Ben-Hur (1959 film) and the 2nd best American epic film in the AFI's 10 Top 10. In 2004, the National Film Preservation Board selected "Ben-Hur" for preservation by the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress for being a "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" motion picture. In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy prince and merchant in Jerusalem, who lives with his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott); his sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell); and their female servant Amrah (Stella Vitelleschi). The family's loyal slave, the merchant Simonides (Sam Jaffe), pays a visit with his daughter, Esther (Haya Harareet). Judah and Esther
Ben-Hur (2016 film) them free. Despite his anger, Messala finds the strength to forgive Ben-Hur and is reconciled with him and his family. Together, Ben-Hur, his mother, sister, Esther, and Messala accompany Sheik Ilderim's caravan as they leave Jerusalem. In 2013, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired Keith R. Clarke's script, an adaptation of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel "", which is in the public domain. In April 2014, Paramount Pictures and MGM announced that they would co-produce a new version of "Ben-Hur", based on the novel, with Mark Burnett and Roma Downey serving as producer and executive producer, respectively. MGM had previously released two films based on