Unseen Moments: Behind the Scenes of Ben-Hur (1959)

Ben-Hur, the 1959 epic historical drama film, was the most expensive film ever made at the time and was a remake of the 1925 silent film with the same name. The nine-minute chariot race has become one of cinema’s most famous sequences, and the film score, composed by Miklós Rózsa, is the longest ever composed for a film and was highly influential on cinema for more than 15 years. The film premiered at Loew’s State Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1959, and was the fastest-grossing and highest-grossing film of 1959, winning an unprecedented eleven Academy Awards.

The chariot race was directed by Andrew Marton and Yakima Canutt, with Sergio Leone as senior assistant director, and William Wyler shooting additional footage. The scene took five weeks to film at a cost of $1 million and required more than 200 miles of racing to complete, with seven thousand extras hired to cheer in the stands. Economic conditions in Italy led to a riot when more than 3,000 people seeking work were turned away from the set, and dynamite charges were used to show the chariot wheels and axles splintering from the effects of the race.

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