STATE LIBRARY NSW - 16 February 2025 - Ben-Hur (1925)

With soundtrack, 143 minutes.
Tickets: $25/$20  
General seating - not reserved or numbered
(T 0419 267 318)

The final production cost of Ben-Hur was $3.9 million, a fortune in 1925. The film was a sensation with audiences and grossed $9,386,000. The prestige the film brought to the new studio, however, left its executives feeling that Ben-Hur was well worth it. More than any other single production, this film laid the foundation for the studio's reputation as the producer of elite entertainment. The Oscar-winning remake of Ben-Hur (1959) would herald the end of MGM's Golden Era, just as this silent version had begun it.

AFI describes it as the biggest and most dazzling thing anyone had ever seen, with its jaw-dropping special effects, enormous action sequences, death-defying stunts, glorious two-strip Technicolor and a six digit cast of extras. It was the most expensive movie ever made, coming in at just under $4 million, and the death toll of its famed chariot race prompted a rewrite of film safety standards. All too often, big special effects blockbusters lose their shine after a few years, as improved effects technology makes them seem dated, even comical. Not so with Ben-Hur: although it is clearly dated, I nonetheless find myself watching it with an overwhelming sense of wonder.

The real magic in this film, however, is the part that audiences didn't see for several generations. Portions of the film were originally shot in early two-strip Technicolor, but later distribution used an edited down black and white version. That's quite a loss. Among other functions, the colour segments highlight the portions of the story that intersect with the Gospel narrative and help to bolt down the film's thematic focus. This is far more than a mere nod to piousness as an excuse for a big budget action film. All the spectacle of the film is really secondary to these smaller, more intimate scenes.

The colour sequences are nothing short of spectacular. Early attempts at colour are not generally impressive in hindsight. The colour portions of The Phantom of the Opera and even The Black Pirate, which was filmed entirely in colour, differ little in effect from the full-frame colour tinting that was standard practice at the time. This tinting could be quite sophisticated, ranging from simple effects like differentiating daylight and artificial light, or they could be used for more complex artistic means, as in the expressive dream visions of The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The colour segments of Ben-Hur, however, are just plain beautiful, and the limited range of colour available appears as much an artistic decision as a technical constraint. I've never seen two-strip Technicolor produce shades of blue (albeit blue green) or realistic flesh tones like that before. It has that same pop that you see in later three-strip Technicolor, where Dorothy's blue dress and ruby slippers seem to jump out of the screen. However, the limited colour pallet in use here gives the sequences a painterly look that later Technicolor does not possess. It reminds me of medieval illuminated manuscripts, stylized but ornate illustrations of religious texts. The wise men's cloaks sparkle, and Mary's face shines with beatific radiance.

Barbara Underwood