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"Ben-Hur" (1959) Four-Disc Collectors Edition DVD

By Ivana Redwine, About.com

DVD Release Date: September 13, 2005

Length: 222 Minutes (Film Only)
MPAA Rating: NR

Movie Summary:
Winner of 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, this three-and-one-half-hour epic centers around a Jewish nobleman named Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston). Ben-Hur is enslaved by a Roman tribunal, but he eventually gets revenge during a spectacular chariot race in the Roman Circus. Later, Ben-Hur witnesses Jesus’ crucifixion and comes to understand the importance of forgiveness. But for me the film’s last scene is its most haunting: a shepherd driving his flock in front of a hill, atop which are three empty crosses.

Selected Special DVD Features:

Disc One & Two: The Movie
• Newly Remastered and Restored from Original 65mm Film Elements
• Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio
• Commentary by Film Historian T. Gene Hatcher with Scene Specific Comments from Charlton Heston
• Music-Only Track Showcasing Miklos Rozsa's Score
• Screen Tests
• Vintage Newsreels Gallery
• Highlights from the 1960 Academy Awards Ceremony
• Theatrical Trailer Gallery


Disc Three: The 1925 Silent Version
• The Thames Television Restoration with Stereophonic Orchestral Score by Composer Carl Davis

Disc Four: About the Movies
• New Documentary: Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema - Current filmmakers such as Ridley Scott and George Lucas reflect on the importance and influence of the film
• 1994 Documentary: Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic Hosted by Christopher Plummer
• Directed by William Wyler – 1986 Emmy Award® -nominated documentary featuring the last interview with Wyler before his death
• Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures - New audiovisual recreation of the film via stills, storyboards, sketches, music and dialogue

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