Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ culture: gender and family; slavery and freedom; ethnicity and empire; and nationhood and citizenship". With the chariot race as its central attraction and the character of Judah emerging as a "heroic action figure", "Ben-Hur" enjoyed a wide popularity among readers, similar to the dime novels of its day; however, its continued appearance on popular lists of great American literature remained a source of frustration for many literary critics over the years. The novel had millions of fans, including several influential men in politics. U.S. president and American Civil War general Ulysses S. Grant, U.S. president James Garfield, and Jefferson Davis,
Ben Hur (2003 film) Ben Hur (2003 film) Ben Hur is a 2003 animated drama film based on the novel "", by Lew Wallace. It is the fourth film adaptation of the novel. Charlton Heston's production company, Agamemnon Films (in association with GoodTimes Entertainment), produced this direct-to-video animated version of the story, with Heston himself giving voice to the title character. Heston had won an Academy Award for playing the same role in the 1959 version. This version was Heston's last film. The animated version tells the same story as the 1959 film, with some differences. The story begins with Balthazar waiting in the