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the crucifixion provides the visible cue for Judah’s conversion to belief in
the power of Jesus’ love. The old steward, Simonides, played by American
actor Sam Jaffe, is Esther’s father and thus another paternal figure for
Judah. Simonides is punished and tortured by the Romans for his loyalty
to Judah and the house of Hur, and he grows resentful and angry over the
years of Judah’s enslavement, mirroring Judah’s own desire for retaliation.
The character of the Arab Sheik Ilderim also gives structure to Judah’s
desire for vengeance. Played with unapologetic gusto by Welsh actor Hugh
Griffith, who won an Oscar for this supporting role, the Sheik nurtures
Judah’s anger into a plan of action. By offering Judah his astral team of
horses, the Sheik facilitates the great chariot race, the pivotal moment of
the film: “There is no law in the arena,” he reminds Judah pointedly. “Many
are killed.” The Sheik’s own contempt for the Romans who occupy his
homeland works in tandem with Judah’s personal vendetta against Messala.
To highlight the holy subject matter, the film retains the book’s original
subtitle, “A Tale of the Christ,” yet those aspects are downplayed in Wyler’s
version compared to the strong religious message evident in the two earlier
films, the play, and the novel. Wyler’s Ben-Hur is bracketed by two
divine events, the nativity and the crucifixion of Jesus, but in between the
film presents the sacred theme subtly, in understated but evocative scenes
and dialogue. When Messala takes command of the Jerusalem garrison,
Sextus describes with reluctant admiration the radical philosophy of the
young carpenter’s son stirring up unrest in the province: “He teaches that
God is near, in every man. It’s actually quite profound, some of it.” The
repeated use of the word “strange” at significant points in the film’s dialogue,
to describe Judah’s character and experiences, gives verbal emphasis
to the notion that Judah is marked by an ineffable supernatural force
leading him on an extraordinary spiritual journey. “It’s a strange stubborn
faith,” Arrius tells him. “There’s a strange inconsistency in this man who
tries to kill my governor, yet saves the life of my consul,” remarks the
emperor Tiberius. Of his sojourn in Rome, Judah observes: “Strange destiny
brought me to a new life, new home, new father.” When the Sheik
asks how a Jew came to race in the Great Circus at Rome, Judah replies:
“By strange choice . . . and stranger fortune.” Critics have noted how the
image of the cross is subtly deployed throughout the film, as when the
reunited Messala and Judah hurl javelins in good-natured rivalry, together
they hit a high target in the rafters of the armory, “where the beams
cross.” Later, as he tries in vain to escape his Roman captors, Judah’s eyes
linger on the same backlit crossbeams, as if to foreshadow another cross
that will transform him.
BEN-HUR (1959) 81