Never heard of HUR... — Never Heard of Her

No. 100 - Ben Hur

I watched this movie in two parts, as an argument broke out between my husband and I when I initially started watching it. He wanted to watch the Blazer game, and I wanted to finish Ben Hur. Our conversation went a little something like this:

Brenton: "Ryen, can't you just watch Ben Hur on your lap top? The Blazer game starts in an hour. Sam's coming over and we're planning on watching it."

Ryen: "No babe! The Romans are like, taking over shit! I need to watch this on the big screen!"

No joke, I actually said that. Anyway, in the end we compromised and I ended up watching the Romans "take over shit" on the big screen for half the movie, and eventually finished it on my lap top a few hours later (hashtag, up past my bed time). Before I give my review, here is what Ben Hur is "basically" about as well as some fun facts:

Synopsis

The story of a wealthy, Jewish aristocrat (that's Judah Ben-Hur) from Jerusalem who ends up in jail after one of his childhood friends (a pompous but good looking Roman soldier named Messala) throws him in jail for a crime he didn't commit. In an insane turn of events, he escapes prison, works on a slave ship, winds up being adopted by a Roman general, moves to Rome and becomes a Roman, then says "Eff you Rome, I want revenge" and goes back to Jerusalem to find his mother and sister (who have now been banished to a leprosy colony, FYI) along with a plan to kill Messala, mainly because he's just not a nice person and Judah Ben Hur thinks he deserves it.

Fun Facts, compliments of IMDB -

This is the first of three films to have won 11 Academy Awards, including the Best Picture Oscar. The second was Titanic (1997) and the third was The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Several of the categories won by "Titanic" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" didn't exist in "Ben-Hur"'s day, making its 11 wins that much more impressive.
Paul Newman was offered the role of Judah Ben-Hur but turned it down because he'd already done one Biblical-era film, The Silver Chalice (1954), and hated the experience. He also said it taught him that he didn't have the legs to wear a tunic.
The chariot race required 15,000 extras, on a set constructed on 18 acres of backlot at Cinecitta Studios outside Rome. Tour buses visited the set every hour. Eighteen chariots were built, with half being used for practice. The race took five weeks to film (are you kidding me?!)
Three hundred sets, five years of research and 14 months of labor were required for the sets.
MGM commissioned over 40 scripts for the film over a period of six years.

My favorite fun fact is that Paul Newman felt he "didn't have the legs to wear a tunic." Don't worry, Pauly. You may not have had the legs, but you sure as hell had the looks. You'll always be a mega-babe to me.

Ryen's Review - Liked it

While this film could have been at least an hour shorter, I have to admit that it does deserve to be on the top 100 list. I wasn't sure how I felt during the first 2.5 hours, but the last 45 minutes (arguably the best 45 minutes) really sealed the deal for me. Full of drama, shocking betrayal, revenge, forgiveness and unrequited love, this movie is sure to give you #allthefeels. Whether über religious, hardcore Atheist, or somewhere in between, Ben Hur will speak to your soul in a way that few other films can. If you're planning to watch this film (and I really hope you are), make sure you clear your Saturday afternoon schedule and have a box of tissues at the ready. To quote Larry the cucumber "I laughed...I cried...it moved me, Bob."