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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
The accolades could fill this page - Ben-Hur won a record 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director (Wyler), Actor (Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur), Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim), Cinematography, Music Score, Costume Design, Film Editing, and Special Effects (which are still still surprisingly effective) - recently been ranked as one of the one hundred greatest films of all time - the final climactic scene has become a part of film lore - It featured more crew and extras than any other film before it. It took At $15 million and shot on a grand scale, it was a tremendous make-or-break risk for MGM Studios. It took six years to prepare before the film was to be shot, and over a half year of on-location work in Italy, with thousands of extras. Legendary William Wyler’s three and a half hour, wide-screen epic adaptation of General Lew Wallace’s Biblical era classic was a last desperate attempt to save MGM/UA from going under in 1959. The result: an immensely impressive and emotionally exhausting masterpiece that eclipsed all other epics, before of since. To see this golden-age cinematic craftsmanship in a theater becomes an unforgettable experience - one that would sparked a love affair with film that continues to endure. out of Gary W Tooze |
Posters
Original 1925 silent Feature (included in the 4-disc CE) - Posters
Theatrical Release: November 18th, 1959
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Comparison:
Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL vs. Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL vs. Warner (50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition) - Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Big thanks to
Lance Lawton and Ole of DVDBasen and Henrik Sylow for the PAL Screen Caps!
1) Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL LEFT 2) Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC SECOND3) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC THIRD 4) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray - RIGHT |
DVD Box Covers |
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U.S., U.K. French and Japanese Blu-ray edition packages |
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Distribution |
Warner Europe Region 2,4,5 - PAL |
Warner Studios Region 1 - NTSC |
Warner Studios Region 1 - NTSC |
Warner Studios
Region 2/4 - PAL |
Warner Studios
Region FREE - Blu-ray |
Runtime | 2:16:03 (disc1) + 1:17:14 (disc2) = 3:33:17 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:21:40 (disc1) + 1:20:45 (disc 2) = 3:42:25 | 2:21:45 (disc1) + 1:20:48 (disc 2) = 3:42:33 | 2:16:04 (disc1) + 1:17:33 (disc2) = 3:33:37 (4% PAL speedup) |
Disc One: 2:21:52.754 Disc Two: 1:20:34.204 |
Video |
2.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio
16X9 enhanced |
2.74:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 |
2.76:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9
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2.76:1
Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 |
Disc One 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Size: 41,855,335,408 bytesFeature: 40,068,753,408 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 27.90 Mbps Disc Two 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Size: 23,556,749,979 bytes Feature: 22,661,959,680 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 27.79 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate:
Warner Europe
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Bitrate:
Warner NTSC (4-disc) |
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Bitrate:
Warner R1
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Bitrate:
Warner R2, R4 |
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Bitrate:
Warner Disc 1 Blu-ray |
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Bitrate:
Warner Disc 2 Blu-ray |
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Audio | 5.1 Dolby Digital English (384 Kbps), 5.1 Dolby Digital German (dub), 5.1 Dolby Digital Polish (VO), 5.1 Dolby Digital Spanish (dub) |
English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French
(Dolby Digital 5.1)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 |
English
(Dolby Digital 5.1)
English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0 |
English
Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 3510 kbps 5.1 / 48
kHz / 3510 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) Dolby Digital Audio Czech 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio French 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio German 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Italian 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Polish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 448 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB / Dolby Surround Dolby Digital Audio Hungarian 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB * Dolby Digital Audio Japanese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 192 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / DN -4dB |
Subtitles | English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Greek, Turkish, Hebrew, Czeck, Polish and None | English, Spanish, French, None | English, Spanish, French, None | English, Italian, French, Spanish, German, Italian for the Hearing Impaired | English, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, none |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Warner Denmark Aspect Ratio:
Edition
Details:
• 2005 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 Chapters 61
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Release Information: Aspect Ratio:
Disc 3: . DVD Release Date: September 13th, 2001Thick VHS sized case holding 5-tiered digipak Chapters 61 |
Release Information: Aspect Ratio:
DVD
Release Date: March 13th, 2001 Chapters 61 |
Release
Information: Discographic Information: Edition Details: Main Menu Audio
DVD
Release Date: August 2001 Chapters 61 |
Release Information: Aspect Ratio: 2.759:1 Disc One 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Size: 41,855,335,408 bytesFeature: 40,068,753,408 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 27.90 Mbps Disc Two 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Size: 23,556,749,979 bytes Feature: 22,661,959,680 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 27.79 Mbps Edition Details: • Commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher with scene-specific comments from Charlton Heston • Music-only track .
Disc 3:
DISC 3: SPECIAL FEATURES . Blu-ray
Release Date:
September 27th, 2011 Chapters 39 + 22 |
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Warner - Region FREE - Blu-ray - September 11': I'll be brief as I'd like to live with this 3-disc, 50th Anniversary Blu-ray set over the weekend before writing extensively on it. I've watched the film, in the pitch blackness of my Home Theater, and it is... VERY impressive. I was blown away - and I'll included strong mention to the lossless audio. This was, obviously, from a 65mm film source - reportedly restored frame-by-frame - and is a new transfer from the previous DVD - that may have come from 1080i - but this is 1080P in all its glory and around a 2.75:1 aspect ratio. Even things like the 'Overture' title are visually inspiring. Many scenes can appear truly overwhelming. The Blu-ray transfer brings Ben-Hur to another level of home theater appreciation. WOW!I've received a lot of questions in the past couple of weeks so I'll make some brief points for the ultra-curious. The film is, indeed, spread over two Blu-ray discs (a dual layered and a single layered) and the third BD disc (also single-layered) has the bulk of thee extras (beyond the commentary and isolated score etc. which reside on the feature disc) For those who inquired, I'm sorry the 1925 Silent version is still in 480i with a 5.0 Mbps bitrate - and did not get the 1080 transfer many had desired. In the feature - colors are significantly tighter and reds and golds look incredibly impressive contrasting the deep black levels. This gives the wide scope a powerful presence. The enclosed book is beautiful - quite a keepsake and filled with information and vintage photos.
I will post more next week -
as I sift through the supplements., however - Initial
reporting is a huge thumbs skyward!
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COMMENTS FOR EUROPEAN DVD EDITION (2005) Henrik Sylow *** ADDITION: Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC - September 05 - stated as New digital transfer from restored 65MM elements and correspondingly one of the most anticipated releases of the year (a year filled with great releases!). Firstly, this review will be a work in progress as there is a lot of information to go through. We will update as we divulge more and report it here. The initial releases comparison was one of our first but we maintained the same standards for capture quality but we did not implement 'first frame' so that it is possible that our captures may not be exact matches. We have tried our best and I think it will not detract from making determinations about the new release. Two issues - Color and cropping - it appears as though the older releases (both NTSC and PAL) were significantly cropped on the sides and less-so on top and bottom too OR the new has been 'opened up' - I prefer to think the former. The ratio is still maintain at around 2.75:1. Colors are decidedly different and we will reserve the right to judge these as we investigate further. The extras speak for themselves and the inclusion of the 2:22:25 long 1925 version (see below) is inspired! Although the downside is that it is non-progressive and has interlace issue (see capture with 'combing' below). It still looks very good, relatively clean and sharp! The commentary by Gene Hatcher is a new one but the scene specific ones from Heston are a repeat of the older editions. Initial impressions - the new release is brighter and has some of the anamorphic molding that can soften an image, but it still looks very good. Ben-Hur was originally shown with 6-track-magnetic audio (left, left-center, center, center-right, right and mono-surround), so a 5.1-mix can be made from that. But as far as I know, the 5.1-track from the old DVD was an upmix from a stereo source and not from the 6-track sources. We believe the new issue has improved upon that. To my ear it sounds more defined. NOTE( thanks Brian) "Directed by William Wyler - 1986 Emmy Award?
-nominated documentary featuring the last interview with Wyler before his death"
does not appear on the current Collector's edition. *** Both very strong transfers and there is little difference between the 2 DVDs. The Region 2,4 disc does not have:
The Region 1 disc does not have:
Image and sound quality are the same and the only difference between the two is the case really. Both are DVD18s (Dual layer, Two sided). Both have excellent transfers. The 4% speed-up of PAL can make a slight difference: The R4 version runs 3:33:37 minutes, while the R1 runs 3:42:33 minutes. - Gary W. Tooze |
DISC 3 - SILENT VERSION
(Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL LEFT vs. Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC RIGHT)
DVD Menus
Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC + Region 2,4,5 - PAL BELOW
Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC + Region 2,4,5 - PAL BELOW
(Disc 3)
NOTE: Combing is prevalent (non-progressive) | |
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Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC + Region 2,4,5 - PAL BELOW
(Disc 4)
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DVD Menus
(initial releases)
(Warner
Studios - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner Studios - PAL - RIGHT)
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Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Screen Captures - Subtitle Sample - Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray
1) Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL TOP 2) Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC SECOND3) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC THIRD 4) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL TOP 2) Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC SECOND3) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC THIRD 4) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL TOP 2) Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC SECOND3) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC THIRD 4) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL TOP 2) Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC SECOND3) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC THIRD 4) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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1) Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL TOP 2) Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC SECOND3) Warner - Region 1 - NTSC THIRD 4) Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - FOURTH 5) Warner - 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition - Region FREE - Blu-ray - BOTTOM |
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More Blu-ray Captures
DVD Box Covers |
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U.S., U.K. French and Japanese Blu-ray editions |
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Gary Tooze
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Many Thanks...