"Ben-Hur: Chariots or Galleys?" Topic

In the face of a new remake of Ben-Hur, I got to thinking about the old (1959) version. For most people, the big set-piece of the film is the chariot race; for me, it's always been the galley battle -- model ships and all. Which one do you prefer?

Ron

This should be a poll suggestion. :)

I have been responsible for a fair number of poll topics recently, so this time I just posted it as a regular topic. If it gets turned into a poll anyway, so be it.

Ron

Galley battle.

My group plays Circus Maximus (TM) whenever we get 8 or more players but playing with big gallies would be lots of fun too!

I got to see a 70mm print of this movie on an actual big (really gigantic!) screen at the Wang Center in Boston (originally opened as the Metropolitan movie cathedral in 1925)

On the big screen, that galley battle wins hand down — Wow, was that stunning!

Chariot race was kinda awesome on the big screen too.

cinematreasures.org/theaters/29
"As previously mentioned, one of the most memorable events was "Ben-Hur", attended by Heston. The 70mm print was made from the 1969 reissue negative. When the film first opened in November 1959 at the Saxon Theater (formerly and currently the Majestic), the original 70mm prints were in "MGM Camera 65". This process used an anamorphic lens to stretch the normal 2.2:1 image to 2.76:1. The original 6-channel Technicolor prints were said to yield a staggering image in terms of sharpness and scope. The Saxon's presentation(running well over a year)would have been magnificent. 35mm "Cinemascope" prints were extracted from the original 65mm negative for use in neighborhood theaters with standard equipment. When reissued in 1969, few theaters were set up with the lenses to run this process so MGM optically converted the new 70mm prints to 2.2:1. This resulted in a loss of sharpness and side image information. It was still an impressive presentation."

Galley battle.

I have always loved both scenes. Back when Games Workshop used to have their Games Day events at the Baltimore Convention Center I always made a point of going upstairs to see the model from the 1959 movie that is on display. At 1/6 scale it is an amazing thing to see! I no longer have a reason to go to that convention center and I really miss looking at it every year.

Both

Phil
(it's Ben Hur … I like both )

Didn't we discuss this last week?

The original movie review when it came out:

Loved Ben, hated Hur.

So he got a name but she didn't? Typical Hollywood misogyny!!!

("Galleys" is the plural, btw.)

It's "misogynablism",btw

Naval Battle. Bigger stakes.

Absolutely the naval battle. Though the chariots are cool, big ships smacking into each other is hard to top.

My Galley Salleys!

I love the Chariot Race too, but the galley fight is flipping magnificent.

Eric

I preferred the chariot race!

Number 41 says four horse and a chariot for me. The physical aspect of driving the chariot is more fun compared to the sit and pull that fat Consul across the sea on a poor diet. Charioteers can whip the air above the horses, the rower get the personal back contact treatment from the slave master. Sort of reminds me of work…. Charioteer owns or runs the company (i.e. the horses). The galley is the company and rowers are tied to their desks.

WR prefers the chariot race. Bruins for the win!

From the style of the movie previews (300 meets Ben Hur), I expect Galleys and Chariots in the same battle…

Brilliant! Ben Cur??