The film also stars Morgan Freeman, Rodrigo Santoro, Nazanin Boniadi, Ayelet Zurer, and Sofia Black D’Elia.
Advertisement
The trailer offers a glimpse of Ben-Hur’s journey from a stately home in Jerusalem to enslavement on a Roman battleship to the moment of his glory in the arena. Although, there will still be those who may scrutinize it for not being at the level of the classic film. And if it helps, this Ben-Hur isn’t technically a remake anyway, but a re-adaptation of Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel.
The first trailer for MGM-Paramount’s “Ben-Hur” remake does not stint on the chariot-racing – six decades after the 1959 Charlton Heston movie dazzled audiences with its memorable nine-minute sequence. It may seem like splitting hairs, but it’s an important legal distinction: Wallace’s book is in the public domain while the 1959 film is not. Stripped of his title, separated from his family and the woman he loves (Nazanin Boniadi), Judah is forced into slavery.
The Ben Hur remake will hit cinemas on August 12.
Advertisement
Based on what we’re seeing in the debut trailer, Ben-Hur is hardly looking to reinvent the (chariot) wheel, as far as the Biblical-era story is concerned. He soon returns in a quest for vengeance, as a man named Ilderim (Morgan Freeman) offers to sponsor and train him to become a top chariot racer.
