Richards' Analysis of Ben Hur

Richards comments on several characteristics of the 1925 Ben Hur such as the accuracy of the plot, character casting choices, use of color and the elaborate sets. He praises the gruesomeness of the film as one of the most important defining characteristics because of the message that it sends about the Romans as well as the Christians. The sets were clearly very advanced and in detail and this was very important to the success of the film. I agree with the importance of the sets and gruesomeness but was surprised by how little Richards addressed the depiction of Jesus as well as the use of technicolor. The fact that Jesus was only portrayed as a hand or a foot on occasion and that he was always marked by a shining light was very interesting because of the sensitivity to the depiction of Christ at the time. The use of technicolor and tinting of the scenes was way beyond anything that had ever been done at that point and I would have assumed it would have been more important to touch on in the eyes of Richards.