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) admirer. Avant-garde film critic Jonas Mekas highly praised the film, writing in the January 1959 issue of "Film Culture" that "Shadows" "presents contemporary reality in a fresh and unconventional manner... The improvisation, spontaneity, and free inspiration that are almost entirely lost in most films from an excess of professionalism are fully used in this film." The magazine, founded by Mekas and his brother, bestowed upon "Shadows" its first "Independent Film Award". Mekas then arranged to have the film shown six more times at the Young Men's Hebrew Association. Cassavetes shot new scenes in 1959 using a script he co-wrote with