The struggle between Ben-Hur and Marcella represents the contest between two cultures. The former represents the trendy Christian culture, while the latter is the defender of the original ancient Roman culture. The process of slow rise. The latter's death shows that the old-fashioned is always going to disappear.
The protagonist Ben Xu has strong national self-esteem, self-confidence, and pride. His love for his homeland and compatriots, especially his unforgettable love for his mother and sister, has become the spiritual pillar for him to overcome all difficulties and survive tenaciously. There is also a Christian color throughout the film, and on many occasions the Christian doctrine of "love the enemy" and "love those who hate you" is directly promoted. The protagonist also believes in Christ at the end, which is a symbol of the rise of Christian culture. However, the social and political reality of the time expressed in the whole film is full of conquests, killings and bloodshed, which seems to represent the backward Roman culture. The two are clearly incompatible and sharply contradictory.
When talking about the artistry of the film, director William Wheeler said that the filming of the film was a "defensive assault" on television. Compared with television, it fully demonstrated the grandeur of the film's scenes, the multitude of characters, The advantages of strong lens movement and wide picture. I don’t want to discuss the conflict between the film and TV media here. What I want to say is that the grand scene in the film, the multitude of characters, the intensity of the camera movement, and the breadth of the picture, etc. The unique art form of the film itself plays a role in expressing the theme effect. The grand scene has a great effect on the prominence of the theme. What the film wants to express is the collision of two cultures, and the grand scene can enhance this momentum. The atmosphere created by the lens and the picture fully expresses the collision and fusion of the two cultures at that time.
The success of "Ben-Hur" seems to have some kind of accidental factor. The unprecedented screening revenue of the film has become the pride of MGM, and it has also given life to hundreds of theaters that are struggling to survive in the "crisis of bankruptcy". All of this is inseparable from the film's deep thematic support.
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