lotsofdvds

Sounds like getting laid though might lighten you up a bit.

baracine

Thanks for the free medical advice, Professor, but it's my experience that guys who like "Gladiator" a lot mostly get their jollies from watching all-male wrestling on the late show.

"Do you like gladiator movies, Joey?"

masetodd

I don't have time to argue against all your points, but I have to chime in on this one - didn't you happen to see Star Wars: Phantom Menance?? Nuff said.

baracine

Was Spencer Treat Clark in that movie too?!

grim_tales

I liked Gladiator Solid entertainment.

baracine

"Have you ever seen a grown man naked, Joey?"

grim_tales

Whats the problem with that?
Where's the reply to what I wrote? That picture?
I havent seen Ben Hur so I cant comment (though I would like to see it)

baracine

Not to get too far off-track: This was a reference to a few lines from the 1980 comedy film "Airplane", spoken by Capt. Oveur (Peter Graves): http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0080339/quotes.

Capt. Oveur happened to like gladiator movies and little boys, not necessarily in that order.

See also:
http://www.gotwavs.com/cgi-bin/mp3s....rplane=ap5.mp3

If you've never seen either "Airplane" or "Ben-Hur", I'm sure you love "Gladiator".

grim_tales

Thanks I've never seen Airplane either actually I'll rent it one day (is it on R2 in England? Not sure).

brandybran

How can someone who likes Airplane hate Gladiator? (maybe it's a French-Canadian thing) Airplane is certainly a funny movie, but it's no Ben Hur. You need to come down from you high horse dude.

baracine

The implication is that if a film-goer hasn't seen anything, "Airplane" or "Ben-Hur", he or she is more likely to like "Gladiator". I will refer you to DVD Savant's review of "Gladiator" and will leave it at that. Remember, this thread is about "Ben-Hur" the 4-disc DVD edition?

http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s119gladiateher.html

(It's called, coincidentally: "So, Timmy, Do You Like Movies with Gladiators?")

The Ferret

They're two completely different movies. I love Airplane, find it hillarious. I don't like (but don't hate) Gladiator, found it boring.

I have to admit, Ben-Hur is one of those movies i'm emberassed to say I haven't seen. Based on the popularity of the movie, and my interest in Spartacus and other epics I kind of want to blind-buy this.

baracine

Guys, I make a solemn vow: When they come up with a 4-disc Collector's Edition of "Gladiator" with a cool documentary extra about "The Gladiator Legacy" or "The Film That Changed Ancient Roman History Forever By Pushing the History-Erasing Button" with exclusive interviews with script-writers Ren Hoëk and Stimpson J. Cat, I will not trouble you with my impressions of that film, or of "Ben-Hur" or of "The Fall of the Roman Empire" for that matter.

In the meanwhile, does anyone have anything to say about the 4-disc Ben-Hur Collector's Edition?

lotsofdvds

It has one disc more than the Gladiator: Extended Edition.

lotsofdvds

What sort of experience do you have in that regard?

djtoell

After your disturbing and homophobic rants about Gladiator, I think you've scared away anyone who would have had something to contribute.

DJ

calhokie

Yeah, I think this thread is just about as good as dead.

I'm still curious if the 4-disc set is worth buying to replace the old flipper. Obviously the quality is better but is the 1925 version worth watching? I'm reluctant to spend $25-30 on a double-dip that I will probably only watch 1 or 2 times (having already seen the old flipper plus TV broadcasts and Ben Hur is not a quick movie to watch at 3 hr 42min). Also, does anyone have any thoughts on the aspect ratio changes. It looks like they kept is the same (2.74 vs 2.76:1) but appear to have zoomed out a tad so we get more image information on the screen. Getting more image should make the epic even more epic.

baracine

Congratulations, calhokie, you appear to be the first contributor in a long time who has actually seen "Ben-Hur" and cares about the subject of this thread.

It is.

It's an extremely fine film, even more spectacular in some respects. The naval battle was not done with miniatures, but with real ships and real people.

Yes, but it's the definitive edition and doesn't sacrifice any of the extras of the previous version. Its new extras are quite educational, even if they pay hommage to "Gladiator" in passing.

Correct. The bitrate has also been upped to compensate for the fact that the characters on the screen are actually smaller. The colour has been improved. The 5.1 sound is in directional multi-channel instead of just Dolby Surround masquerading as 5.1 and the film appears absolutely scratch-free.

ShagMan

wanted to add my 2c and say WOW this movie looks spectacular. Definitely a must have if you're a Ben Hur fan.

The Ferret

I'm also wondering about the re-watchability factor (most important factor when buying a DVD for me). I'm sure i'll love the movie but would I want to watch it more than 2x a year?

I guess I only watch Lawrence of Arabia LE 1-2x a year but it's possibly my favourite movie so...

baracine

It's worth buying even if you watch it only once. Do like I do: Give your old copy as a present for Christmas, preferably to someone who doesn't know about the new 4-disc edition but would be pleased to see the film.

DVD Polizei

RockStrongo

Im not a huge Ben-Hur fan and I own the old flipper. BUT, I AM a fan of wonderful films and I love it when studios do things right. So, I rewarded them for this great set by opening my wallet.

Its a fine addition to my collection.

Onizuka

I've been waiting for ages to own thr 1925 version of Ben-Hur. I just wish the 1925 version had some extras other than the new score.

PatrickMcCart

Well, nearly half of the 1994 making-of documentary covers the silent version, as well as the original book and play. I would have liked a commentary, though. There's a great section of Kevin Brownlow's book "The Parade's Gone By" on the silent version that's worth reading.