Like most people, 1959's-11-oscar-winner majestic version of "Ben-Hur" is as familiar to me as the back of my hand, I had known it back and forth even before I was conscious of it, or that there was such a thing as the movie industry, having seen it 20 or 30 times in my 25 years of existence. Recently, I have purchased the ultimate 50 anniversary DVD edition, and so I was finally able to see the "original" 1925 version of Ben-Hur, which appears on the extras disc. Actually, this is not the first time that General Lew Wallace's epic tale was put into film. There is a 1907, 15 minute version. But this one, as well as the 1925's, are completely overshadowed by the magnificent spectacle given by Zam Zimbalist and William Wyler in 1959, as well as by the colossal performance of Charlton Heston, to what is, undoubtedly, one of the greatest movies ever made. Even so, the 1925 silent version is, to say the least, amazingly surprising. Nothing happens by chance, and this MGM production is credited as the most expensive silent film ever made. And boy, did they made use of the money! Way ahead of its time, this version is every bit as enthralling and majestic as the 1959's, with all the splendour of 1920's studio Hollywood working its magic, with grandiose sets, thousands of extras (including future stars of the 30s, Carol Lombard, Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, etc, etc... everyone basicaly who was on the lot!), and (what surprised me the most) incredible fluidity of camera and editing, especially on the two major action scenes: the pirate assault and the chariot race. If we think that at the time a camera was a heavy thing difficult to carry then we get an idea that to get those race shots incredible energy was at work (60 assistant directors are credited, including William Wyler, director of the 1959 epic version). What happens here is that we see almost the condensed version of Ben-Hur. The more than 3 and a half hours of the 1959 version are, shall we say, "condensed" in 2h20 min here. All the familiar scenes are here (this is almost a paradox, because I'm talking of a movie made after this one, but anyway...), and we follow Judah Ben-Hur as he goes from being an important Jew, to a slave after the roman occupancy of Judia, and his rise to revenge against his once friend roman soldier Massala, while he seeks his mother and sister. There are a few storylines here that did not appear in the 1959 version (maybe following more closely the book), such as showing more episodes of Christ's life, Ben-Hur leading a religious army in the name of Christ, his "seduction" by one of Massala's female spies, among others. All the episodes of Christ's life depicted, as well as one or two more scenes are in two strip Technicolour, which give another element of magic to this masterpiece. Ahead of its time, this is a mature, grandiose spectacle, which displays a capacity for filmaking which was rare back then, except maybe for Chaplin and DW. Probably this is not the credit of director Fred Niblo, but of the massive power of the MGM studio. Even so, this has a few faults of the silent days, such as overblown performances (throwing arms into the air, beating the chest in sign of despair). Ramon Novarro's Ben-Hur is at times like Valentino, when in prosperity he appears with make-up and lipstick so typical of 20s heroes. Seldom he achieves depth as Ben-Hur, as is the case of the galley scenes. This is a problem, because this huge movie, at this scale, passes from one scene to the other of action and woes and spectacle, but fails to give this necessary depth to the characters. A lot of titles (more I think than there should) interrupt the flow of most scenes, trying to convey this depth to the story. The extra hour and a half of the 1959 version, which is structured the same way, gives the movie its necessary base to make the characters immortal and their plight forever thrilling. I have to stand out May McAvoy as Esther as the best performance. All in all, I was very much surprised by this version, it is amazing, and a silent film masterpice. Epic, thrilling, and lavishing throughout. The little something it needed to become immortal was given by the 1959 version. A glorious spectacle of the 1920s, and one of the best pictures of the decade. To think it was done almost 90 years ago gives me a little chill, but boy, was cinema new and thrilling back then (unlike now), and how did they made the most of it, with the little advances they had! If ever a movie was made out of passion for the art and spectacle of entertainment, well, here is one.
0 comentários:
Enviar um comentário