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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 508

Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ

1925141 minUnited States
DramaAdventure

Synopsis

A Jewish nobleman's reunion with a Roman childhood friend exposes their opposing loyalties. An accident gives the officer an excuse to condemn him to the galleys and imprison his family. Survival turns into a search for revenge and reunion, unfolding alongside encounters with the emerging story of Jesus.

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Video edition
Wikimedia Commons
Original language
No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs
140:56
Subtitles
No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Fred Niblo; YouTube – View/save archived versions on archive.org · Public domain

Cast

DirectorsFred NibloCharles Brabin

Inspirations

The film adapts Lew Wallace's 1880 novel on a scale that extended the popular stage version into cinematic spectacle. Ramon Novarro's performance anchors the vast production, whose naval action and chariot race became enduring reference points for historical adventure films.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film referenceDuke Center for the Study of the Public Domain — US term reference

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 13, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

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