Production of Ben-Hur (1959 film) 10 to 12 pages of it. Shooting lasted for 12 to 14 hours a day, six days a week. On Sundays, Wyler would meet with Fry and Zimbalist for story conferences. The pace of the film was so grueling that a doctor was brought onto the set to give a vitamin B complex injection to anyone who requested it (shots which Wyler and his family later suspected may have contained amphetamines). Wyler was unhappy with Heston's performances, feeling they did not make Judah Ben-Hur a plausible character. Wyler shot 16 takes of Heston saying, "I'm a Jew!" By November 1958,
Ben-Hur (2016 film) as "Misguided, diminished and dismally done in every way". "Rolling Stone" labeled the film "A Remake Disaster of Biblical Proportions." "Empire" summarized it as "Passable for the most part, but laughably inept in places." Sister Rose Pacette wrote a positive review for the "National Catholic Reporter", objecting only to the anachronistic costumes worn by Jewish women in the film. The movie has resulted in a court fight about labor agreements. 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