What is your favorite movie?

BEN HUR, one of the greatest cinematic epics of all time as evidenced by it’s 11 academy awards, is being moved off the list.

I’m sure there are many rationalizations but the real reason is clear. It’s a religous movie. The antireligous bias of the current hollywood establishment has tainted your artistic integrity and scholarly reputation.

Film lovers, regardless of their beliefs, are deeply disappointed.

I can’t believe Ben Hur is not in your top ten movies of all time. I would put it right at the top of the list.

BEN HUR, one of the greatest cinematic epics of all time as evidenced by it’s 11 academy awards, is being moved off the list.

I’m sure there are many rationalizations but the real reason is clear. It’s a religous movie. The antireligous bias of the current hollywood establishment has tainted your artistic integrity and scholarly reputation.

Film lovers, regardless of their beliefs, are deeply disappointed.

Why would BEN HUR drop to 100? What’s next? Drop off the list?

BEN HUR is the finest epic ever filmed in the annals of history!

Real people, real acting, powerful plot, amazing action, overwhelming emotion. There has never been a better movie!

Hollywood apparently can’t make movies like this anymore. Why?

Who is making these inane decisions?

Movies of today use CGI as a common tool for the tough stuff. Disgusting! Where is the talent they used to have?

When I first watched THE POLAR EXPRESS, I think I saw a glimpse into the future: One day, there will be no need for actual human actors…computers will take their place. I love the movie. But sadly the computerized characters (except for voice) “acted” better than most modern day “actors.”

Will there ever be another Charlton Heston?

Sad, sad, sad.

Oh, and where the hell is Dr. Zhivago? —another one of the best epics of all time!

Oh well, why should I be surprised: Afterall, its ONLY HOLLYWOOD!

Plot, drama, conflict, direction, cast, good vs. evil, soundtrack, scope, non-f/x spectacle and moral imperatives, all of it able to stir the soul.

Plot, drama, conflict, direction, cast, good vs. evil, soundtrack, scope, non-f/x spectacle and moral imperatives, all of it able to stir the soul.

This is what movie making is all about!…It has everything you could ever ask for in a film. Just watch it again, and again, and that’s all you need to learn about life all bottled up in a film…I can’t believe it was #100 on the list…absolutely shocking!

I have a lot of favorite movies, I checked 98 of the top 100 that I have seen, and almost all of them are movies that I have enjoyed very much. What is most surprising, to me, is that Ben Hur is #100 and has dropped 28 places in 10 years? I think it is definitely top 10 and is my favorite picture. Perhaps I am biased, but I wonder if anyone else agrees with me? I think it is a brilliant movie from start to finish and won 10 oscars.

A grand epic with all the spectacle and for good measure outstanding performances and fantastic music score. To hold an audience rivited for three hours is in itself a major feat. William Wyler did so by painting the screen with the Majesty of Rome and at the same time telling a very real tale of human emotions of love and betrayal. The “masters” of the AFI 100 list need to be re-tooled on the art of great film making and re-think the position of this film on its’ list.

Great acting, a magnificent score, more memorable scenes than any film in history; the greatest death scene in cinematic history (Stephen Boyd aka Messala), and of course…. the chariot race.

The gravity of the story and the enduring performances, score and cinematography make it the greatest film of all time.

Strangely enough, this opinion comes from a loud and proud atheist!

Granted 1959 was not a steller year for great movies but this movie would have fared well in any year. The drop to last place on your list is not warranted. One of films finest directors, William Wyler, managed to bring to the screen the life of a Jewish Prince in the time of Christ on two levels: a sweeping epic featuring all the might of Rome on land and sea and also a very human tale of suffering and betrayal. Performances of all the major actors were heartfelt and I truly was touched many times even though there were literally thousands of extras and lavish sets to fill the senses. Miklos Rosas’ score was outstanding.

GREAT MOVIE!! Unbelievable to see it drop to #100 - shame on you.

Ben Hur is one of my fave movies of all time. It’s so sad to hear about the movie drop down to 100 in the afi 10th anniversary. i think it should be in the top ten movies in 100 years 100 movies. The racing scene just very exciting.William Wyler created everything based on the accurate deatils of the bible. Everything was exquite. It’s the best movie of Charlton Heston. William Wyler one of the best directors in hollywood. He’s a master!

I first saw this film soon after it was released. I was in the military and one of the rough heavy drinking guys in our outfit came back from town after seeing it and tried not to cry while telling us about it. I saw it again recently and must say, it was better than ever. I don’t think I’ve seen any movie that has surpassed it on so many levels. The love scenes between Heston and the beautiful Haya Harareet were restrained and yet all the more torrid as a result. It has everything. I kinda laugh seeing some of the movies on the list above it. There seems to be a crises in credibility, a dumbing down in the culture wherever we look. Kinda sad.

This 11-Oscar winner is still the all-time greatest movie ever made. The epic scale, the pathos, the lead character’s journey, and the stunts, the direction, and the performances of every actor with dialogue is simply perfect.

Ben HUR is my altime favorite movie. I saw it for the first time when my dad took me at the age of 13. Later on it was changed to a PG14 rating. This was in The Netherlands. I have seen the movie probably 100 times and own it in VCR and DVD. I always enjoyed historical movies and also fell in love with Charlton Heston instantly. Joined his fanclub in the US.
A few years later I was on the way to the US on the flag ship of the Holland America Line and met the love of my life, who’s likeness to Charlton Heston was uncanny. We married 3 years later and we just celebrated our 38th anniversary. I now live in the United States and have been a serious movie buff for many years.
I do not agree with your 100 best movies list. Where are the wonderful comedies like Ace Ventura, Pet Detective, Romancing the Stone, Legally Blond, Miss Congeniality and what about this classic, The Ten Commandments? And El Cid. Of course, those last two are Charlton Heston movies. You got it, I am still a huge fan. Passage to India was missing. Well, you cannot have it all.

How this movie fell to #100 is totally beyond me.

Here’s why it’s my favorite movie… and why even ~atheists~ should celebrate it:

http://www.nyu.edu/projects/sciabarra/essays/benhur.htm

A fabulous movie with great performers!

ben hur they have it listed at 100 down from 72 what morons are voting for these films toy story ahead of ben hur this list loses all creditbility ben hur is the grestest epic of all time the most awarded movie of all time the chariot race is the greatest scene of all time.i could go on and on.there must be alot jaded fools voting on these films.typical anti religious hollywood brats.the afi lost it nobility some time ago when they gave awards to clint eastwood and barbara striesand the afi is supposed to be about greatness not popularity

This movie had everything for everyone. It had wonderful special effects; it had romance; it had the complicated emotional history between friends; good guy verses bad guy; revenge; religeon; Great bodies; Wonderful scenery; complicated story line; wonderful acting by great actors; It was a major epic event. It was missing comedy, but alot of dramas do.

Wow how could we forget Ben Hur and Charlton Ben Heston!
The race and the conflict were riveting, and the scenes and acting magnificient. It changed alot at the time in how big movies were viewed.

Story, spectacle, message, powerful characters, impact at time of release, awards and recognition, all combine to make this one of the most overlooked movies on the list. No. 100?? You’ve got to be kidding! Just because it has a Christian moral doesn’t lessen it’s standing. I think most of the voters have not lived long enough to experience the excitement of waiting for release locally and then getting to see a top movie. I wasn’t around for Gone With the Wind, but I was for Ben Hur. Wow, that was exciting (though I do obviously prefer the mass release of films today); the closest I recall like that kind of anticipation were The Godfather, Rocky II, Star Wars, Titanic had a little of it. The computer aided, serial blockbusters of today are fun, but they lose some of the mystique. I love movies, just hope that the all-time greats aren’t lost in the shuffle.

When you think of Ben Hur you think of one word, EPIC. This movie is the very definition of the word and changed the way epics were viewed. The numbers in this film are astronomical. over 150,000 extras to start out with, The number of sets including the one for the chariot race that was the biggest in history until titanic took that honor, a record of 11 oscars that stood for 38 years until titanic reached that number and the same with the title of top grossing film of all time until the same film took that honor. Ben Hur was so emotionaly powerful with the odyssey of Juda Ben Hur going from Judiean prince, to wrongful enslavement, to being adopted by a powerful roman, to return and take revenge on the tyrant that destroyed his family all the way to fatefull encounters with Jesus Christ when he was still alive. Charlton Heston was born for this role and gave the performance of his life to make this film bigger than any other film in hollywood. The epic of all epics, this one gives you hope.

If someone can find a flaw in this picture, I would like to know what it is. Everything seems perfect down to the last detail. The use of extras, sets, and colorful costumes make this film look more real than the computer generated film of the present day like, Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven. The story has more to it than previously mentioned.

The epic. The turns of fate for Charlton Heston from respected Jewish leader to slave to adopted Roman son. The Chariot race. The restoration of his mother and sister from leprosy as the story of Christ is interwoven during the time of his life. Powerful, cathartic, compelling movie making.

The ultimate Hollywood spectacle.

As a youngster this was the movie that got me interested in movies. It took me somewhere that I could never get to in real life, and did it in a most convincing way.
By: Bob Curtin