This Silent (the most expensive movie to be produced during the pre-sound era) definitely is a cream-of-the-crop champ that totally holds up, never gets old, and is highly impressive. I think it's a perfect "gateway" Silent for turning newcomers on to the wonders of pre-talkies cinema. Most definitely it's neither boring nor at all clunky. It's wonderfully cast and features excellent performances. As for grippingly exciting first-rate action, the stunning, riveting sea battle section and the edge-of-your-seat landmark chariot race sequence (which includes some of the greatest footage in film history) are not to be missed!

The gorgeous and powerful dedicated orchestral score composed by Carl Davis during the late 1980s (and that's included on DVDs featuring the movie's restored print) further is utter perfection, and ideally compliments the magnificent film.

In 1997 the United States' Library of Congress, judging Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ to be "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant", selected it for preservation in the National Film Registry.

This is one of my all-time favourite movies, and a major piece of cinematic history. I consider it not only a true work of art but also pretty much perfect.

Please check out the following list of titles and celebrities I've created TMDb threads for: https://www.themoviedb.org/list/118052