Ben Hur A Classical World Film That Represents The...

Introduction to Essay The movie, Ben-Hur is a classical world film that represents the ancient Roman civilization. The film was directed by William Wyler as an epic historical drama movie in 1959. The main cast features Charlton Heston who plays the role of Judah Ben-Hur, Stephen Boyd as Messala, Jack Hawkins as Quintus Arrius, Haya Harareet as Esther and Hugh Griffith as Sheik Ilderim (Wallace 5). The plot idea pegs back to the beginning of the 1st century where a merchant and a rich Jewish prince, Judah Ben-Hur lives in Jerusalem. His old childhood friend, Messala arrives with the Governor as the Roman Legions serving commander Officer. The old friends are happy and enthusiastic to meet after a long time. However, their political views and ideals are different and hence separate them. At the governor’s welcome parade, a tile from Ben-Hur’s house accidentally falls down and injures the governor. Messala knows the innocence of Ben-Hur to the awful accident but decides to punish him and his family. Messala throws Ben-Hur’s sister and mother to prison whilst he is sent to the galleys. Ben-Hur swears that he was going to revenge and claim freedom for the people from the Roman rule (Wyke 19). This paper will draw analysis of the film in the view of its genre, plot, themes and contexts from the movie itself and various scholarly articles. The film will be analysed drawing lessons and historical contexts of the Roman Empire and the 1st Century. Lastly, this paper will offer an