| Edition |
Four-Disc Collector's Edition |
| Series |
Top 100 |
| Distributor |
Warner Home Video |
| Chapters |
61 |
| Release Date |
9/13/2005 |
| Packaging |
Custom Case |
| Screen Ratio |
1.33:1 |
| Subtitles |
English; French; Spanish |
| Audio Tracks |
ENGLISH: Dolby Digital 5.1 [CC]
FRENCH: Dolby Digital 5.1
|
| Layers |
Single Side, Dual Layer |
| No. of Disks/Tapes |
4 |
|
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| Disc 01 |
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Special features on discs one and two of this four-disc set include commentary by T. Gene Hatcher with Charlton Heston and a music-only track of the entire film. Disc three contains the 143-minute 1925 silent version of the film. Disc four is full of supplements: the 58-minute documentary "Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema"; the 58-minute "Ben-Hur: The Making Of An Epic"; and "Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures," a five-minute featurette of stills, storyboards, sketches, music, and dialogue. There are four screen tests, six vintage newsreels: "Costliest Film Makes Screen History" (one minute), "The Night Ben-Hur Comes To Broadway" (two minutes), "West Coast Welcomes Ben-Hur" (one minute), "VIP Opening: Capital Welcome For Ben-Hur" (one minute), "Japan's Emperor Goes To The Movies" (one minute), and "Oscar® Likes Ben-Hur" (three minutes); and ten minutes of highlights from the April 4, 1960 Academy Awards® Ceremony. There are also five different trailers of the film; two from 1959, two from 1961 and a 1969 70mm re-issue trailer. |
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Story Synopsis:
Carting off 11 Academy Awards®-including Best Picture-Ben-Hur, is an epic of spectacular proportions...and one well-worth both its critical and commercial acclaim. It tells the story of Judah Ben-Hur (Heston, in his Oscar®-winning role), who lived at the same time as Jesus Christ (met him a few times, too). Ben-Hur is a Jewish nobleman whose life is fraught with trouble after being falsely accused of attempted murder. He is taken away from his family and forced into slavery. But he is determined to exact revenge on those who accused him. (Laurie Sevano)
DVD Picture:
Compared to the previously released DVD, this new anamorphically enhanced 2.73:1 DVD looks gorgeous. For the film’s age, images exhibit excellent clarity and definition, despite the obvious sets appearing rather “flat.” Contrast and shadow delineation are rather impressive. Colors are rich and bold, though, at times, blacks can appear a bit weak. Fleshtones are nicely balanced throughout the film, with infrequent orange overtones. Source element artifacts are noticed throughout, as is film grain, but neither create much of a distraction. Edge enhancement is apparent, but not obtrusive, and minor pixelization is detected occasionally. This new DVD does not appear to be cropped, as previous releases have been. (Suzanne Hodges)
Soundtrack:
Although much of the Dolby® Digital 5.1 soundtrack is the same as the original, the high-end of the frequency spectrum has been toned down, when compared to the bright original DVD release, to be more suitable for home theatre reproduction. The 5.1-channel soundtrack reportedly incorporates new Foley and effects in addition to the vintage audio. The restoration is quite remarkable, with the presence of background tape hiss in quiescent scenes, and occasional distortion being the primary limitations. The music’s dynamics and sparkle shine through, as does its expansiveness and envelopment. Voices, which are directionalized, are presented with reasonable clarity, and their natural tonality is limited, of course, by the dated recording. Other than the music, the surrounds are rather tame throughout. Nonetheless, this is a very nicely restored soundtrack that offers the unprecedented capability to get closer than ever to the original stereophonic sound. (Danny Richelieu)
This Disc Contains The Following WSR-Rated Superb Qualities:
Superb Cinematography
Collector Edition
