Ben Hur (2016)
Ben Hur is a year 2016 published literature on the novel Ben Hur by Lew Wallace . It is the sixth adaptation of the novel and the fourth for the cinema . The film was released in US cinemas on August 19, 2016 and was released in Germany and Austria on September 1, 2016 .
action
The young Jewish aristocrat Judah Ben-Hur grew up with his childhood friend and adoptive brother, the Roman Messala, in Jerusalem in the Roman province of Judea . One day Judah falls dangerously and is carried home by Messala. A little later, Messala volunteered to join the Roman Legion to clear the name of his grandfather who was involved in the conspiracy against Julius Caesar .
Messala spent many years in the field, where he met the Roman officer Pontius Pilate . Meanwhile, Judah becomes engaged to Esther, the daughter of the slave Simonides. One day as they walk through Jerusalem , they see Zealots being condemned. When a political discussion ensues between the lovers, a young carpenter , Jesus of Nazareth , joins the conversation and explains that true freedom can only be achieved through loving one's enemies , which Judah dismisses as "too progressive".
Judah's sister Tirzah sympathizes with the Zealots, a radical anti-Roman party in Judaism at the time , and one day brings a wounded Zealot into the house of Hur. Meanwhile, Messala returns from the war and asks Judah, who has some influence with the people, for his help so that Pontius Pilate, the new governor , can move into Jerusalem unmolested. There is a difference of opinion between the ambitious Roman and Judah, who wants to remain true to his people and their traditions. When Pontius Pilate moves into Jerusalem, the injured Zealot whom Tirzah has picked up shoots an arrow at Pilate, but misses it. The Roman legionaries then storm the house, kill Simonides and take Judah, Tirzah and their mother Naomi prisoner. Esther can hide and thus escape.
Judah Ben-Hur is taken to the galley , where he becomes a rowing slave . On the way to the galley he falls and Jesus helps him up and gives him water. When the ship sinks in a sea battle, Judah manages to escape and he is washed up on a beach, where the Arab Sheikh Ilderim takes care of him.
Ilderim, a very wealthy man, realizes Judah's potential as a charioteer and when Judah learns that Messala is also a charioteer, he sees an opportunity to take revenge on him. Ilderim threads a bet that Judah can use against Messala. Meanwhile, Judah meets his fiancée Esther again, who has since become a follower of Jesus . She asks Judah to rethink his plan for revenge, but he doesn't want to know anything about it.
Shortly afterwards, Judah learned from a former officer from Messala's unit that his mother and sister were still alive, but that they had leprosy . Nevertheless, Judah sets out to find her, which ultimately happens.
When the chariot race begins, Messala vows to kill Judah. In the last lap, the Roman was seriously injured in an accident, while Judah won the race and was celebrated as a hero by the Jewish population .
While Judah continues to seek vengeance, Jesus is arrested by the Romans in the Garden of Gethsemane . Esther is one of his followers. When Jesus is led to the crucifixion the next day , he trips and Judah gives him water. Jesus tells him not to take his vengeance, but to forgive. While Jesus is hanging on the cross, Judah hears his words “Father, forgive them because they don't know what they are doing.” When Jesus dies, the sky darkens and Naomi and Tirzah are healed of leprosy and then ransomed by Sheikh Ilderim.
Judah is now looking for the seriously injured Messala, who lost a leg in his chariot race accident, in order to reconcile with him. Messala is still full of hatred, but Judah says he doesn't want to fight anymore, all he wants is to wear it. The adoptive brothers are reconciled again and become a family again as before. In the end, Ilderim, who acts as the narrator during the film, implies that they have become Christians.
production
Staff and cast
The Russian director Timur Bekmambetov , who was born in the Kazakh Soviet Republic , directed the film. Keith R. Clarke and John Ridley took over as screenwriters on the revision of the novel Ben Hur by Lew Wallace , which served as the basis for the film. The original book, written by the former civil war general in the 19th century, was considered the most influential novel in Christianity at the time and sold almost as well as the Bible .
Sean Daniel, one of the movie's producers, said, "Our Ben Hur isn't a remake of Wyler's film , it's a new adaptation of Lew Wallace's book." Co-screenwriter John Ridley has the family relationships, the power of faith and most of all put reconciliation at the center of the film, while the original focused on revenge. In the original, Ben Hur meets Jesus several times and is present at the end of his crucifixion. In the remake, however, according to Jochen Kürten from Deutsche Welle , a stronger accentuation of family motifs dominates the story and not so much the motive for revenge . Morgan Freeman, who plays Sheikh Ilderim in the film, also sees references to the present day in the remake and recognizes topics that are still important in the 21st century : “We are all looking for salvation and a world in which we are safe feel. ”Timur wanted to give the film depth, so Freeman, and tried to give it a greater spiritual quality, which he succeeded.
Tom Hiddleston was initially intended for the title role, but was replaced by Jack Huston shortly before filming began . At Comic-Con 2015 , Huston talked about the long film shoot, which had taken a total of 93 days, and said he hoped Charlton Heston and the many other former Ben Hur cast members were proud of him to slip into their shoes is. He was enthusiastic about the work of the scriptwriter, who was again oriented more towards the literary model.
The first choice for the role of Pontius Pilatus was the Chilean Pedro Pascal , who was replaced by the Dane Pilou Asbæk . The role of Messala Severus was cast with Toby Kebbell , that of his companion Drusus with Marwan Kenzari . While the Roman officer Drusus or Druses had no dramaturgical function in earlier adaptations of the story, Bekmambetov took up this figure again and, as in the 1959 film adaptation of Ben Hur , added it to Messala as a companion.
Filming and post-production
From the producers of the miniseries The Bible , Mark Burnett and Roma Downey , was Ben Hur in 2015 exclusively in Italy rotated. Matera served as the backdrop for the city of Jerusalem in the film . There was also 2004 The Passion of Christ by Mel Gibson was filmed. The interior shots were taken in the Cinecittà film studio in Rome , where the original film from 1959 had already been shot. The film city was founded by the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini in order to be able to compete with Hollywood productions . The remake was the studio's largest production since the film Cleopatra , which was filmed in the early 1960s .
During a break in filming in Rome, Rodrigo Santoro , who plays Jesus in the film, attended the weekly audience of Pope Francis in the Vatican on April 15, 2015, together with his colleague Nazanin Boniadi, and was blessed by him, along with many others.
The filming took place with real animals, including horses and camels. Morgan Freeman later said that working with animals is always difficult, and horses in particular are sometimes unpredictable when they rear up. Working with the camels was also sometimes difficult, according to Freeman, because they didn't always cooperate and, especially in the caravan scene, sometimes they just didn't want to be loaded.
In a post-production on the computer , the army of extras that were still needed in the original film were later replaced by digital effects, and so in the end only just under 2,000 extras were used. The scenes of the chariot race , however, did not require any post-processing on the computer.
Film music
The soundtrack was composed by Marco Beltrami . The soundtrack was released by Sony Classical on August 5, 2016, two weeks before the film hit US cinemas. At the same time, Paramount Pictures and MGM had released the music video for Andra Day's song The Only Way Out , which also included a trailer for the film, but which ultimately did not become part of the film's soundtrack.
Beltrami, for his work on the films death train to Yuma and The Hurt Locker twice in the category Best Original Score for an Oscar nominee, put on the soundtrack ancient Greek and Roman musical instruments such as harps and bow harps, Aulos , Tartolds and salpinx and processed the sounds electronically to give the whole thing something modern.
Mihnea Manduteanu says that every piece of the film music tells a story and the music stands for itself without the help of the film. It is complex and multi-layered and therefore makes listening to it on your own worthwhile. The music is exactly as it should be for a period film and sometimes tells calmly and melodically, sometimes powerfully of the heroic epic, depending on how it is appropriate. According to Manduteanu, it was the best film music that Beltrami had written to date, and one of the best works of the year, which all film music fans would like and remember.
Marketing, publication and accompanying works
The film was released in US cinemas on August 19, 2016 and also in German cinemas on September 1, 2016.
The Christian Media Association KEP has published a free theologically and media-pedagogically reflective discussion guide on the film, which was developed in collaboration with Paramount Pictures .
reception
Age rating
In Germany, where the film is rated FSK 12, the release certificate says: “The story of the elaborately produced film can be easily understood by children aged 12 and over. There are several fighting and action scenes (e.g. a sea battle and the chariot race), but in which physical violence is more hinted at and not explicitly brought into the picture. "
Reviews
The film was only able to convince 26 percent of the Rotten Tomatoes critics (out of 151 critics in total, as of September 18, 2016). The consensus there is that the film has too little of its own and tries to disguise this with a choppy cut and the use of CGI .
David Ehrlich of IndieWire says: "The good news is that the story of Ben Hur is solid as a rock, so that even the director of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter cannot completely tear it apart." Andreas Busche from SPIEGEL ONLINE sees this as less of a problem and says that although the film rushes through its story, the idea of reactivating Ben Hur in times of Marvel and DC pack formations seems absurd at first glance, at least Bekmambetov seems as the right man for the director's position. Bekmambetov, whose chariot race is the milestone in film history, by which every Ben Hur film adaptation has to be measured, says Busche, fulfills expectations in this respect: “The bloody bread-and-games spectacle alternates between cool virtuosity and lusty voyeurism . In the high-speed turmoil, the body cameras always find the time to celebrate chariots crashing into each other and battered human bodies. ”Busche praises the economical 3D effects and the exemplary dosed use of CGI technology , which makes the motion sequences in the film look realistic.
The dpa sees it differently and says that Bekmambetov is pulling out all the technical stops that Hollywood currently has to offer, but the faces, bodies, costumes and backdrops look digitized and polished to a shine beyond recognition, which means that feelings shape and nuance characters and shape relationships. Andreas Kötzing shares this in an interview with Deutschlandradio Kultur when he says that the film's action sequences, such as the chariot race, left him emotionally cold, and in particular he perceives the conflict between Judah and Messala as loveless and heartless because he has it could not understand.
Gross profit
The film grossed just $ 11.2 million when it opened in the United States on the first weekend at an estimated cost of $ 100 million. The US result is considered "disastrous" for a film of this size. Box office analysts expected better starts for the international markets. The film's worldwide box office revenues are currently around $ 94 million. So far, the film has recorded 122,067 visitors in German cinemas (as of June 11, 2017).
synchronization
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Web links
- Ben Hur in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Official website (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for Ben Hur . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF; test number: 161754 / K).
- ↑ Christine Kruttschnitt: Ben Hur: How the classic came about In: Der Tagesspiegel, July 20, 2016.
- ↑ a b c Jochen Kürten: Chariot races in 3D - remake of "Ben Hur" In: Deutsche Welle, August 10, 2016.
- ^ A b Morgan Freeman in conversation with Bob Thompson: 'We are all looking for salvation': Morgan Freeman reflects on the new Ben-Hur's contemporary themes In: nationalpost.com, August 16, 2016.
- ↑ Chris Morrow: Jack Huston talks Ben-Hur - Comic-con In: ireport.cnn.com, July 14, 2015.
- ↑ Gerhard Midding: 'Ben Hur'-films: The big race In: epd Film, August 26, 2016.
- ↑ Drusus (Character) from Ben Hur (1959) In: imdb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2016.
- ↑ Sylvia Poggiolo: Rome's Cinematic 'Dream Factory' Ramps Up Production Once Again In: npr.org, May 21, 2015.
- ↑ Ben Child: Pope Francis blesses Ben-Hur's new Jesus at the Vatican In: The Guardian, April 16, 2016.
- ↑ Pope Francis blesses actor playing Jesus in 'Ben-Hur' film In: christiantoday.com, April 18, 2015.
- ↑ Adam Holmes: The New Ben-Hur Doesn't Use CGI In Its Chariot Race, And This Awesome Video Proves It In: cinemablend.com. Retrieved August 22, 2016.
- ↑ 'Ben-Hur' soundtrack details In: filmmusicreporter.com, July 1, 2016.
- ↑ 'Ben-Hur' score album details In: marco-beltrami.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016.
- ↑ Andra Day Debuts 'Only Way Out' Video from 'Ben-Hur' Movie In: justjared.com, August 4, 2016.
- ↑ Wilson Morales: Watch Andra Day's 'The Only Way Out' Music Video Ben-Hur Soundtrack In: blackfilm.com, August 4, 2016.
- ↑ 'Ben-Hur: Songs Inspired by the Film' Soundtrack Announced In: filmmusicreporter.com, July 20, 2016.
- ^ Andra Day. The Only Way Out In: allmusic.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ↑ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack from the movie Ben-Hur In: soundtracktracklist.com. Retrieved August 21, 2016.
- ↑ Sony Classical Releases Ben-Hur Score Featuring Music By Marco Beltrami In: top40-charts.com. Retrieved August 26, 2016
- ↑ Mihnea Manduteanu: Soundtrack review: Ben-Hur In: soundtrackdreams.com, August 24, 2016.
- ↑ On my own behalf: Free working material for Ben Hur In: pro Christliches Medienmagazin, August 30, 2016.
- ↑ Ben Hur In: Voluntary Self-Control of the Film Industry. Retrieved September 8, 2016.
- ↑ Ben Hur (2016) In: Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
- ↑ David Ehrlich: 'Ben-Hur' Review: Jesus Dies For Our Cinema Sins In This Redeemably Garish Biblical Epic In: indiewire.com, August 17, 2016.
- ↑ Andreas Busche: Remake of 'Ben Hur': Blockbuster with only 4 hp in: SPIEGEL ONLINE, August 29, 2016.
- ↑ dpa in: 'Ben Hur': Opulent ham full of muscles In: Focus Online, August 29, 2016.
- ↑ Andreas Kötzing in conversation with Patrick Wellinski: “Ben-Hur” remake. 'Everything is dramatized' In: Deutschlandradio Kultur, August 27, 2016.
- ↑ Ben-Hur (2016). Daily In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved August 24, 2016.
- ↑ a b Brent Lang: Box Office: 'Ben-Hur' Flops With $ 11.4 Million, 'Suicide Squad' Still on Top , Variety , August 21, 2016
- ↑ Ben-Hur (2016) In: boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ↑ Top 100 Germany 2016 In: insidekino.com. Retrieved June 11, 2017.
- ↑ Ben Hur (2016) Deutsche Synchrondatei.de, accessed on January 16, 2017.