.[7][8] While on location in Italy, Walsh was fired and replaced by Ramon Novarro. The role of Esther went to May McAvoy. Shooting began in Rome, Italy in October 1923 under the direction of Charles Brabin who was replaced shortly after filming began. Additional recastings (including Ramon Novarro as Ben-Hur) and a change of director caused the production’s budget to skyrocket. After two years of difficulties and accidents, the production was eventually moved back to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in Culver City, California and production resumed in the spring of 1925. B. Reeves Eason and Christy Cabanne directed the second unit footage. Production costs eventually rose to $3,900,000 ($57,550,000 today) compared to MGM’s average for the season of $158,000 ($2,330,000 today), making Ben-Hur the most expensive film of the silent era. A total of 200,000 feet (61,000 m) of film was shot for the chariot race sequence, which lead editor Lloyd Nosler eventually cut to 750 feet (230 m) for the released print. Film historian and critic Kevin Brownlow has described the race sequence as “breathtakingly exciting, and as creative a piece of cinema as the Odessa Steps sequence from Battleship Potemkin“, a Soviet film also released in 1925 and directed by Sergei Eisenstein, who introduced many modern concepts of editing and montage composition to motion-picture production. Visual elements of the chariot race have been much imitated. The race’s opening sequence was re-created shot-for-shot in the 1959 remake, copied in the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt, and imitated in the pod race scene in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace. Public domain note: All motion pictures made and exhibited before 1926 are indisputably in the public domain in the United States. This date will move forward one year, every year, meaning that films released in 1926 will enter the public domain on New Year’s Day 2022, films from 1927 on New Year’s Day 2023, and so on. Amerika film فيلم امريكا amerikako filma अमेरिका फिल्म amerikai film film americano filme america ਅਮਰੀਕੀ ਫਿਲਮ Америка фильм 美国电影 美國電影 americký film amerikansk film αμερικάνικη ταινία film o Ameryce אמעריקע פילם Amerik fim film américain amerika film amerikansk film Film Noir Old timey Movie popcorn Old movie Retro movie