# Why did Ben-Hur bomb? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 23, 2016, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702 "2016-08-23T01:04:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/61 "2016-08-23T18:36:30Z")
I wasn’t aware that there was a remake until a couple of days before this thread. I had never seen the 50’s version other than parts of the chariot scene and was aware that it was a huge mega-epic. I had no idea that any of the versions had a Christian message until I read this thread. Yeah, the remake was a terrible idea. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/62 "2016-08-23T19:07:41Z")
Yes I saw it. In fact I actually saw it **twice** this past weekend! However my _only_ reason for seeing it is that I am a huge fan of Jack Huston and would see him in _anything_. If he were not in it, I would have zero interest. And he is great btw! The movie itself however… It’s not as terrible as the reviews make it seem, however there is nothing at all special about it and it really has no reason to even exist. I know they said it was another interpretation of Lew Wallace’s novel rather than a straight remake of the 1959 film, but it sure seemed to hew pretty close to the Heston version… Having never read the novel, I can’t tell you what if anything was different. > [@psychonaut](#): > > I saw the trailer, and what put me off was the soundtrack of modern pop music. I can sort of understand doing that sort of thing with films like _Moulin Rouge!_ and _A Knight’s Tale_, but it seemed particularly jarring for a serious, pseudo-Biblical epic. Can anyone who’s seen the film confirm whether this soundtrack is used in the film itself? No, there is no pop music or songs in the film, it’s a score by Marco Beltrami. > [@asterion](#): > > It’s not obvious what a modern adaptation of the novel can add, other than to remove all the practical effects with CG. The chariot race **is** actually mostly all practical effects with CGI only added in scenes where people or horses are injured. The scenes you see of Jack Huston or Toby Kebbel racing a chariot being pulled by four horses is actually the actors racing those chariots! I believe they said it took three months just to film the chariot race. But, impressive as that may be, that just goes back to why does the film exist in the first place? The 1959 version also actually filmed the chariot race scenes for real, so it’s not like anything different or new was added in this version… And what’s even worse is that in this age of everything being CGI, most moviegoers will assume the chariot race is all CGI anyway. > [@Shodan](#): > > It was released in August. Did the marketing folks just realize they had a bomb on their hands and give up hope altogether? Yup. The film was originally scheduled to be released mid-February, it was then delayed until mid-August. In between those months there was very little publicity or trailers. I only started to really see ads for it on TV about one week before it opened, mainly during NBC Olympic coverage. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > From what I read, it supposedly has more Jesus in it than the '59 version but yeah the promo is all about the action. Yes. Jesus is basically the 3rd lead here. Unlike in the 1959 version, where you never actually see his face, here he’s very prominent with many scenes that don’t even involve Ben-Hur. When I saw it was produced by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, that’s when I realized the excuse for making it was that they wanted to create a Christian movie that they hoped would appeal to moviegoers looking for an action film. > [@hajario](#): > > I wasn’t aware that there was a remake until a couple of days before this thread. I had never seen the 50’s version other than parts of the chariot scene and was aware that it was a huge mega-epic. I had no idea that any of the versions had a Christian message until I read this thread. Yeah, the remake was a terrible idea. Well the novel _is_ subtitled “A Tale of the Christ.” ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/63 "2016-08-23T20:42:58Z")
> [@Hermione](#): > > The thing is, though–would you call this new BH a _remake_ of the movie, or another _adaptation_ of the Lew Wallace novel? > > I tend to look more kindly on new adaptations of source material than I do on straight-up remakes unless they’re exceptionally well done. Different adaptations can highlight different areas of their source material in new and interesting ways. > > (And if we were only allowed one adaptation per source material, the only Wizard of Oz we’d be left with is that cringe-worthy 1925 silent version!) Excellent post. When I read the OP, I immediately thought “why is this being called a remake?” and was going to post something about that, but **Hermione** said it much better than I could have. When _The Alamo_ was released in 2004, I remember a friend dismissing it as a “cheesy remake” of the “iconic” John Wayne film. So apparently it’s not just one film per book that’s allowed—it’s one film per historical event, too! This new _Ben-Hur_ may indeed be a lousy movie, and it’s quite likely that the producers misjudged the potential audience for it. But it’s not an intrinsically bad film just because the novel has been filmed before. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/64 "2016-08-23T21:41:00Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I think that the marketing direction that “Christian cinema” has taken over the past decade or so is in part to blame. In 2004, Passion of the Christ was a mainstream hit. Since then, though, the people making Christian-themed movies have overwhelmingly zoomed in on a right-wing, Protestant, conspiratorial demographic which thrives on the theme/s that Christianity is constantly under attack from Godless liberals, secularists, foreigners, and other outsiders, where it’s considered inappropriate to depict sinful or immoral deeds _even_ if to say that they’re wrong, and which primarily preaches to the choir by having the characters speak in Bible quotations and forced monologues that aren’t likely to impress anyone that isn’t already a believer. > > That’s the market that this adaptation of Ben-Hur, which at its core is _undeniably_ a Christian story, is being released into. Christian audiences aren’t going to like it because it doesn’t engage in the kind of aggressive witnessing that movies like “Left Behind” and “God’s Not Dead” do, and mainstream audiences aren’t going to buy in because they’ll be expecting a preachy movie that they don’t have time to deal with, a bog-standard adaptation of an old-ass movie their grandparents love to talk up and which they couldn’t give a shit about, or a bog-standard remake of a movie they’ve already seen and don’t need to see a remake of. I’m Christian, and most of those “Christian” movies are really insulting to believers and non-believers alike. They remind me of a quote from a pastor who was profiled in our local newspaper who talked about watching TBN while high 🆒, and not high, when he was in college and thinking, “I was raised in the church and I have never known people this weird.” ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/65 "2016-08-23T21:42:47Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Heck, as long as we’re talking about 1959, George Clooney is the perfect age to try filling Cary Grant’s shoes in a NORTH BY NORTHWEST remake. > > I, uh, wouldn’t recommend that. No, not even if Martin Landau agrees to cameo. Many years ago, I was at a party (OK, I’ll admit it, a Mensa meeting 🆒 ) and we gave “North By Northwest” the MST3K treatment. :eek: You had to be there. It was bizarre! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/66 "2016-08-23T21:47:12Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > **The 33** : Antonio Banderas leading Chilean miners to safety! Didn’t break even. That didn’t surprise me. We all know how it ends. The book “Deep Down Dark” was a big best-seller, but the first book about it, “33 Men”, was much, much better. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/67 "2016-08-23T22:26:01Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Passion of the Christ made, I believe, over 300 million dollars. And how much do you suppose the remake is going to pull in, come 2035? ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/68 "2016-08-23T22:32:25Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I think that the marketing direction that “Christian cinema” has taken over the past decade or so is in part to blame. In 2004, Passion of the Christ was a mainstream hit. Since then, though, the people making Christian-themed movies have overwhelmingly zoomed in on a right-wing, Protestant, conspiratorial demographic which thrives on the theme/s that Christianity is constantly under attack from Godless liberals, secularists, foreigners, and other outsiders, where it’s considered inappropriate to depict sinful or immoral deeds _even_ if to say that they’re wrong, and which primarily preaches to the choir by having the characters speak in Bible quotations and forced monologues that aren’t likely to impress anyone that isn’t already a believer. > > That’s the market that this adaptation of Ben-Hur, which at its core is _undeniably_ a Christian story, is being released into. Christian audiences aren’t going to like it because it doesn’t engage in the kind of aggressive witnessing that movies like “Left Behind” and “God’s Not Dead” do, and mainstream audiences aren’t going to buy in because they’ll be expecting a preachy movie that they don’t have time to deal with, a bog-standard adaptation of an old-ass movie their grandparents love to talk up and which they couldn’t give a shit about, or a bog-standard remake of a movie they’ve already seen and don’t need to see a remake of. > [@Sattua](#): > > (tears in eyes) That was _beautiful_. I want to subscribe to your newsletter. ^^^ This. ^^^ Also, now do _The BFG_. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/69 "2016-08-23T22:36:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Heck, as long as we’re talking about 1959, George Clooney is the perfect age to try filling Cary Grant’s shoes in a NORTH BY NORTHWEST remake. > > I, uh, wouldn’t recommend that. No, not even if Martin Landau agrees to cameo. Nah, they should have him reprise his original performance… ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/70 "2016-08-23T22:40:04Z")
I’m a huge movie/pop culture fan. I write reviews for my local paper. I read _Entertainment Weekly_ religiously and follow lots of websites more or less casually. I’ve known for at least a year that this movie was being made. I had no idea it had been released already until I saw this thread. Seems to me the distributor is dumping it and washing their hands of it. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/71 "2016-08-23T22:49:59Z")
What seems weird is that as recently as 2010 there was a post-_Gladiator_ [attempt at a TV miniseries/TV film version](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Hur_(miniseries)). Big topical casting: Hugh Bonneville. Pretty much sank without a trace. Which wasn’t a warning? ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/72 "2016-08-23T23:15:33Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > And how much do you suppose the remake is going to pull in, come 2035? Why wait for a remake? That movie is perfectly open for a sequel. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/73 "2016-08-23T23:36:01Z")
One reviewer recounted that there was actually a bit of dialog that went: “Are you having fun yet?” That’s enough to keep me away from a remake of a movie that won 11 Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/74 "2016-08-23T23:40:05Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > One reviewer recounted that there was actually a bit of dialog that went: “Are you having fun yet?” That’s enough to keep me away from a remake of a movie that won 11 Oscars. It’s enough to remind me of another sword-and-sandal movie that won Best Picture, and simultaneously lose out on _that_ comparison likewise. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/75 "2016-08-24T00:35:37Z")
Also, this film had the same casting issues of a bunch of other movies that have fallen flat lately. They take stories set in the middle east/north Africa/Asia/South America, or with major characters from those areas, and cast almost all the speaking roles with white people. Exodus had that issue, Prince of Persia had that issue, Gods of Egypt had that issue to hell and back, Avatar: The Last Airbender had it, Ghost in the Shell and Dr. Strange are already taking crap for it, The Lone Ranger featuring Johnny Dep (!!!) as Tonto had it in spades, Aloha and Stonewall both got bad notes for it… The directors and studios have got to realize that their audiences are aware that [whitewashing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitewashing_in_film) is not OK, and that there are a ton of talented non-white actors out there who may not be stars yet but might be after that movie. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/76 "2016-08-24T00:53:58Z")
Ben-Hur bombed because it was a CGI remake of a 1959 film staring Charlton Heston that won 11 Academy Awards and was widely regarded as one of the greatest spectacles in filmmaking of it’s time. Sword and sandal films don’t have to bomb. 300, Troy and Gladiator all did over $450 million at the box office. And Gladiator won like five Oscars. I think the problem with a lot of the crappier films is that they get these forgettable emo actors in front of CGI backdrops. Sure 300 was all CGI, but those guys got freakin jacked for their roles. Brad Pitt was bad ass as Achilles. And Russell Crowe won an Oscar for Ass Kicking. One review I read contrasted the original saying that the chariot race in the Heston version looked like the invention of speed. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/77 "2016-08-24T01:08:37Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > You nailed it. It was a totally cheesy remake that pissed all over the parts of the classic version that made it a classic. It would be fitting if everybody involved never worked in film again, but that’s a bit much to ask. Are you saying they should be thrown to the lions? > [@Hermione](#): > > The thing is, though–would you call this new BH a _remake_ of the movie, or another _adaptation_ of the Lew Wallace novel? > > I tend to look more kindly on new adaptations of source material than I do on straight-up remakes unless they’re exceptionally well done. Different adaptations can highlight different areas of their source material in new and interesting ways. > > (And if we were only allowed one adaptation per source material, the only Wizard of Oz we’d be left with is that cringe-worthy 1925 silent version!) I believe that was the idea-- a new adaptation of the book, rather than a remake of the classic movie. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/78 "2016-08-24T01:49:02Z")
But the book sucks! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/79 "2016-08-24T02:01:28Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > George Clooney is the perfect age to try filling Cary Grant’s shoes in a NORTH BY NORTHWEST remake. What’s seldom recognized is that _ **North by Northwest** _ is actually kind of a crappy movie. Like many (if not all) Hitchcock flicks, it’s pretty silly when you start deconstructing it. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2016, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702/80 "2016-08-24T02:10:27Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Well the novel _is_ subtitled “A Tale of the Christ.” The best version of _ **Ben-Hur** _ ever was the one on the Easter edition of _ **SCTV** _, S01E13 … which has, unfortunately, been removed from YouTube. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-did-ben-hur-bomb/763702.md?page=5)