Ben-Hur

This is the first movie I have seeen in a while that I can confidently call "great".  Many movies are Art;  some few are even Literature.  But the element that elevates something from being masterfully done and perfectly executed, to the level of greatness is its overwhelming necessity.  A film cannot be great without having a reason to exist. 

Which is not to say that I personally must agree with that reason.  In the case under consideration here, I decidedly do not.  Evangelism and religious apologia of all sorts are rather nauseating to me, and I experienced just that nausea at certain baldly didactic moments while watching this film.  But the niche that this film occupies, its necessity in the biome of human ideas, is undeniable. 

But that necessity only allows the film's greatness; it does not predicate it.  To reach that potential, it also had to succeed on every technical level, from orchestration to set design.  And even if this film had no reason to exist, it would still be Art.  The art of cinematography is on full display in every facet of this film.  How to describe the spectacle of the chariot race?  The naval battle?  That it was all achieved without modern technology only makes it more marvelous, but is not a condition of admiration.  Those sequences could stand beside similar ones in contemporary movies without handicap. 

And perhaps the greatest miracle of all is how gracefully the writing trod the line between entertainment and propaganda.  The metaphysical themes of the setting never once departed from the very real, human, and believable personal drama that gives them their power.  I can find no complaint even with the central romance, which never felt contrived for appeal, though it surely was.  I place this movie confidently near the top of the list of movie I call great, though I must in good conscience demote it slightly because it advertises what I consider to be a lie.