Only 3 movies in history hold the title for most Academy Award wins. One of them is biblical
Only three films in the history of the Academy Awards have won the record amount of awards for a single movie.
Those three films are “Titanic” (1997), “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” (2003) and “Ben-Hur” (1959).
“Ben-Hur” may be lesser known among the rising generations today but the film’s release to theaters on Nov. 18, 1959, marked one of the most famous stories in history for the rest of time.
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What is the moral of ‘Ben-Hur’?
While the popular film is not actually based on a true story, it takes place during the time of Jesus Christ, according to Britannica.
A synopsis of the movie explained that the story is an, “epic drama about an aristocratic Jew living in Judaea who incurs the wrath of a childhood friend, now a Roman tribune.”
The synopsis continues explaining that although Ben-Hur was, “forced into slavery on a galley and compelled to witness the cruel persecution of his family, he survives, harboring dreams of vengeance.”
As the character of Ben-Hur seeks to save his family, he reportedly finds “Jesus Christ to be an inspiration in his life” and witnesses Christ’s crucifixion.
MTV explained that the film was based on an 1880 book by Lew Wallace originally titled “Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ” which was “the bestselling American novel of all time until ‘Gone with the Wind’ supplanted it.”
The book was reportedly adapted into a Broadway play which “ran for 21 years and was seen by 20 million people,” during its time on stage.
The 1959 film grossed a total of $74 million after its release.
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Why Ben-Hur is so great
Britannica reported that the film is, “arguably the best of Hollywood’s biblical epics, had its world premiere; it later won an unprecedented 11 Academy Awards.”
If the 2023 social media “Roman Empire” trend has explained anything at all, it is the fact that many people throughout time have been continuously fascinated by Ancient Rome.
In the Screen Rant lineup of best movies set in ancient Rome, “Ben-Hur” took the No. 1 slot for its Oscar wins and its “chariot-racing cinematic marathon that helped write the rules for historical epics.”
Medium reported that when “Ben-Hur” had been released it was a time, “during which many of the films Hollywood strove to craft were nothing less than epics. The sheer vision, the scale, and the depth of character portrayed in this film have seldom been outdone in the six decades which have followed.”
A 2012 review of the film said, “It’s a film that tells an epic story in an epic way, filling every shot with artistry and color until the screen overflows with splendor.”
