Ben-Hur story
Ben-Hur is a 1959 American religious epic film directed by William Wyler, produced by Sam Zimbalist, and starring Charlton Heston as the title character. A remake of the 1925 silent film with a similar title, it was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. The screenplay is credited to Karl Tunberg, but includes contributions from Maxwell Anderson, S. N. Behrman, Gore Vidal, and Christopher Fry. The cast also features Stephen Boyd, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell in her final film, and Sam Jaffe.
24 total · 1 choice · 17 major · 6 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| the desire for vengeance | choice | The story revolves around the eponymous Judah Ben-Hur and his vow to avenge himself on the childhood friend, Messala. Messala cruelly betrayed Ben-Hur by sending him to work as a galley slave for three years, and throwing Ben-Hur's mother and sister into a dungeon, where they contracted leprosy. |
| abuse of authority | major | Filled with resentment, Messala jumped on the opportunity to persecute the innocent Ben-Hur and his family gruesomely. He did so both out of anger and out of political convenience because people would see how he treated an old friend, and fear him. |
| betrayal | major | The story pivots on Messala betraying his childhood friend, Judah Ben-Hur. Messala falsely imprisoned Ben-Hur and members of his family for an assassination attempt on the new governor that never happened. Ben-Hur was sent away to the galleys but swore to take revenge on Messala. |
| brother and sister | major | Ben-Hur sought to save his beloved sister from her cruel fate. |
| character metamorphosis | major | A striking feature of the story is that Ben-Hur went from being a peaceful Jewish prince and merchant into a hardened vengeance-driven warrior, and finally, through the influence of Jesus, back into a man of peace. |
| Christianity | major | The Biblical Jesus story, which is the foundation for Christianity, was a central component of Ben-Hur's story. Ben-Hur, at the end, showed kindness to Jesus as the Christian Messiah was struggling with his cross on the road to Golgotha. |
| colonialism | major | Roman occupation of Judea, and the imposition of Roman law, was a central theme. |
| compassion | major | Jesus unexpectedly appeared and gave Ben-Hur a drink of water when no one else would. Later Ben-Hur did the same for Jesus on the road to Golgotha. The Biblical Jesus was famous for preaching compassion, and this was alluded to many times. |
| falling out of friendship | major | The story pivots on Messala betraying his childhood friend, Judah Ben-Hur. Messala falsely imprisoned Ben-Hur and members of his family for an assassination attempt on the new governor that never happened. Ben-Hur was sent away to the galleys but swore to take revenge on Messala. |
| horse racing | major | An important component of the story is Ben-Hur's prowess with horses and his skill at chariot racing. His final victory over Messala came at the hippodrome. |