Wallace and Wyler: Representations of Christ in 'Ben-Hur'
118 trl u I I rrc'c trntl ll,tv{ur
Mines ( 1950) and Quo Vadis (1951) was assigned as producer of this 'big projec!', with the added burden of knowing that if he failed, the studio : would likely go bankrupt. Hb approached William Wyler who had directed
Dodsworth (1936), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). and Tie Heiress (1949). Wyler hadalso worked as an assistant on the 1925 chariot race film ing, and thought the present script by Karl Tu-nberg as too primitive and elementary, but on Zimbalist's request he read the novel, Rob Nixon in .Wyler Leonarcl Maltin Classic Movie Cuidi IZOOS) writes that became intrigued by the characters in the book and by the theme of the Jewish people fighting for their Iives and freedom. In 1956. the young Israeli state had begun a pre-emptive strike against Egypt that was'curtailed by
condemnation from the U.S.,, lending extra resonance to the theme, He was , also attracted to the notion that the enmity between the hero and villain had giown out of their close childhood friendship'. l
Ben Hur (1959) had the largest budget with $15.175 million, as well as the largest setsbuilt of any film produced at the time. Many of the sequences used in this version were modelled very closely on those in the 1925 release. Ben-Hur held the record for the most Academy Awards for a single film with eleven awards until it was tied by TitaniclieeZ;. Witt, an equal number of awards going to Lord of the Rings. .Return of the King (2003). At the time of its release, Ben Hur(1959) was the third longest film ever released with a running time of 3 hours, 37 minutes, in addition to a l5minute intermission, behind Gone with theWind (1939) at 3 hours; 42 minutes, and The Ten Commandments (1956) at 3 hours, 39 minutes. The Plot
As rightly subtitled, a Tate of the Christ,'both the first part of rhe novel and the movie opens with the birth of Christ showcasing the Nativity sequence and the coming of the Magi. .
, In the second part, the slory's hero, Judah Ben Hur who is a Jew, runs into his childhood friend Messala, a Roman. Judah is the heir of a very great and wealthy house, the house of Hur, in Jerusalem. Messala is a promising rnilitary man who trained in Rome as a soldier. then returned to Jerusalem as the leader ofthe Roman occupation forces. Messala asks Judah to help,him identiry the leaders of the Jewish resistance, but Judah refuses to betray his people, and instead asks Messala to withdraw the Roman ..€ 119 -l'lll: VERI:]r\i.'lO VIStiAl.: AI:Sl'l'll,al'1C SIlMIOT lCS OF CI.,ASSICS AS MOVIES
Iegions. Messala offers an ultinratum - be witlr hirn in helping to elirrrinate rebellion or against hinr. "lf"that is the choice, then I'm against you,".ludah affirms. Offended at Judah Ben Hur's refusal, Messala breaks off their fi'i err dsh i p abru pt 11,.
During a parade, a tile gets displaced frorn the roof of Judah Ben Hur's house and stril Judah Ben Hur returns to Jerusalem with all the wealth and power of his new identity, and confronts the astonished Messala, who assumed he had been dead for years. Ben Hur demanded that Messala find and release from prison. his nrother and sister. Messala finds them in prison, but they. are discovered to have leprosy,, and are taken away to the lepercolony outside Jerusalern to live out a pitiful existence. Ben Hur is told that they are dead. I"lis hate for Messala grows, and in a chariot race in which Messala and Judah Ben HuI are the printary figures, Messala is killed. With his dying breath, V1essala,, out of spite, tells Judah the truth about his mother and s ister. Judah's hate now no longer has an objectto focus on. He generalizes his hatred and becomes a bittershellof his formerself. Finally, in desperation he goes to the leper colony to get his mother and sister to take them to Jesu;, this great preacher who has been performing miracles. When they get to Jerusalem where they think they will find Him, they see Jesus being led away and crucified, and they lose all hope. However, in the earthquake and storm that rocked'the city just as .lesus died, Judah's rnother and sister are healed of the lepr,osy, &rd Judah's heart, along with his mother's and sister's, is turned to.lesus. Their faith" tfueir health and their lives are restored. 120 LtrbIIuca uruI l4/ylar Representations of Christ: Creation of Adarn, Light/Darliness, Life James Burgess in Ben Htr: An Analltsis o,f Accuracysays that 'the story was written and is used often to reinforce a concept of religion and reflect the life of one of history's nlost larnolls individuals, Jesus Christ. That the story of this man is interwoven with the fate of Ben Hur and his influence is undeniable'. An interesting point about the movie is that the face of Jesus Christ is never shown. Christ is seen only frorn the back or in long shotb. The Leoncrrd lv{altin Classic Movie Gttide (2005) tells us that in interviews, Wyler explained that he decided to do this so that audience woLrld experience Christ's presence only from the reaction of the other actors. As a depictiog of Christ, the movie detaits little, other than His birth, His influence and His death. But, at the same time, it is replete with references to Christ- through representation His presence is more felt than seen. Creation of Adam: The Prelude After the first part of the film, showcasing the nativity scene and the coming ofthe Magi, the film's credits are presented over reproductions of tlre Creation of Adam. The camera keeps zooming till only the forearms are visible. The Creation ofAdam is a fresco painting by Michelangelo, which forms part oftheSistine Chapel's ceiling,painted r. f S f t-t SlZ. It illustrares the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis in which Cod lrreathes life into Adam, the first man 121 122 llrullocc und l,V1;le r Opposites. In Western culture as well as in Confucianism, the contrast symbolizes the moral 'dichotomy of good and evil. Messala of Rome-fwo white, two black; victors of the Circensian as exhibited in the Circus Maximus last year. Messala, driver. Cqlors, scarlet and gold', and Sheik Ilderim's horses driven by Ben Hur as 'Afour of llderim, sheik of the Desert, All bays; first race. Ben-Hur, a Jew, driver. Color, white' (355). ' However, in the film, Wyler beautifully illustrates the never-ending fight between good and evil by using the colours of black and white opposing eacliother in a race: all four of lvlessala's horse.s are black, whereas Ben Hur's horses are white. Messala's nature is evil, and is reflected in his heartless and cunning actions. He turns his childhood friend into a slave for not betraying the Jewish cause; he falsely imprisons his childhood sweetheart Tirzal,tand her mother in order to find favour with the Roman government; he uses his position and influence as a Roman officer to manipulate the races to win. The fihn also showi him using a Greek Chariot- with blades that tear irrto the wheels of rival chariots, and also whipping his horses, and even his opponerrts in order to stay in front of the race. Judah Ben-Hur's nature is honest. He refuses to beiray his people; his only airn is to find out his imprisorted mother and sister. He treats tris horses with kindness, and only uses his skill and the swiftness of his steeds to race 123 l. VIRBAI- TO VISI,At-: "l-[{ti AIjSTI II1't'lC] SL.MIOTICS OF CI-ASSICS AS MOVIf:S , The clitnactic ending to the race occurs when the chariots of Messala and Ben Hur, in lratefulrivalryr torvard each otlteq rlrn neckand neck. Messala tries to destroy Ben Hur's ctrariot by moving close with the blades, but as the wheels locl< and he toses one of his own wheels, and his chariot splinters. Losing control, he is dragged by his own'horses, then tranrpled, and run over by other teams othorses. Ben l{ur goes on to win the race. To put it in simple words- the white was the victorwhile the black was defeated. , [n religion and rnythology tlre black-and-white dualisrn is 'often used to represent evil arrd good. TIre Genesis narrative has God 'separate light from:darl ln Greek mythology, the underworld was irnagined as a place of dafkness beneath the ground, contrasting with the celestial realm of the gods. Christian conceptions of lreaven and hellare derived from this notion, as are the'dark angels'as opposed to the unfullen angels who are often depicted with aln'eola or halos. Black is also often associated with death, inclur,C ing the colour of the dress worn at funerals. Tlre Bible, in its accoLrnt of the crucifixion, records that there was there was heavy darkness over all the earth, and that even the sun became dark from the sixtlr hout'till the rrirrth hour, which, in today's time is fi"om twelve noon to three o'clock (Matt 27:45,Mark I 5:33, Luke 23 :44).Though neither the Bible nor the novel describes lightning during the tirne of Christ's death, the film ltas several seconds where the audience is shown Iightnirrg splitting the darkness. We are also shown that in tlre rain that falls soon after, the waterthat mixes rvith the blood ofJesus completely heals Judah's nrotlrer and his sister of tlreir leprosy. olight Jesus is also refbrred to as of the world'. 'Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, Iant the light of the world: he that followeth rne shall not walk in c.larl 124 I'l4t I I ert't: u n t I l'ltvl t r between light and darkness, between good and evil, between Christ and Satan. The Bible gives the ultimate conch-rsion to this t'ight when it states that'The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it' (John l:5 ESV). In the movie, we see that good has triurnphed over evil when .ludah's mother and sister are healed of ttreir leprosy. Thirst, Water and Life When Judah BenHur was sentenced into exile to the slave galleys, he and other prisoners were chained together on a forced march across the deseit in the searing hot sun to Tyrus. When they stop enroute at the sntall town of N azarethforwater, the guards allow all the slaves to drink except Judah. As he lies in the sand, cotlapsing frorn dehydration and crying'God, help rne', as in answer, a hand quietly reaches toward him with a gourd of drinking water. First the hand washes the dusty, bleeding face, and then strokes Judah's head as he drinks. As the centurion (Roman officer in charge of hundred soldiers) rushes to stop Judah from drinking the water, we see the man standing up and'gazing into the face of the cettturion,: who looks down and backs away, supposedly atapower stronger than his own. Though we do not see the face of the man- we are shown the long hair that reflects the traditional picturing of Jesus. , After his victory in the chariot race against Messala, and after learning that his mother and'sister are lepers, Judah Ben Hur sits beside a stream. Balthazar, one ofthe lvlagi who had corne to offer gifts rvhen Jesus was born, and has now come again in search of Hirrr, tells Judah that'The child has trecome a man, and the mafl, I know it now, is the Son of God', and asks Judah to come with him to listen to the words of Jesr-rs. Judah answers'When the Romans were marching rne to the galleys, thirst had 125 Vl:RIl/\1,l'(-) VIStIAL Illl-. AL:S"fl II:r'l i('SIri\4lOTIC-S OF CLASSTCS AS I\4OVil:S nearly l Wateris st'ttrbolic in the fact tlrat it is botlr a soul'ce ancl sustainer of lif-e and of refreshmcnt. Jesus referred to Hinrself as being the ,living water'. 'ln tlte last day, that great day of tlre feast. Jesus stood arrd cried., saving. If anv lllall thirst. let hirtr corne unto me. altd drink. He that believetlr o11 111e, as the scripttrre Itafh saicl. out of his belly shall flow rivers of Iivipg vvater (.loh nJ:37 ^38).Jttdalt's experience can be paralleled to the Samar-itan \volllan. u... to rvholtt Jesrts said. Whosoever drinketh of this water. shall tlrirst again: But rvhosoe\/er clrirtl In Iris lteart..luclalr l'enlentbers and lonqs to nreet and thank the 'lllall wlro lracl givelt It irl tt'ater to clrirrk' \r,lten he \vas beipg led awav as a slave. In his bitterttess ort ltnou irrg that all he hacl left of Iris farnily lie 5ad Itlrrged to ttreet afier all these ) ears \\'ere lepers. lre feels entllt),,, and spir-itrrally 'tlrirst1". [{e refttses Balthasar"s of'f er to take hinr to see JesLls- pot knol,ing that.lestts \vas tlte sattle llel'son u lro had given lrirrr u,ater to clrink u,tren he \\/as a slave- nol'Llllclerstarrding tliat the sante.lesrrs \vas t6e persol-t rvho cotllcl sali,sf.r'his sltiritual tlrirst bv givirrg hir-p 'livipg q,ater'. Conclusion ' seen only from the back or-in long shots in Ben Hur(l9Sr),;; ;b;rnjr *itf, attributiorrs to Ch rist. 126 t llu I I ut'a ttt ttl {l''t'l t' r In the Prelude that shows Michelangelo's Creation of Adant, the gap that exists between G9d and Man is understood to have been bridged by Jesus Christ through His death on the cross. The chariot racd between Judah Ben Hur with his white horses and Messala with his black team signifies the fight between good and evil, betrveen Christ and Satan, with Christ ultirnately triumphing over death. The scenes that depiit lightning agairr reminds one of the fight between ligtrt and darkness, where darkness cannot overcome Christ, the'tight of the world'. Finally, we see in Judah Ben Hur's thirst that is never quenched, the call of Jesus to come and drink of the 'living water' and thirst no more. Thus, in Ben Hur(1959) which is subtitled A Tale of the Christ. we find tftat Christ is more represented than shown directly to the audience, perhaps fulfilling the director, Williarn Wyler's intention that 'Christ's presence would be experienced', rather than just Seen Bibliographyhv Primary References eBenHttr.Dir.wil[iamWyler.McM.1959.Filrn. . Wallace, Lew. Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. 1880. Print. Secondary References . Black-and-white dualism". Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Jan 2,A10. Web . 14 Feb 2}rc Burgess, James. "Ben Hur: An Analysis of Accuracy". Clio's Eye. n.d. Web. l3 Feb 2016. Dalton.,Russell W. lntroduction. Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ. By Lew Wallace. 1880. New York: Barnes and Noble, 2004. Print. Gonld., Ezra Palmer; A Criticat and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St.Mark. Edinburg: T 8L T Clark. 1912. (Publ ished online by Internet Arch ive). Curtner,Daniel'of M, "The Veil of the Temple in History and Legend". Jotrrnal theEvangelical Theological Society. 97-t iq. ?A06 March. Web . l4 Feb 2016. 127 -l'FI[: VERBAI.-lO VISIJAI-: Aris'rll[1-l(' SEi\410TICS OF CLASSTCS AS MOVrr:S ' Maltin,Leonard. Leonarcl Maltin Classic Movie Cuide. 2005. New York: Signet/New Anterican Library. (Published online by Turner Classic Movies) ' Michelangelo. Creation of Adam. l5 ll-12. Fresco. Sistine Chapel in Vatican. Ronre. ' The Holy Bible l(irrg Jantes Version. Nerv York: American Bible Society. 1999. Prirrt. ' Wallace,Lerv. Lew Wallace: An Autobiography. Vol 2. New york; London: Harper & Brothers. I906. Google Book. Web. l3 Feb 2A16. ooo .* 128 , r '1. tl