Review Detail

Being only familiar with the original film through references and parodies, I have been intending to see it for a long while but also waiting for the coincidence of the right mood and a spare three-and-a-half hours. This edit was recommended to me (thanks Wraith) and I thought (once again) that it would be interesting to go into the altered version cold to see if it felt like anything was missing

It is definitely a decision I do not regret, a true testament to the skills of ranger613. A/V quality was excellent and I found nothing edited in a way to betray the project's origins (potentially cutting around the jump cut at 55:35 would be a bonus): the aim of the editor (to focus on Judah Ben-Hur's story) is definitely achieved.

Other points brought up in earlier reviews are not a bother: the usual view of deus ex machina doesn't fit here for me since Christ is set-up beforehand (if only briefly) and a literal miracle is performed; the "abrupt" enslavement didn't feel out of place as from what little Roman history I remember from GCSE Latin (a fair few years ago) such actions don't surprise me (particularly recall my class learning that the word "servus" doesn't translate to "servant" as we all first thought).

Need to finally get around to watching William Wyler's original (will be interesting to see if it feels like a "mere" extended edition or the complete picture of a greater whole), thanks ranger613 for such a great interpretation!