The Bedford Playhouse is pleased to present one of the most honored films in cinema history, William Wyler’s 1959 Ben-Hur, starring Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Sam Jaffee, Finlay Currie and thousands of supporting players. The film won 11 Academy Awards inclusive of Best Picture of 1959.

We will be running the original Roadshow version of the film on our 37 foot screen in its original 2.76:1 M-G-M Camera 65 aspect ratio. Ben-Hur is one of those productions that can not only be shared by the entire family but passed down from generation to generation as a cinema-going event. For those who have never seen this epic on a huge screen, this will be an amazing experience.

The numbers speak volumes: 100,000 costumes, 8,000 extras, 300 sets and a staggering budget, in its day the largest in movie history, Ben-Hur‘s creators made it the best, the greatest Biblical-era epic ever. Charlton Heston brings a muscular physical and moral presence to the role of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Palestine whose heroic odyssey includes enslavement by the Romans, a bold escape from an embattled slave galley, vengeance against his tormentors during a furious arena chariot race and fateful encounters with Jesus Christ. Heston’s charismatic performance brought him the Best Actor Oscar; the winner as 1959’s Best Picture with the legendary William Wyler earning his third Best Director trophy, the film won a total 11 Academy Awards — a tally unequaled until 1997’s Titanic set sail.