A scene from the chariot race, before (top) and after the film’s restoration.
Let’s start with the video transfer. The artisans behind this release went back to the film’s original camera negative to do an 8K scan for this loving frame-by-frame restoration. Ben-Hur was shot in a process that MGM dubbed “Camera 65,” which was a 70mm format that devoted 65 to the image and 5 to the accompanying magnetic audio tracks. The AVC-encoded 1080p transfer is presented in its original 2.76:1 aspect ratio. The overall results are magnificent. The movie looks that good.
Image detail is stunning. Check out the wood grain in the slave ship where Judah is imprisoned or the grille work in the Romans’ armor. And colors are as lush and vibrant as I’ve ever seen them. Reds and purples are almost electric, but they don’t look “digital” or oversaturated. The palette was clearly pushed to the limit, but it never falls into blooming or screen-dooring. In fact, I don’t think I saw a single digital artifact — and I looked hard.
In films today, skin tones are usually rendered nearly perfectly. In movies of the late 1950s, that wasn’t always the case. Due to technical limitations, skin tones often had a distracting orange tint. With Ben-Hur on Blu-ray, however, Judah and his contemporaries look properly well tanned but natural.
Shadow detail and grayscale rendition also meet or exceed that of the best restorations I’ve seen. Every top restorer knows that you have to start with the blacks; when you get them deep enough, everything else tends to fall into place. In Ben-Hur, the dungeons, the candle-lit interiors, and the daytime battles all feature deep, rich blacks and correspondingly accurate gray tones.
All of this technological accuracy does have one drawback, though. Even the most passive viewer will probably notice the painted sets and models in several scenes. My advice: Roll with it. You’re seeing high-definition on Blu-ray at its finest.
You’re also hearing DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 at its most thrilling. The Blu-ray sound designers clearly respected the film’s original sonics; they didn’t employ center- and surround-channel effects everywhere. Largely keeping a forward-leaning presentation, the designers inserted subtle background and spatial cues only when appropriate — saving the big surround effects for the scenes where they would add the most. Which is to say, the epic set pieces, the sea battle, and, of course, the chariot race.
As Judah competes in the race, the sound envelops you in a beautifully rendered 360-degree arc, with intense realism and superior (but not overused) panning effects. The din of the spectators, the snorting of the horses, and the attack and decay of the chariots as they move in and out of the frame sound exactly as I imagined they should when I first saw Ben-Hur on a 13-inch black-and-white Zenith TV in the early 1970s.
Special recognition has to be given to the treatment of Miklós Rózsa’s legendary score. From the overture to the closing credits, the music swells dynamically, with intense low-frequency energy. At the same time, you can hear world-class separation, detail, and air between the instruments.
I read with interest your review of Ben Hur but was curious as why you were inclined to include personal comments about Heston, particularly the one about the movie succeeding in spite of him, or that you never cared for him as an actor. Why not just say he didn't deserve the Oscar either. Why then were there no comments about the supporting actors such as Stephen Boyd or Jack Hawkins? I'd be disappointed if your commentary was grounded in your dislike of Heston's politics or colored by your own.
Posting negative comments about Charlton Heston is not suprising for the Sound & Vision staff. Any actor or film that is not on the left politically, is disliked by this staff. I have grown to despise the political views expressed by the staff at Sound & Vision, so much so that I let my subscription expire back in 2005 when a GLOWING review was published about Michael Moore's Farenheit 911. When readers wrote in to complain, all the editor stated was that they only received a "handful" of complaints. Maybe it was just a "handful", but the purpose of this magazine is NOT to promote political views, yet they continue to do it. It is obvious the staff are made up of New York liberals and feel that their position allows them to bash the right whenever they can. There were a number of Bush bashing comments made by S&V writers made while he was in office, I grew sick of it. I was a subscriber to Stereo Review, from 1974 until it changed to Sound & Vision and never recalll any political overtones in the writers from that period. Wake up Sound & Vision and get off the political bandwagon! Come on already Republicans love home theater too! Enough already drop the politics.
@stevo238, @rpjasin, you're certainly welcome to express your opinions (as are the writers), but so far as I can tell the only partisan sentiments expressed here are in your comments. If there's political content in our pieces that you'd like to discuss, please feel free to do so in the comments area for those pieces — but it just isn't here in this piece.
I'm looking back over the article now, and our reviewer writes that his lack of affection for Heston's acting stems from what he perceived as Heston's lack of subtlety and tendency towards scene-chewing, especially during the period he mentions having come into awareness of the actor's work (when he was playing outsized sci-fi lead roles in Apes, Soylent Green, etc). I think reviewers across the political spectrum would likely agree on this; even at the height of his powers Heston was never known for a soft touch, and his stage-informed epic approach was certainly out of fashion by the 70s.
Mberk, I suppose I chose to read between the lines of Mr. Horowitz's comments because there is a certain underlying dislike for Mr. Heston here. That's my perception, because I thought this was supposed to be a review of a blu ray transfer and not the umpteenth review of this movie or Mr. Horowitz's lack of affection for Mr. Heston's acting talents.
Thanks for your comments. But to cast my opinion of Charlton Heston's acting ability in political terms is an unfair and completely false characterization--and one that isn't supported in any way by the text of my review. In the past, I've written glowing testimonials to the talents of many Hollywood stars, including Sean Penn and Robert Duvall, two of the greatest actors working today. As most people know, Penn's views are considered well to the left of the mainstream and Duvall's well to the right. The fact is, they're great artists. Period. For the record, I've also written some uncomplimentary things about Keanu Reeves's acting over the years, and I have no idea where he stands on the political continuum.
In my opinion, Charlton Heston was a mediocre actor at best. I came to that opinion based solely on his work, not on his politics. Mberk sums it up nicely above: "...the only partisan sentiments expressed here are in your comments... " --Marc Horowitz
OK, fair enough, I'll admit my post was a bit strong. As I mentioned I was a Stereo Review/Sound & Vision reader for years until I couldn't take the political comments anymore and dropped my subscription. Having said that, I just upgraded my system with a new Panasonic DMP BDT-310 bluray player and a Denon AVR-1912 receiver. My interests have been rekindled so I decided to log on to the S&V site after a long departure. Naturally I was drawn to the Ben Hur bluray disc review and believed the comments to be anti-Heston because of Heston's strong political views on the right. After reading Marc Horowitz's above comments though, I acknowledge I was being unfair to him. I have no problem with a critic's dislike for an actors ability, just don't do it for political reasons, and as Marc has pointed out that was not his intent.
Ok, fair enough again. I just don't get the "Full disclosure concerning The Charlton Factor." What does that mean? Again, I thought this was a review about a blue ray transfer. I would recommend a more toned down performance by Heston in the movie "Will Penny"...for full disclosure of course.