Hey folks, Harry here... The idea of remaking BEN-HUR isn't the first time. That BEN-HUR with Charlton Heston... that was a remake too. So, when what you love is in fact a remake, it's hard to work up some ire for yet another remake, unless you believe that the William Wyler BEN-HUR is perfect... which I kinda do. So when it was announced that Timur Bekmambetov was directing, I was excited - mainly because watching hist films from NIGHTWATCH, DAYWATCH, WANTED and even ABRAHAM LINCOLN VAMPIRE HUNTER - well Timur has a muralistic approach to cinema that comes from that Russian Film origins of his - and seeing a BEN HUR with that kind of verve excites me. The casting, on the otherhand - on the outside having not seen the film yet - leaves me wishing I could get excited.
So when Paramount releases this making of the CHARIOT RACE scene - and it's just a minute long, with them telling us they really did it, that doesn't get me as excited, because frankly - I still see nothing that ups the ante. There was a lot that made that CHARIOT RACE in Wyler's film exciting... Yakima Canutt's staging was impeccable, the Technicolor used, the matte paintings that were amazing and then that magnificent score!
Let's see what Paramount has for us:
There's stuff that looks ok, but I'm not jaw-dropped yet. Of course, it's just a tease for the final sequence, but did that preview get you jazzed? I really want Timur to blow us the fuck away. I really really do, but he's gonna have to compete with this:
If you just played and watched that - it's got your blood pumping and you're thinking, Man, George Lucas didn't even top that and he was using science fiction to enhance it here:
We'll get to see Timur's full film, August 12th... it has a lot to live up to!
Keep it cool,
Harry
