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Messala snidely describes the generous four to one odds as “the difference between a Roman and a Jew,” another Roman chimes in, “or an Arab,” linking the two groups in their opposition to Rome. While Judah wants vengeance by humiliating and defeating Messala, the Sheik targets the tribune’s financial security, the very lifeblood of Roman imperial conquest. It is the Sheik who presents Judah with the silver Star of David, the sacred symbol of the Jewish religion, in the minutes before the chariot race begins, as he reminds Judah to be true to his faith against the pagan foreign oppressors: “The Star of David will shine out for your people and my people together and blind the eyes of Rome.” Wyler’s film somewhat hopefully affirms the possibility of freedom fighters joining together to resist the dominant power. In the realm of gender issues, Ben-Hur follows a visual trend initiated by the earlier film The Robe in focusing its erotic gaze on the male, rather than the female, figure. These films tend to objectify and sexualize the male physique for the eyes of the audience: “the bath scenes of the toga movie are populated by well-oiled male bodies” (Fitzgerald, 36). But male nudity in Ben-Hur also implies contradictory images of power and vulnerability, perhaps in response to changing ideas about masculine identity and gender roles in the late 1950s. During the bathhouse sequence where the Sheik cajoles Messala into staking his entire fortune on the chariot race, the heavily robed Arabs provide a stark contrast to the scantily attired Romans. Clad only in a small white towel, his arms and chest shining with pale beauty, Messala’s nakedness openly displays his masculine potency, but at the same time exposes a certain weakness: the undressed Messala is seduced, like a woman, by the Sheik’s sugary compliments. Similarly, the exhibition of Judah’s naked body occurs most prominently in the scenes where Judah is negotiating the tricky hierarchies of his relationship with Arrius. As a slave, Judah’s vulnerable nudity is on display in the galley scene as Arrius watches him sweating over his oar, then in the consular stateroom when Judah appears only in a loincloth. After he saves Arrius, Judah demonstrates the new reversal of authority as he stretches to his full muscular height, almost naked, on the raft where he holds the Roman commander in chains. Ben-Hur emphasizes a paradoxical image of masculinity, both as a conventional symbol of Rome’s might in the sleek muscularity of Messala, but also the will and perseverance in Judah’s nude humanity. While their spirited slogan is “Down Eros, Up Mars!” both gods are in evidence in the film’s depiction of unclothed male beauty, in all its strength and susceptibility. BEN-HUR (1959) 87
CORE ISSUES 1 How does the film portray the struggle between traditional order and individual freedom in the personal conflict between Judah and Messala? 2 How does the film represent Roman imperialism? How does the film portray the nature of Rome in the figure of Messala? In the figure of Arrius? 3 What aspects of Judah’s character are Judaeo-Christian? Are there Roman aspects to his character? 4 How does the film present the theme of separation, failed or broken relationships, and the obstacles to human contact? 5 Does the film make an overall plea for unity and tolerance? 88 BEN-HUR (1959)
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Big Screen Rome
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BIG SCREEN ROME Monica Silveira Cyr
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Contents List of Illustrations vi A
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11 A Funny Thing Happened on the Wa
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permissions were secured in part wi
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Map 1 The city of Rome in the imper
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R P I D A C I A M O Sarmizegetusa C
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provocative combination of dignity
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chapters examine how both films use
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duty and desire set against the mon
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Plot Outline It is the summer of ad
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Plate 1 Quo Vadis. Petronius (Leo G
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a soldier kills Tigellinus, calling
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of Rome. Their obstinate refusal to
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he was also condemned to death. The
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associated with the Catholic Polish
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ambivalent one, given the glitterin
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This is the Appian Way, the most fa
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suggestive of the illumination she
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in historical epic films (Winkler,
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narrative and thematic focus also s
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later decades evolved into the Amer
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Peter. Eunice is the slave of Petro
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Chapter 2 The Robe (1953) The great
Page 51 and 52: Plate 3 The Robe. Marcellus (Richar
Page 53 and 54: on the command of the new emperor,
Page 55 and 56: him to retire to the island of Rhod
Page 57 and 58: of the Senate, the institution was
Page 59 and 60: of Caesarea, the prefect would spen
Page 61 and 62: of the changes in Catholicism that
Page 63 and 64: of showing off the enduring power,
Page 65 and 66: have made a great empress, thus hig
Page 67 and 68: would also play Odysseus in Helen o
Page 69 and 70: crime as a Roman citizen who has jo
Page 71 and 72: Hollywood artists who sold out duri
Page 73 and 74: Demetrius, and his jealous rage whe
Page 75 and 76: Plot Outline In the Roman province
Page 77 and 78: Judah, his mother and sister are le
Page 79 and 80: farewell: they embrace and kiss, an
Page 81 and 82: voice take the sword out of my hand
Page 83 and 84: throughout the countryside around G
Page 85 and 86: of people during its twenty-year ru
Page 87 and 88: Since Ben-Hur was in preparation lo
Page 89 and 90: technology, in particular the newly
Page 91 and 92: forceful, almost fanatical, speeche
Page 93 and 94: emperor’s offer of Roman citizens
Page 95 and 96: Messala, as Esther recounts her mem
Page 97 and 98: The appearances of Jesus are few an
Page 99 and 100: War to condemn oppressive foreign t
Page 101: poisoned by Rome, as he tells Pilat
Page 105 and 106: Plot Outline In the mines of North
Page 107 and 108: Plate 7 Spartacus. Draba (Woody Str
Page 109 and 110: army, losing nineteen thousand men
Page 111 and 112: second broke out in 104 and was que
Page 113 and 114: At this time, gladiatorial combat w
Page 115 and 116: Senate had no choice but to yield.
Page 117 and 118: the Communist Party of the United S
Page 119 and 120: the first time in thirteen years. T
Page 121 and 122: the slave movement with the migrati
Page 123 and 124: From this point, the film divides i
Page 125 and 126: At the heart of the new slave famil
Page 127 and 128: Antoninus dies in the arms of Spart
Page 129 and 130: Plate 8 Spartacus. Varinia (Jean Si
Page 131 and 132: learning from their mistakes; Gracc
Page 133 and 134: complaint.” As Gracchus observes
Page 135 and 136: Spartacus continues the epic cinema
Page 137 and 138: Plot Outline Part 1. On the battlef
Page 139 and 140: Plate 9 Cleopatra. Cleopatra (Eliza
Page 141 and 142: command at Tarsus in Asia Minor, an
Page 143 and 144: knowing he is the undisputed master
Page 145 and 146: Later, Ptolemy XIII fled and was fo
Page 147 and 148: Antony came to Tarsus in Cilicia wh
Page 149 and 150: for future campaigns. Early in 34 b
Page 151 and 152: honored her request for burial with
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Extra-cinematic commentary also sug
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The script, based on C. M. Franzero
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Plate 10 Cleopatra. Mark Antony (Ri
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as Caesar, but is best known for hi
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eginning of the second half after t
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desertion: I from myself.” As he
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majesty and power are displayed, Ta
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the United Nations was composed lar
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modern sex scandal. When Cleopatra
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desire for sons, as she articulates
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4 How does the film use the spectac
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kind and rather dim-witted gentlema
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Plate 11 A Funny Thing Happened on
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productions, and often acted in the
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shared experience of every society
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1996, with Nathan Lane, who also wo
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In A Funny Thing Happened on the Wa
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series of preposterous sight gags,
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freedom and the pleasures of uninhi
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Chapter 7 Monty Python’s Life of
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178 MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN
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autonomous part of the Roman provin
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Silly Walks,” with their in-jokes
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different religious sects, the earn
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censorship that varied from region
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may provide some inspiration for th
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obstacle to group ideals. Because t
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The cartoon construction during the
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Chapter 8 History of the World, Par
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Ancient Background The Roman Empire
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was the protagonist’s inability t
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in classic epics like Quo Vadis, Be
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202 HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I (1
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or shocking, hidden by the generic
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3 How does the sequence incorporate
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Plot Outline In the year ad 180, th
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vets them with color codes. Maximus
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from the upper stands. Commodus inf
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to 98. Nerva’s most significant a
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most of the last decade of his reig
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morale of Roman legionaries on long
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unit known for their courage, high
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38). Although dismayed by the games
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In contrast to earlier epics like Q
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gladiator epic that would reflect c
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$3 million. A dedication in the clo
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soft, admiring light of nostalgia.
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The film hinges almost completely o
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with the reluctance of Maximus to a
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attitudes about female political sk
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hero Maximus, an event that leaves
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Earlier epic films traditionally si
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laughs bitterly through tears when
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his new gladiator idol, as he waits
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246 GLADIATOR (2000) Plate 15 Gladi
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“Fear and wonder,” Senator Grac
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the provincial arena in Zucchabar,
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the words of Maximus’ prayer in a
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The field of wheat is thus a symbol
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city, Maximus becomes a symbol both
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2 Reference Maltin, Leonard, et al.
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Killed Spartacus? How Studio Censor
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Index Page numbers in italic refer
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Caesar, Sid 166, 197 Caesarea 44, 6
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Falco (Gladiator) 208, 210, 212 The
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Jackson, Peter 83 Jacoby, Georg 18
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musical scores A Funny Thing Happen
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The Road Warrior 230 The Robe 3, 22
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Via Appia 11, 12, 21, 24, 95, 99, 1
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