Customer Ratings & Reviews

Not including the silent version from the 1920's, Ben-Hur has been filmed three times. The first was MGM's lavish 1959 production starring Charlton Heston along with a first rate supporting cast and directed by William Wyler. This was epic film making at its best with the climatic chariot race scenes justly famous. The 1959 version ran 212 minutes or about three and a half hours and followed the book by General Lew Wallace reasonably well. Over 50 years passed before another attempt was made to film this "tale of the Christ." In 2010 a UK/Canadian version was released which was intended to be a two-part television mini-series which was shown on the BBC in Great Britain and the CBC network in Canada. (It was later picked up by ABC and shown in the U.S.) The version intended for TV had decent product values, a good cast, on location filming, and the wise sense not to try to top the 1959 film but rather to update it here and there and make it more accessible to a current, more modern era audience. It ran about three hours and there was some mild plot/character cuts here and there but all in all a respectable version that generally achieved its purpose. In 2016 a new version came out which is what this review is directed towards. I must confess that the 2016 film is my least favorite version. For one thing, the film barely went over two hours so you know there was a great deal of plot and character deletions and I think this hurt because it changed the thrust of the original story. In the 2016 version Christ plays a somewhat greater role and the idea of forgiveness is definitely present and given a bit more of a push than we saw in 1959 and 2010 although the earlier versions did not ignore this central theme by any means. Morgan Freeman has a starring role so you know this is a mark in the film's favor and this 2016 version took a stab at outdoing the chariot race scene from the 1959 classic but came up a tad short in my view -- but it was impressive. The producers of the 2106 version seemed more interested in producing a new version of Ben-Hur that spoke to Christianity more than to General Wallace's original book. I cannot say that the 2016 version was a mistake -- and if an individual has never seen the earlier versions of Ben-Hur, I think this more truncated film is definitely worth a look. It was sincerely produced and acted. For those like myself who have viewed the 1959 and the 2010 movies, I think the 2016 take may prove a disappointment despite sound production values. Too much of the story was changed in the 2016 film for my tastes but I think it deserves a viewing by everyone who can then make up their own minds. So I give it a cautious 4 stars because younger viewers who are viewing Ben-Hur for the first time may well come away with some positive life messages and philosophy.

We all (people my age bracket) seen the original Ben-Hur with (C. Heston. This is a same day but, different prestation movie. Very exciting, poor horses that looked like they were getting the life beaten out them from the charoite scenes. That is how well the visual effects were and the thunderous sound from the horses! The acting between the characters were very good. Believable and convincing...

Remakes rarely live up to their originals - this remake is no exception. But it still was a decent remake that was enjoyable. If you haven't watched the original I suggest you watch it before you watch this remake.

It's not the Charleton Heston film, which is considered a classic. A lot of people automatically hate remakes of films which are considered "classics." I'm willing to give them a chance. Often, the remakes do indeed fall short. In this case, I was satisfied. Before I went to see this film in the theater, I re-watched my BD copy of the Heston film so it'd be fresh in my mind for comparison purposes. The overall story was much the same, though certain details were changed (such as the triggering event regarding the threat to the Roman official which starts Ben-Hur's captivity story). For some of these changes, the new film's choice did seem more "realistic" than the original's. Afterward, I was interested enough to look up the Wiki article on the book which the films were based on. The book was written in the late 1800s. And it turns out that in some ways the original film was more faithful to the book than the newer film. (While the opposite was true for other differences between the two.) I was surprised that some of the less realistic plotting from the Heston film was actually taken almost directly from the book. I suppose books written over a hundred years ago were more intent on the drama than on realism. I was also surprised to find that both films cover only a fraction of the book, which had eight parts! Anyone remotely interested in these films who hasn't read (or read about) the book should learn more from Wiki or elsewhere. For the BluRay itself, the video/audio quality is what you'd expect from a BD. There are four principle bonus features with the disc discussing various aspects of the story and production. These each run between 10 and 15 minutes apiece. There is also a Deleted/Extended scenes feature which runs a bit more than 10 minutes.

This movie was okay but not as good as the original. I think they could have done this better. Still worth the watch.

Good movie, good quality, worth a watch if you haven't seen before.

I enjoyed the performance of cast. Some of the cast never heard of. They did outstanding performance. Morgan Freeman wonderful performance.

This movie is so moving. They don't make them like this anymore. So, all of you doubting, do yourself a favor, watch it.

Anyone looking for this "Ben-Hur" to overtake the classic version will deservedly be disappointed. This "Ben-Hur" stands on its own as some lively and moving entertainment. Yes, as in the original the chariot scenes and ships and oars and ramming speeds are the movie's best moments. But the rest of the movie seldom drags. The leading male actors don't have the gravitas of Charlton Heston or even Russell Crowe in "Gladiator", but their friendship and eventual falling out is believable. The ending may not be perfect but it is emotionally moving. A theater patron can approach this version and criticize it for falling short of the original or they can appreciate this movie on its own merits, and possibly be entertained. I choose the former

Good family movie Great sound and great picture Very funny I love it I would highly recommend

Movie was good. Bought it for my daughter. She loved it.

The movie is good, did not disappoint. Thank you BB

The storyline was very good and is great for the family.

Wonderful film. Actors are superb. Action packed .

I thoroughly enjoyed this remake of the movie. Being a huge fan of the Cecil B. DeMille movie with Charlton Heston , that's saying a lot :) The casting was good, the visual effects were outstanding. The only slight beef I had is that the story line is not identical to the earlier version.. Not having read the book, I don't know which version is more accurate.

Must see great graphics it's a little different than the original the storyline carries itself very well is very good at acting the cinematography is excellent the sound is amazing I would highly recommend this movie and also recommend that one would see the original as well for a good comparison but all in all it is a must-see movie it was very well done

Just to start, its really tough to do a sequel to a classic like Ben-Hur. When we watched it I tried to keep in mind to see it as a different movie and not compare it to the other versions out there and when I did, I felt it stands on it own as a good story. The acting was well written and delivered. Liked the ending better, more hopeful!

I was skeptical in purchasing this movie being a fan of the of the 1959 movie starring Charlston Heston, and because of other so called religious movies that where recently released were big disappointments. To my surprise I really enjoyed watching this movie it was a new take of an old classic. But I'll always be a fan of the original.

This is a good redo of the classic Ben-Hur (staring actor Charlton Heston) but it's not as good. If you haven't seen the original this is OK. If you have seen the original you'll notice some major differences in this redo. The chariot race scene is not as good as the original and there are other. But it's still OK.

I have seen earlier versions and applaud the effort to remain true to the concepts of faith established by the author of the book as a movie honoring Jesus while showing difficulties of worldly conflict and the application of his grace to 1st century context. Ending was unexpected.