Ben Hur analysis

I fully agree with Richards views on the character casting choice.  I think he is right in saying that Ramon Navarro is best for Ben Hur who is a smaller more timid character, as opposed to Messalla who played by Francis Bushman, who paints the the accurate picture of a much larger and aggressive anti-Semitic Roman. I disagree with Richards on another point he makes which is that the 1925 version of Ben Hur is much more accurate to the novel it is based upon the 1959 version. I have know seen both the 1925 and 1959 versions and after reading the summary of the novel on the internet I have come to the realization that neither of the two movies really do the novel justice. Richards can claim that the 1925 Ben Hur is more accurate to the movie but there are many parts of the book that aren't in the 1925 Ben Hur or 1959 version. An example would be After Messalla and Judah Ben Hur meet up, Judah in the book decides to go to a military academy in Rome to learn how to fight like a Roman so he can one day defeat them. This never happens in either of the movies. So I have to respectfully disagree with Richards.