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<\/a><\/p>\nBen-Hur<\/a><\/i> is out on DVD and Blu-Ray today. My take on the film hasn\u2019t changed much since I wrote my review<\/a> \u2014 if anything, I was even more struck by the casually anachronistic dialogue this time (\u201cWow,\u201d \u201cOh my God,\u201d \u201copinion-makers,\u201d etc.) \u2014 but I did want to jot down a few quick notes about the Blu-Ray\u2019s bonus features.<\/p>\n First, the bonus features that are available on both versions<\/a> of the Blu-Ray (there is a regular disc and an \u201cexclusive\u201d disc just for Christian retailers) and on iTunes:<\/p>\n Ben-Hur<\/i>: The Legacy (10:37)<\/b>. Carol Wallace, the great-great-granddaughter of Ben-Hur<\/i> novelist Lew Wallace and a writer in her own right, talks about her ancestor\u2019s personal history and how Christians in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were encouraged to read a novel for the first time, and to see a play for the first time when the first major stage adaptation of Ben-Hur<\/i> toured the country. The writers and producers of the new film also talk about how they were inspired by the original book (rather than the earlier films) and by the political legacy of Nelson Mandela.<\/p>\n The Epic Cast (12:10)<\/b>. The producers talk about how they hired actors from around the world and, notably, about how they made Ilderim (the Morgan Freeman character, who was an Arab in the original book) more integral to this version of Ben-Hur<\/i> than he was to the earlier versions. Director Timur Bekmambetov says he wanted to make this film because if Freeman played the \u201cmentor\u201d, it would give the film \u201ca sense\u201d.<\/p>\n A Tale for Our Times (15:25)<\/b>. Bekmambetov says he tried to make the story more \u201cmodern\u201d and \u201cemotional\u201d. Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey talk about getting the ancient Italian city Matera<\/a> to double for Jerusalem, as it has in a number of earlier films. Production designer Naomi Shohan says the Hur home was based on a house in Pompeii, but she kept red out of the set design because that\u2019s a Roman colour; instead, she wanted the house to look more Hebrew. This featurette includes the clip about the shooting of the sea-galley sequence that I posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Chariot Race (10:37)<\/b>. The producers talk about designing chariots that were historically accurate but different from what we have seen before. Visual-effects supervisors Jim Rygiel and Kevin Scott also talk about using digital horses<\/a> whenever the script called for something particularly dangerous. This featurette includes both of the clips about the shooting of the chariot-race sequence that I posted here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Deleted scenes (11:03)<\/b>. There are seven scenes altogether here, and the bulk of this footage \u2014 seven minutes out of eleven \u2014 concerns the subplot in which Judah allows Esther to marry another man and then changes his mind at the last minute. (Needless to say, this version of that subplot doesn\u2019t reach the emotional heights or depths of the equivalent scenes in the 1959 film.) We also learn that Drusus, the former Roman soldier, kills himself after showing Judah where his mother and sister are.<\/p>\n Music videos (13:23)<\/b>. Includes all three videos that were released prior to the film\u2019s release \u2014 For King & Country\u2019s \u2018Ceasefire<\/a>\u2019, Mary Mary\u2019s \u2018Back to You<\/a>\u2019 and Andra Day\u2019s \u2018The Only Way Out<\/a>\u2019 \u2014 along with two brief behind-the-scenes featurettes.<\/p>\n And next, the three bonus features that are unique to the \u201cChristian\u201d Blu-Ray:<\/p>\n A Story of Christ (11:31)<\/b>. Carol Wallace talks about how her ancestor Lew Wallace wrote the novel as a way of exploring his own faith, while the filmmakers talk about embracing the faith aspects of the story. Rodrigo Santoro, who plays Jesus, talks about practicing carpentry before shooting his scenes, and about receiving Pope Francis\u2019s blessing<\/a> while the film was still being shot. Burnett talks about the \u201cemotional connection between Ben-Hur and Jesus\u201d, which reminds me of how he often used the phrase \u201cemotionally connective\u201d while promoting his 2013 miniseries The Bible<\/a><\/i>.<\/p>\n Executive Producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey Discuss Ben-Hur<\/i> with Pastor Rick Warren (28:31)<\/b>. This is one of two featurettes that are basically excerpted from the simulcast<\/a> that was done to promote the film on July 10.<\/p>\n Ben-Hur<\/i> Conversation with Bishop Kenneth C. Ulmer (17:53)<\/b>. This is the other featurette taken from the simulcast. (The two featurettes combined come to about 46 minutes, whereas the full simulcast \u2014 which included a trailer, a music video and about 20 minutes of footage from the movie \u2014 ran to about 80 minutes.)<\/p>\n And that\u2019s it! You can buy the Blu-Ray via Amazon<\/a> and ChristianCinema.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" There are two different versions of the Blu-Ray, depending on where you buy it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1650,4],"tags":[411,2202,3811,345,4008,1487,3838,3482,4007,412,51,629,3840,1946,2731,52,3733,1400],"class_list":["post-54218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-movies","category-blog","tag-ben-hur","tag-ben-hur-2016","tag-carol-wallace","tag-jesus","tag-jim-rygiel","tag-john-ridley","tag-keith-clarke","tag-kenneth-ulmer","tag-kevin-scott","tag-lew-wallace","tag-mark-burnett","tag-morgan-freeman","tag-naomi-shohan","tag-rick-warren","tag-rodrigo-santoro","tag-roma-downey","tag-sean-daniel","tag-timur-bekmambetov"],"yoast_head":"\n