Now this one is essentially a silent version of the 1959 remake. The structure, plot beats, and even many of the visuals are virtual identical with a few small differences, and that's rather exciting really! The story is a bit more streamlined and limits the depth and complexities of the core relationships than what is presented in Wyler's film, but for a silent film that's to be expected and frankly a relief considering how long the remake is by comparison. Novarro comes across as much gentler than Heston's Ben-Hur despite doing the same heroic acts, and that is an interesting angle to see for this character, but I won't lie when I say that Heston's journey is much more compelling because he acts far less passive. The early technicolor sequences are quite neat, though I look forward to the eventual restoration that the Film Foundation is working on. This film is still stuck in dvd quality and the restoration itself is from 1988, and it is very watchable compared to others stuck on dvd, but this still deserves the full treatment. The chariot race is incredibly impressive for the era in the same way it is for the 1959 version, albeit with an absurd amount of horse deaths in the process of making it. Either way, both versions of this story is very good and I wouldn't mind to rewatch either over one another.
Now this one is essentially a silent version of the 1959 remake. The structure, plot beats, and even many of the visuals are virtual identical with a few small differences, and that's rather exciting really! The story is a bit more streamlined and limits the depth and complexities of the core relationships than what is presented in Wyler's film, but for a silent film that's to be expected and frankly a relief considering how long the remake is by comparison. Novarro comes across as much gentler than Heston's Ben-Hur despite doing the same heroic acts, and that is an interesting angle to see for this character, but I won't lie when I say that Heston's journey is much more compelling because he acts far less passive. The early technicolor sequences are quite neat, though I look forward to the eventual restoration that the Film Foundation is working on. This film is still stuck in dvd quality and the restoration itself is from 1988, and it is very watchable compared to others stuck on dvd, but this still deserves the full treatment. The chariot race is incredibly impressive for the era in the same way it is for the 1959 version, albeit with an absurd amount of horse deaths in the process of making it. Either way, both versions of this story is very good and I wouldn't mind to rewatch either over one another.
