Of Memories and Men
Ben-Hur
dir. William Wyler
1959 - United States
In the ancient days of the Roman Empire, AD 26 in the film to be exact, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a Jewish prince who becomes a prisoner and is sent to the Roman galley ships. He serves as a rower for three years after being falsely convicted for a crime by his once childhood best friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd). Far from home and far from the ones he loves, Judah survives on his wits and his hope in God to see his family and country again. When he at last returns to his homeland of Judea, it struck me at how much each element of the geography held great significance. The white-hot sand, the shade of the palm branches, the smell of salt in the Mediterranean - all composing a rich canvas of familiarity in Judah’s return.
After close to five years of living in Los Angeles, I understand why many here have difficulty feeling at home in a city that is often far from feeling familiar. Many of us descend from places of diverse geography and varied cultural traditions. When that part of us is far away for (often) the sake of professional pursuits, we can lose a piece of us that is often take for granted - our sense of what we consider home.
In my family’s home as a child, every Easter we would watch Ben-Hur. Under the age of 10, getting antsy while sitting on the family couch, I nonetheless was enraptured by this 212-minute long story. The Roman soldiers, the music, the hard-hitting stories of revenge and redemption - it was a vivid glimpse into the biblical past.
This past Easter Sunday, the tradition of seeing Ben-Hur continued. Instead of a home viewing, I watched it at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica theater with my wife and friend. Hosted by American Cinematheque, this gloriously clear digital big-screen projection changed the entire experience of the film.
Case in point is when Judah is sent to the Roman galleys. There is a sequence that features the enslaved rowers being tested in endurance by the new Roman galley commander. In what felt like an extreme form of Roman-conscripted crew racing, seeing the men all rowing in sync in such a large format opened my eyes further to the choreography details and effort required by every single one of those men as actors. Charlton Heston may have been the rower featured on camera, but every single actor behind and in front of him are rowing with just as much effort. It took the theater’s screen to see that.
From the scope of the ever nail-biting chariot race, to the beautiful matte paintings of the Judean landscapes, to even how director William Wyler portrays Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount while Judah Ben-Hur watches at a distance - these are but a few scenes that greatly benefit from the immense size of the screen. The meaning of the tale may still ring true on your phone or computer, but it takes a theater to fully immerse you within a story of this caliber.
I think that’s part of the reason why seeing classic films in a theater matter for so many here in Los Angeles. Though in Los Angeles we all come from different cultures, climates and states - going to the movies can bring us together as friends and family, if only for a moment. It is our city’s common culture, our unified sense of home. This Easter, American Cinematheque gave us that chance. Seeing Ben-Hur brought memories from my days in Virginia on Easter day - witnessing a moving cinematic story of a man whose change from vengeance to forgiveness came through a profoundly life-altering encounter.
Ben-Hur continues to stand the test of time. The majority of today's big budget epics still cannot hold a Roman candle to Ben-Hur's massive scale of storytelling. It certainly carried quite a bit of nostalgia for me while viewing it, but from a filmmaking standpoint it is still one of the best epics ever put to screen.
Interested in catching a screening of another classic film? Check American Cinematheque’s screening calendar for future film showings at the Aero Theater in Santa Monica and the Egyptian Theater in downtown Hollywood. Tickets can be bought at their box offices or through Fandango.