Ben-Hur - Charlton Heston

U.S. 1959

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

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DVD 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

Big thanks to Lance Lawton and Ole of DVDBasen and Henrik Sylow for the PAL Screen Caps!

(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 2ND vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC 3RD vs. Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - RIGHT)

DVD Box Covers
Distribution	Warner Europe Region 2,4,5 - PAL	Warner Studios Region 1 - NTSC	Warner Studios Region 1 - NTSC	Warner Studios Region 2/4 - PAL
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)
Video	2.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.50 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s	2.74:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 Average Bitrate: 6.58 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	2.76:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 Average Bitrate: 6.10 mb/s NTSC 704x480 29.97 f/s	2.76:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 Average Bitrate: 6.23 PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate: Warner Europe
Bitrate: Warner NTSC (4-disc)
Bitrate: Warner R1
Bitrate: Warner R2, R4
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) Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) English Audio Commentary Dolby Digital 2.0
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
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Denmark Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.78:1 Edition Details: • Disc 1&2: Commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher with scene-specific comments from Charlton Heston • Disc 3: The 1925 feature-length silent version of Ben-Hur with a stereophonic orchestral score by co • (2:22:51 / 4% Pal / 1.31:1 / Bitrate 4.57 / 39 Chpt) • Disc 4: • 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 • 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 • Screen Tests: Leslie Nielsen and Cesare Danova, Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler, George Baker and William Russel Highlights from the 4/4/1960 Academy Awards ceremony • Vintage newsreels gallery • Theatrical trailer gallery DVD Release Date: November 7, 2005 Digipack Box Chapters 61	Release Information: Studio: Warner Studios . Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.74:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by film historian T. Gene Hatcher with scene-specific comments from Charlton Heston • Music-only track . Disc 3: • The 1925 feature-length silent version of Ben-Hur with a stereophonic orchestral score by composer Carl Davis Disc 4: • 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 • 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 • Screen Tests: Leslie Nielsen and Cesare Danova, Leslie Nielsen and Yale Wexler, George Baker and William Russel Highlights from the 4/4/1960 Academy Awards ceremony • Vintage newsreels gallery • Theatrical trailer gallery . DVD Release Date: September 13th, 2001 Thick VHS sized case holding 5-tiered digipak Chapters 61	Release Information: Studio: Warner Studios Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.76:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Charlton Heston • Documentary Ben Hur: The Making of an Epic (58 minutes) • Newly discovered screen tests of the final and near-final cast including Leslie Nielson, Cesare Danova, and Haya Harareet • Addition of the seldom-heard Overture and Entr'acte music • On-the-set photo gallery featuring Wyler, producer Sam Zimbalist, cameraman Robert Surtees, and others • Widescreen anamorphic format DVD Release Date: March 13th, 2001 Snap Case Chapters 61	Release Information: Studio: Warner Studious Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.76:1 Discographic Information: • Region 2/4 encoding Edition Details: Main Menu Audio • Listing-Cast & Crew • Audio Commentary-Charlton Heston Featurette-Making Of-Ben-Hur - The Making Of An Epic Featurette-Screen Tests Gallery-Photo Theatrical Trailer Notes-Awards DVD Release Date: August 2001 Transparent Amaray Chapters 61

Comments:

COMMENTS FOR EUROPEAN EDITION
All things aside, the two editions are the exact same transfer. There are microscopic differences, but these aside, everything is the same in color, contrast, details and so forth.

But the frame is not. The US edition has 2.74:1 versus the European 2.78:1. Looking closer the US edition is cropped 1.25% left/right, approx 5px each side (10px@800px), most likely during transfer. A curious difference never the less.

The biggest difference is however the missing Music Only track on the European edition. It is sadly missed. The PAL edition, as usual, has more subtitle and DUB options.

It is still not a perfect transfer, and wont be until HD-DVD. Colors bleed and blend. Just look at how the red of the Roman soldiers robe bleeds into his white shirt in Image#1.

On Disc 3, the restored silent version, the European PAL version displays the same problems with combing, but not to the same "jerky" degree as on the Region 1-4 US version (see comparison).

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.
I can't tell you why. I have contacted Warners and have had no reply to date. Also it is worth mentioning that this extra is still quoted on Warners' Ben Hur web page.

*****

Both very strong transfers and there is little difference between the 2 DVDs. The Region 2,4 disc does not have:

Theatrical Teaser Trailer (2:27 minutes)
Filmographies for selected cast and crew

The Region 1 disc does not have:

Transparent Amaray case (snapper case)

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)

Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC + Region 2,4,5 - PAL BELOW

(Disc 4)

DVD Menus (initial releases)

(Warner Studios - NTSC LEFT vs. Warner Studios - PAL - RIGHT)

Screen Captures

(Warner Europe (4-Disc Special Edition) - Region 2,4,5 - PAL TOP vs. Warner (Four-Disc Collector's Edition) - Region 1,2,3,4 - NTSC 2ND vs. Warner - Region 1 - NTSC 3RD vs. Warner - Region 2/4 - PAL - BOTTOM)

DVD Box Covers

Distribution

Warner Europe

Region 2,4,5 - PAL

Warner Studios

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner Studios

Region 1 - NTSC

Warner Studios
Region 2/4 - PAL

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