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Differences Between The Movie 'Ben-Hur'

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Ben-hur (2016) is directed by Timur Bekmambetov and cinematography by Oliver Wood. It is a remake of the 1959 version of Ben-Hur, which was directed by William Wyler and cinematography by Robert L. Surtees. This story follows Judah Ben-Hur in his fight against revenge and forgiveness. Ben-Hur and his brother Messala both have to make choices that will affect their friendship and trust in one another. Each of these movies are a rendition of the book Ben-Hur, written by Lew Wallace. Although they are based on the same story, there are many differences between the two movies. Some of the differences are the addition of the character, Gestas, and the different style in which they were written. The addition of the character Gestas in the 2016 movie is a major change in the story. In the 1959 version, the tile falls off the roof of Ben-Hur's house and he and his family are accused of trying to kill the new governor of Judea. This incident is rather unrealistic and does not provide Judah with an alibi. The addition of this new character also adds more emotion to the film and …show more content…

The way that William Wyler decided to direct his film was different from what was being shown at that time. The chariot race is one of the most famous scenes in Hollywood. At that time, nothing had been done like that before. We also see a difference between the two movies in the boat scene. The 2016 film is shown to be more dramatic and intriguing to the viewer. It does a better job at making the viewers feel the emotion of what Judah and the other slaves were going through. Another obvious change is the representation of Jesus. In the 1959 version, Jesus does not have a speaking part, some may believed that this payed more respect to him. In the 2016 version we get to see more of him as he plays a bigger role. We see that Judah connects with Jesus more in the newer film and that plays a big role in Judah's

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