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1959 Best Picture:
Ben Hur
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Competition:
Anatomy of a Murder, The
Diary of Anne Frank, The Nun's Story, Room at the Top
Other Winners:
Best Actor:
Charlton Heston, Ben Hur
Best Actress: Simone
Signoret, Room at the Top
Best Supporting Actor: Hugh Griffith, Ben Hur
Best Supporting Actress: Shelley Winters, The Diary of Anne Frank
Best Director: William Wyler, Ben Hur
Cast:
Charlton Heston, Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Haraeet, Hugh Griffith, Martha
Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe
Storyline:
Ben Hur is an epic
bible story, set against the time of Jesus Christ, about two friends who
are very powerful during the Roman empire, who's political views begin to
collide. When one destroys the other, by having him enslaved, and by
banishing his mother and sister to a leper colony, the other seeks his
revenge.
Did it
deserve to win:
As
bible stories go, Amen to Ben Hur! I'm not a big fan of this genre,
yet Ben Hur does move along well, and the story is at times,
very intriguing.
It's
spectacle seems to dwarf the competition, including the heartbreaking, The
Diary of Anne Frank, and the dreary Room at the Top.
Ben Hur
is tied with Titanic for winning the most Oscar's in a given year, taking
home eleven out the thirteen it was nominated for.
Critique:
No offence to anyone, but I have this kind of love hate thing with
Charlton Heston. While I feel he is one of the biggest 'hams' to
ever emerge from Hollywood, I can't help but be drawn to many of his
films. I think he over acts, and his mannerisms, which carry through
from film to film, are often laughable. For this film, I would swear
I saw an ape riding one of those chariots.
As far as
spectacle goes, Ben Hur cannot be beat. That chariot race stands out
as one of the most exciting scenes, and viewers should remember that this
was filmed before computer graphics were ever thought of in Hollywood.
The actors did many of these stunts themselves, and the crowd scenes had real people, not animated effects.
Ben Hur
is based on a biblical tale, so expect some Christian values to permeate
the film. Perhaps, because the story takes place in the final years
of Jesus Christ, this is best viewed around Easter.
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Behind
the Scenes:
The
success of Ben Hur actually saved the doomed MGM from impending
bankruptcy. The chariot race, meanwhile, was one of the most
expensive scenes ever shot. It was filmed over two months, at a cost
of $11 million.
Fellow
Best Picture nominee, Anatomy of a Murder was banned in Chicago, with
censors there claiming that middle America was 'not ready to see such
subjects explored'. The film centered around a rape scene.
Ben Hur
was banned in the United Arab Emirates because it was a film 'about Jews'.
MGM has
been criticized for sneaky politics in campaigning for this film to win
Oscar's. They successfully pushed Rock Hudson (for Pillow Talk) and
Troy Donahue (for A Summer's Place) into the list of five nominees for
Best Actor. Their lightweight performances didn't have a chance of
winning the gold, making the race that much easier for Ben Hur star,
Charlton Heston.
To make
the scene where old friends Judah and Massala reunite, seem believable,
writer Gore Vidal, at the request of William Wyler, pulled Stephen Boyd
aside and had him play the part as though he were meeting his old lover
again for the first time. There were rumors that the original
characters were gay. They didn't share this idea with Heston, who
they claim would not have been able to handle it.
Best
Actress winner, Simone Signoret, and her husband, actor Yves Montand, were
well known, left-wing activists in their homeland of France. As a
result, they were forbidden entry to the United States throughout the
fifties under an immigration law forbidding 'communists and subversives'.
She was allowed in, on this occasion, granted a special waiver for six
months.
George C.
Scott was nominated that year for Anatomy for a Murder. When he
didn't win, he was furious. He forever denounced the Academy after
that, refusing to accept his Oscar in 1970 for Patton.
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It's
about as big a film as you could possibly get!
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| Oscar
winner, Charlton Heston plays the title character. |
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Stephen
Boyd, as Masala, is love struck at the sight of his old friend!
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| Pictured
here with his sister, Tizrah, played by Cathy O'Donnell, Ben Hur is pissed
that his friend wants to betray their people. |
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Haya
Harareet plays Esther, Ben Hur's love interest in the film.
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Ben
Hur is imprisoned for defying Masala, and his family is taken away.
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A
mysterious stranger provides a thirsty Ben Hur with water.
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| Ben
Hur frees himself from the shackles, as the ship he is rowing, is attacked
by invaders. |
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Frank
Thring plays the infamous Pontius Pilot.
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Sheik
Ilderim, played by Oscar winner, Hugh Griffith, offers Ben Hur the chance to ride his
horses in the Roman circus.
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Despite many
obstacles, Ben Hur is declared the winner of the race.
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A dying Masala admits that Ben Hur's
sister and mother are still alive, and have lepracy! |
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Ben Hur attends the crucifiction, in one
last attempt at a miracle - this one to cure his mother and sister of
lepracy. |
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Ben Hur finally understands who this
healer was. |
Also in 1959:
January 16:
Fidel Castro takes control of Cuba by force.
February 3:
Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper perish in a plane
crash.
August 12: Violence
erupts in Little Rock, Arkansas, when integration is forced upon a
public school.
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