No. 100: Ben Hur

I made it. I found 3 1/2 consecutive hours to get this project started, and, we're off to a grand start, with the 1959 epic film (no, really...it's an epic) "Ben Hur."
Let me begin by making a shameful confession. This is the first time, as far as I can remember (and I'm pretty sure I'd remember) watching this entire film at once.
I went in with a certain amount of fear and trepidation after getting Disc 1 and Disc 2 and thinking that frankly, if you can't fit it on one disc, it's just too dang long.
Other than the fact that my leg is cramping from being in one position for almost four hours, the film did make me re-think my initial assessment.
For one thing, the film made me miss the true epics. It reminded me that there are films that truly are epic, unlike most of the epic fails that have been churned out in the last few years.
It starts out showcasing a bit of the grandeur of the Roman Empire at its zenith, right at the birth of Christ. We then jump to the beginning of the command of Messala in Jerusalem. He and his old friend Judah Ben-Hur are overjoyed to be reunited, until they realize that as adults, Messala being a patriotic Roman and Judah being a loyal Jew means they can't be friends.
After Messala falsely accuses Judah of a crime and imprisons not only him, but his mother and sister, Ben-Hur vows vengeance.
By several miracles, he winds up not only surviving his slavery, but coming back to Jerusalem as a free man - with one thought in mind: find his family, and kill Messala.
I wish I could watch this the way it was meant to be seen, on a huge screen with the right film, etc. Still, on my old TV, it's impressive. The sets, the scenery, the costumes, the characters. It starts out a little slow, a little hard to relate to because it's so stylized and so different from how we relate to characters in modern films. But, it doesn't take long before it draws you in. I wanted to know what was going to happen. I felt invested. Was it hard to see what was coming next? No, not especially. It's still fun to watch it happen, though.
Most notable is, of course, the famed chariot race. Many smarter than I have expounded upon it, so let me just say, it is intense. There's no music. There's no dialogue. There's no extreme close-ups of the hero's or the villain's nose hairs or furrowed brows or sweaty palms to try to generate a response. You just watch this race take place and hope that someone makes it out alive. It doesn't matter that the stunts aren't as "sophisticated" as today's - when a driver got dumped out of his chariot and trampled, I cringed. Each time a driver went down, I leaned forward to make sure the ambulance crew got in and out with the injured person in time. It's a true action sequence. It's fantastic.
I also love the character of Esther. Unlike many female characters in films like these, she's neither a flailing damsel in distress nor a femme fatale. Esther is beautiful, chaste, composed, and incredibly strong, brave and faithful. Despite her constant goodness, she too recognizes her need to be redeemed - and embraces it.
But ultimately, this is a story about Jesus, not Judah Ben-Hur. Oh, sure, Jesus is only in a few scenes and we never actually see his face - but he determines the entire direction of the film. It is Jesus who brings Judah back to Jerusalem. Judah and his entire family are changed by Jesus and his gruesome death and life-giving words. William Wyler could have chose to make the film more directly about Jesus, but instead he gives us a character with which to relate, who is flawed and angry and, at times, a little selfish and stupid.
More than 50 years after its release, "Ben Hur" is still heralded as one of the best and "most inspirational" films of all time. It may be long, but maybe that's one of the things that makes it inspirational. Any film that can hold my attention for 3 1/2 hours deserves all the acclaim it can receive.

Next up: "Toy Story"

Cinematic Adventure

I have decided.

Since I don't seem to get to the theater much these days, and when I do the film has already been out for at least a month everywhere else (thanks, Ogallala), I am switching gears. Rather than write film reviews in a non-timely manner, both in terms of release dates and the time lapses in between blogs, I'm going on a quest. An adventure, if you will. A cinematic adventure.

Ok, it's not really that exciting, but, it is a project. I'm going to go through the American Film Institute's Top 100 films of all time*, and the plan is to write a review on each of the films as I go.

I'm doing this for two main reasons: One, my life is very boring right now and I need things to do besides work and organize my Netflix queue. Two, there are a great many landmark films that I have not seen, and, since I have this blog, I figure I should educate myself. I realize the list is by no means comprehensive, but, it's a starting point.

I'm estimating this will take me about a year to get through...although, the first film on the list is Ben Hur, and it's been sitting on my TV for more than a week as I attempt to figure out where I'm going to find four hours to dedicate to viewing it properly.

So, that's it. Join me if you like, and we can discuss as we go. Happy viewing!
1 CITIZEN KANE 1941
 2 THE GODFATHER 1972
 3 CASABLANCA 1942
 4 RAGING BULL 1980
 5 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN 1952
 6 GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
 7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1962
 8 SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
 9 VERTIGO 1958
 10 THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
 11 CITY LIGHTS 1931
 12 THE SEARCHERS 1956
 13 STAR WARS 1977
 14 PSYCHO 1960
 15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968
 16 SUNSET BLVD. 1950
 17 THE GRADUATE 1967
 18 THE GENERAL 1927
 19 ON THE WATERFRONT 1954
 20 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946
 21 CHINATOWN 1974
 22 SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959
 23 THE GRAPES OF WRATH 1940
 24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982
 25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962
 26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON 1939
 27 HIGH NOON 1952
 28 ALL ABOUT EVE 1950
 29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY 1944
 30 APOCALYPSE NOW 1979
 31 THE MALTESE FALCON 1941
 32 THE GODFATHER PART II 1974
 33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975
 34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937
 35 ANNIE HALL 1977
 36 THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 1957
 37 THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 1946
 38 THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 1948
 39 DR. STRANGELOVE 1964
 40 THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965
 41 KING KONG 1933
 42 BONNIE AND CLYDE 1967
 43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969
 44 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940
 45 SHANE 1953
 46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT 1934
 47 A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951
 48 REAR WINDOW 1954
 49 INTOLERANCE 1916
 50 THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001
 51 WEST SIDE STORY 1961
 52 TAXI DRIVER 1976
 53 THE DEER HUNTER 1978
 54 M*A*S*H 1970
 55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST 1959
 56 JAWS 1975
 57 ROCKY 1976
 58 THE GOLD RUSH 1925
 59 NASHVILLE 1975
 60 DUCK SOUP 1933
 61 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS 1941
 62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI 1973
 63 CABARET 1972
 64 NETWORK 1976
 65 THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951
 66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 1981
 67 WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? 1966
 68 UNFORGIVEN 1992
 69 TOOTSIE 1982
 70 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971
 71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998
 72 THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994
 73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969
 74 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991
 75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT 1967
 76 FORREST GUMP 1994
 77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN 1976
 78 MODERN TIMES 1936
 79 THE WILD BUNCH 1969
 80 THE APARTMENT 1960
 81 SPARTACUS 1960
 82 SUNRISE 1927
 83 TITANIC 1997
 84 EASY RIDER 1969
 85 A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 1935
 86 PLATOON 1986
 87 12 ANGRY MEN 1957
 88 BRINGING UP BABY 1938
 89 THE SIXTH SENSE 1999
 90 SWING TIME 1936
 91 SOPHIE'S CHOICE 1982
 92 GOODFELLAS 1990
 93 THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1971
 94 PULP FICTION 1994
 95 THE LAST PICTURE SHOW 1971
 96 DO THE RIGHT THING 1989
 97 BLADE RUNNER 1982
 98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 1942
 99 TOY STORY 1995
100 BEN-HUR 1959