1959’s Ben-Hur isn’t simply some of the widespread non secular movies of all time. The three-plus hour epic starring Charlton Heston because the titular Jewish-prince-turned-Roman-slave-turned-chariot champion who crosses paths with Jesus Christ is likely one of the hottest movies of all time, interval. The very best-grossing movie of 1959, it additionally gained a record-busting 11 Academy Awards, together with Greatest Image, Greatest Director and Greatest Actor for Heston, and right now stays an Easter basic for households around the globe.
However earlier than it was a beloved basic, it was an overbudget, overschedule manufacturing catastrophe that was topic to public authorized disputes earlier than it was even launched — and, with a price range of $15 million, was the most expensive movie ever produced on the time. It seems like, very like its hero, Ben-Hur overcame the chances stacked in opposition to it.