The Similarities Between Ben-Hur And Messala

Ben-Hur The story of Ben-Hur occurs in parallel with the story of Christ and the greater politics of the Roman Empire. As a result, the character of Judah Ben-Hur is forced to move about the ancient world in his quest for revenge and redemption due to a simple accident being punished in an unjust way. Dualities are set up between Judah and Messala, as well as Judah and Christ that reflect the ideology of the narrative. The climactic chariot race highlights the differences and similarities between Judah and Messala demonstrating how close the characters are in temperament despite being enemies. Ben-Hur helped to redefine the epic during the period when epics were on the rise. At the time of its release, Ben-Hur was a runaway critical and commercial success for all parties involved. The amount of investment placed into the film by the studio required a massive return otherwise the results would have been disastrous. Contemporary reviews praised its drama and
These films ranged from having a biblical aspect like Ben-Hur to retelling classical myths and legends, and not all of them were epics some were simple adventure films. A possible reason for this was that the sword and sandal genre provided the escapism that the public desperately wanted after the Second World War and the grim reality they were forced to contemplate. In addition, the Cold War was on the rise and these films tended to subtly enforce American ideas and viewpoints so the domestic audience had a built in receptiveness to the films. However, Ben-Hur elevates itself above simple entertainment by adding depth to the narrative such as the reoccurring motif of water, and characters that go beyond simple hero and villain. The long-term impact is that the relevance that made such films in this era has dated them to some extent, but the influence on modern filmmakers is