It is no secret that lengthy earlier than Quentin Tarantino began making “homages” to his favourite movies, George Lucas did a lot the identical – ripping off basic moments just like the Loss of life Star trench run from Japanese and previous warfare movies he liked. He actually handed the particular results guys on the newly fashioned ILM footage of previous dogfights that they used, virtually shot for shot to create the TIE Fighter vs X-Wing battles.
So it isn’t stunning that for the following Star Wars movie he directed (Irvin Kershner & Richard Marquand directed Empire and Jedi, respectively), he would return to acquainted movie college watching to mine extra moments for The Phantom Menace. His alternative this time – Ben Hur.
Directed by William Wyler, on location in Italy, with model new cameras with revolutionary know-how, Ben Hur made historical past, not for Charlton Heston’s Moses turning into one other inspiring Hebrew chief, however for the unbelievable chariot race that took 5 weeks to movie and was enhancing utilizing one out of each 263 toes of 65mm movie. For comparability, that is at the very least 4 motion pictures price of movie that was by no means used.
After all, in true Lucas style, he borrowed greater than only one second from the long-lasting sword and sandal pic. We’ll checklist all of the comparisons additional down on this article.
However the greatest comparability that may be made between Ben Hur and Star Wars is the similarity between the chariot race and the Podrace.
Similar to the Podrace, the chariot race begins with a bit of trumpeting music that introduces us to the gamers we’ll see on the observe. Sebulba and Anakin are stand-ins for Messala and Ben Hur. Sebulba’s pod is constructed to break the opposite pods round them, and so is Messala’s chariot, with wheels which have spikes protruding from them to destroy all the different rivals.
A parade in Rome is thrown in his honor and the comparisons to the parade on Naboo on the finish of The Phantom Menace couldn’t be extra clear. From the confetti and horses and music, to the way in which the gang is photographed and the way the leaders of Rome are watching it from the highest of an enormous staircase, it’s all, shot for shot, the sequence of the movie set to Augie’s Nice Municipal Band.
At one level, the decisive second within the race, Messala and Ben Hur’s chariots are locked collectively on the wheels, similar to Anakin and Sebulba on the finish of the Podrace.
Different Comparisons
| Pod Race | Chariot Race |
| The hero’s racing rival, Sebulba | The hero’s racing rival, Messala |
| The Emperor’s pro-hatred speeches to Luke: “Good. I can really feel your anger… Let the hate circulation via you… Your hate has made you highly effective.” | Arrius’ pro-hatred speech to Ben-Hur: “Your eyes are stuffed with hate – that is good. Hate retains a person alive. It provides him power.” |
| Theed pageantry | Roman pageantry – The ceremony ending Phantom Menace is paying homage to these in Ben Hur, together with the colour scheme, costumes, baskets of flower petals, flag-waving, even the large, peculiarly curved horns |
| Wood shutters on Jabba’s barge | Wood shutters in Ben Hur’s dwelling |
| Watto: A brief, pot-bellied, ill-mannered Toydarian who sponsors Anakin within the pod races and bets closely on the end result. | Sheik Ilderim: A brief, pot-bellied, ill-mannered Arab who sponsors Ben Hur within the chariot races and bets closely on the end result. |
| Slave galleys in Roman ship – Roman troopers stroll throughout a protracted wood gangplank whereas slaves row in sunken pits on both facet. | The bridge of the Star Destroyer – Darth Vader and Imperial officers stroll throughout a gangplank with lower-ranking officers in sunken pits on both facet. |
This text was produced and syndicated by Wealth of Geeks.
Paul Rose Jr has labored as TV Information Producer, Forensic Analyst, and Practice Conductor, amongst many different issues. He’s the previous TV Editor for Infuzemag.com and owns extra books, DVDs, and comics than most individuals have seen of their lifetimes. When he’s not writing articles, he workout routines his inventive muscle writing screenplays and appearing in movie and tv in Los Angeles, CA.
