It's bizarre to think it's been 50 whole years since Ben-Hur first wowed audiences with its chariot races and homoerotic undertones between Charlton Heston and Stephen Boyd (apparently Boyd was told to play it to suggest his character had once been in a romatic relationship with Ben-Hur, while Heston was oblivious to this). To celebrate the demi-centenary, Warner Home Video is planning to release a new three-disc DVD edition on July 13th.
The distributor has promised more than 10-hours of bonus features, including a documentary on the film's effects on other filmmakers such as Ridley Scott (Gladiator, Kingdom Of Heaven) and George Lucas (Star Wars). There'll also be plenty of other documentaries and features, although it appears most of it will be holdeovers from previous versions of the DVD.
However it's well worth celebrating 50 years of Ben-Hur, a landmark that will be further trumpeted later this year when Ben-Hur - Live starts at the O2 Arena in London. The production has been 15 years in the making and promises over 100 live animals, massive special effects and even the legendary chariot race! God knows how they'll manage it, but it'll be worth a look.