The expanded titled of the new animated Ben-Hur draws attention to the cartoon's major flaw: in order for the movie to work, it has to be a story not just about Jesus and early Christianity, but also about Judah Ben-Hur, the young Jewish prince who goes from slavery to heroism in large part thanks to his periodic interactions with the young Messiah. While Charlton Heston reprises his greatest performance by voicing Ben-Hur, the film cuts the story from the 212-minute running time of William Wyler's 1959 Oscar-winning epic to a brisk and completely incoherent 80 minutes, in the process draining both the humanity from the central character and the menace from his rival Messala. Of course, it doesn't help that the animation is sub-Saturday morning cartoon level (despite clunky, pixilated attempts at adding computer imagery): the characters all have flat, expressionless faces, and Jesus looks distressingly like Dogma's satirical “Buddy Christ.” And that's not even mentioning the fact that the majority of the Semites here have fair skin and blue eyes, except for the swarthy, hook-nosed Judas. It's a pity Heston had to attach his still-regal voice to this tripe. Not recommended. (D. Fienberg)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ
Good Times, 80 min., not rated, VHS; $14.98, DVD: $19.95 Volume 18, Issue 3
Ben-Hur: A Tale of Christ
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: