Ben-Hur (1959 film) aspect ratio. For this release, the film was completely restored frame by frame from an 8K scan of the original 65mm negative. The restoration cost $1 million, and was one of the highest resolution restorations ever made by Warner Bros. A new musical soundtrack-only option and six new featurettes (one of which was an hour long) were also included. Ben-Hur (1959 film) Ben-Hur is a 1959 American epic religious drama film, directed by William Wyler, produced by Sam Zimbalist for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and starring Charlton Heston as the title character. A remake of , "Ben-Hur" was adapted from Lew Wallace's 1880
Shadows (1959 film) band were recorded, and much of this material was placed in the first version of "Shadows" which was screened in 1958, but almost all of it was removed during the 1959 reworking of the film. The film was finished late in 1958, printed onto 16 mm stock, and three free screenings were announced by Shepherd on his radio show. Cassavetes overestimated the audience; only about 100 people showed up for each of the midnight showings at Manhattan's Paris Theater which could hold almost 600 people. At the first showing, there were initial problems with the sound, which were remedied. Some