Rate the Oscar-Winning Directing: 1959 (CLOSED)

10

I mean, come on. This is a 10.

7.5

Where they are pushed towards most definitely are, and the overall cohesiveness of those elements are definitely within direction. If the director fails to convey what they want the production could easily put all the money in the world in the wrong direction, where the costumes, score, production design, VFX, don't match or support each other. 

10.

I grew up with Ben-Hur so there's definitely some nostalgia in my love for it, but lately I've loving it more than ever. Beyond the gargantuan spectacle of it (among the most epic films of all time), I love the intimate human story at its core running parallel with the story of Christ. The tragedy of Judah and Messala's friendship torn apart by inevitable political friction, the horror of the slave ships, the awe-inspiring & emotionally-charged chariot race, and Judah's inner conflict between hatred for this once-friend who betrayed him, and letting go of that unquenchable need for vengeance. Wyler always keeps the characters in focus with strategic closeups and musical cues (especially in the scenes with Esther) and never loses them in the epic scenery. And the ending scene is just a stunning piece of direction from Wyler. The decision to hold the camera on Heston as he ascends the stairs closer and closer to the lens while the music swells with the reveal of Miriam and Tirzah's healing. Gut-wrenching cinema. A lesser director would've lost the redemptive catharsis of that scene.



Also brilliant is how it uses Jesus's story one the periphery of Judah's, preventing the film from ever being preachy in the way DeMille's movies were, and in the decision to not show Jesus's face which allows him to remain a mystical figure and a blank slate on which to project. Compare the purely symbolic treatment of Jesus in Ben-Hur with Heston's cheesy baritone "Voice of God" in Ten Commandments for example. The former uses Jesus as a representation of love and forgiveness to enhance the human drama while the latter trivializes God by literalizing him too much. I like Ten Commandments too (another childhood staple) but Ben-Hur is an enduring masterpiece, just as memorable for what Wyler chooses *not* to show as for its stunning spectacle.