Others agreed. It was filmed and released as a silent in 1925, including chariots, and starring Ramon Novarro and Francis X. Bushman. But the real deal was 1959's Ben-Hur. It was an enormously complicated spectacle of a film, with a massive budget and month after month of shooting. Sets, costumes, nameless extras, horses, more horses, still more horses — and it paid off. The movie earned massive returns immediately, soon ranked only second to Gone with the Wind in terms of earnings. It cleaned up critically, too, setting a record for Academy Awards — sweeping 11 of them, including Best Picture and Best Director. Hugh Griffith took Best Supporting Actor, and the biggie — Best Actor — was awarded to Charlton Heston for his portrayal of Judah Ben-Hur. More than 60 years later, the film still gets included on lists of "Stuff Hollywood Actually Did Right" (phrased more elegantly, of course, but you know what we mean).
With all of those decades of cinematic water under the bridge (we prefer our metaphors mixed, not stirred, thank you very much) perhaps it will surprise absolutely no one that nearly every cast member has shuffled off this mortal coil.
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