Judah Ben-Hur Judah Ben-Hur Judah Ben-Hur, or just Ben-Hur, is a fictional character and the title character from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel "". The book covers the character's adventures and struggle against the Roman Empire as he tries to restore honour to his family's name after being falsely accused of attacking the Roman governor. Judah encounters Jesus Christ and becomes a Christian. Wallace wrote that he chose the name Ben-Hur "because it was biblical, and easily spelled, printed and pronounced." The name appears once in the Bible (), as the name of one of King Solomon's twelve district governors (1 Kings 4:8).
Ben-Hur (2016 film) Ben-Hur (2016 film) Ben-Hur is a 2016 American epic historical period drama film directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Keith Clarke and John Ridley. It is the fifth film adaptation of the 1880 novel "" by Lew Wallace following the 1907 silent short film, the , the Academy Award-winning 1959 film and the 2003 animated film of the same name. It has been termed a "re-adaptation", "reimagining", and "new interpretation" of the novel. The film stars Jack Huston, Morgan Freeman, Toby Kebbell, Nazanin Boniadi, Haluk Bilginer, and Rodrigo Santoro. Principal photography began on February 2, 2015 in Matera, Italy