how much of a classic was the ben hur movie?
To watch 1959’s Ben-Hur is to take a class in “How to Win Academy Awards”. I say this not solely because of the movie’s tremendous success at the 1960 Oscars, though it definitely cleaned up during that ceremony. Nominated for 12 awards, it took home 11, which still ties it with 1997’s Titanic for the most trophies ever garnered by one film. (For the record, 1950’s All About Eve earned the most nominations with 14, but it “only” grabbed six Oscars. If I’m not mistaken, 1977’s The Turning Point and 1985’s The Color Purple co-own the record for futility; they both got 11 nominations but won no prizes.) But Ben-Hur’s Oscar-influence rests not just with its supreme haul. In addition, the movie provides a virtual blueprint for Academy Award gold that works to this day. Epics continue to rule the Oscar roost, and the more elaborate, the better. Make it extremely long and have it take on a serious topic. Execute it with some flair and bingo – you’re almost assured of Oscar recognition. Okay,
The most honored film of all-time, BEN-HUR (1959) won eleven of the twelve Academy Awards for which it was nominated — and deservedly so. More than just an almost-four hour long Roman spectacle of pomp and pageantry, BEN-HUR has become known as an “intimate epic” — that is, a film that doesn’t lose sight of its characters and their personal struggles amidst its large-scale production values and grandeur. It is a spectacle; it is entertainment; and therein lies the film’s initial attraction. But the human drama of the characters, their struggle with each other and with themselves, makes BEN-HUR a picture worth more than the sum total of all its sets, costumes and special effects. It is a story of a man, and therein lies its eternal appeal. http://www.reelclassics.com/Movies/BenHur/benhur.htm Classic Movies : Ben-Hur All the classic movies from a golden age in movie history
