This episode is about Ben Hur, number 100 on AFI’s Top 100 list.
The inaugural episode! This is it! This is where it all begins! Switch on, tune in, and leave us feedback!
Right click here to download the MP3
This episode is about Ben Hur, number 100 on AFI’s Top 100 list.
The inaugural episode! This is it! This is where it all begins! Switch on, tune in, and leave us feedback!
Right click here to download the MP3
Comments
9 responses to “Podcast Episode 1: Ben Hur”
You should have a link to amazon.com to buy the movies you discuss. That would be way cool! And some additional income stream.
Great job guys!
Brian, that is definitely on our to-do list. We wanted to get the site launched, but that is round two of changes. Thanks for the feedback, and glad that you like what we are doing!
Thanks!
Listened to your first podcast last night. Even though it was late, it made me go back and review a few scenes from Ben Hur. It really is a gripping film, and easy to get pulled in even in a single scene. The battle at sea, despite its age and technological limitations, was still pretty watchable, I thought. Best of all was the nuance displayed at times by the character actors (and Heston too) — all the emotions that play across Arrius’s face, for example, when he is testing the crew — so much that can be read into his thoughts, with hardly any “script!” There are still some good character actors, but it used to be a true art. I was also reminded how long a director/editor would let something play out during that era of filmmaking — you certainly don’t see that often now, much more fast cutting. Thanks for the show!
Chris, it certainly is an incredibly watchable film. While of its era, there are also some great lessons in it that todays filmmakers could also take to heart. Truly one of my favorite movies, and quite deserving of being in the top 100. Glad you enjoyed the show!
Several points to consider if you ever redo this. Lew Wallace was an atheist civil war general who studied the Bible in order to debunk Christianity, but became a Christian. The guy Judah saves is the Admiral, a Senator of Rome, who adopts Judah after the battle. In the book, the chariot race is pretty minor. Heston does his own stunts, including the flip out of the the chariot, which was an accident, but really adds to the sequence. The carpenter shop scene is while Judah is being taken to serve on the galley. Loved the film, but I have to tell you, the book is better.
Thanks for the comment! It is true that Heston learned to drive the chariots, that particular stunt was performed by Joe Canutt, son of stunt director Yakima Canutt. The flip was indeed an accident, and he was very lucky to only have a minor chin injury. But that does go to show how amazing this sequence is that, to this day, no one can tell when it is Heston or the stunt team racing.
I will also agree, it is a great book, with significantly more detail. This is a case I believe where, at least for me, BOTH the book and the movie are excellent versions of this story, and I enjoy them both.
@Clarence, did you know that Lew Wallace not only sat in on the trial against those that conspired to kill Lincoln, but he was responsible for the capture of Billy the Kid? Guy had an active life!
[…] Hur You can listen to our podcast about Ben-Hur for all the reasons we loved it, but frankly, if you are looking for a move about Rome from the […]