A catastrophic remake that spans half a century

Ethan 2022-01-06 08:02:36

In history, only three films have won eleven Oscars, namely "Benxu" in 1959, "Titanic" in 1997 and "Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King" in 2003. In terms of fame, "Bin Xu" is far less well-known than the two later movies. In addition to the age-old factors, the historical and religious themes involved in the film are also difficult to please the tastes of today’s audiences, but it is undeniable that this epic masterpiece shot in the late 1950s is the last glory of the golden age of Hollywood. It is also the return of MGM Films after the disintegration of the major studio system.

With the passage of time, MGM, which was once glorious in the past, can only be sent under the fence. The remake of "Ben Xu" was used by MGM as an opportunity to reshape the past, but the film was not favored by the outside world from the beginning of the project. Now facts have proved that MGM's comeback was an irrational death.



The story of "Benxu" tells the story of the Roman Empire. The Jewish nobleman Judas Benxu in Jerusalem was betrayed by his friend Misala, causing his family to fall into prison. He himself was reduced to a slave in the Roman fleet and tolerated in order to revenge him. After five years and a series of hardships, he finally returned to Jerusalem and defeated his former friend Misala in the horse racing in the arena...

"Friendship-Betrayal-Revenge", this kind of plot model has long been in the West. The myths, dramas, and novels of "Benxu" have been repeatedly interpreted. The story of "Benxu" itself is not new and unique. The old version of "Benxu" can be regarded as a classic because the film will "Jesus preaching". As the hidden clues of the film, Binxu’s role promotes the spirit of Christian freedom, equality, and fraternity. Binxu is also gradually discovering in revenge and resistance that it can truly fight the Roman tyranny and save the people. Not the sword, but the fraternity of Christ.

The new version of "Binxu" itself weakened religious elements when it was adapted, and the domestically screened version even deleted the fragments about Jesus. As a result, the theme of the film is confused and unclear, and the plot is inconsistent. However, after removing these objective factors, looking at "Ben Xu" as a popcorn movie, its plot organization and characterization are still full of loopholes.

Judas Binxu, this character has undergone four transformations of identity in the old version of the movie, the Jewish aristocrat who advocates peace, the tenacious avenger, the rebel against the tyranny of Rome, and the saint who converts to the ideals of Christ. The new version of "Bin Xu" cuts off the protagonist's existence as a saint and weakens his identity as a rebel. Every turn of the fate of the protagonist is extremely far-fetched and artificial, far less smooth and free than the old version.

The film's definition of Misala's image is a complete failure. Although the film uses enough space in the opening to introduce his life and characterize his personality, it is still difficult to conceal the abruptness of the characters when their emotions change. At the end, Bin Xu and Mi Sarah's transformation of confederacy into jade silk completely ignores the opposition between power and freedom in their identities, status, and political thought. The film weakened the ethnic contradictions in the historical era, and focused on the emotional divergence and ambiguity of the two brothers, making this epic "IP" completely reduced to a soap opera of family struggle.



The special effects and scenes are supposed to be the only place in this new version of the movie that can show that it is "blue out of blue and better than blue", but it is a pity that although the new version of "Benxu" leads the film industry for more than half a century, The actual effect is disappointing.

The special effects scenes in the film mainly focus on two scenes-naval battle and horse racing. Due to technical limitations, the old version of "Benxu" can only use models to represent the naval battles of the Roman fleet, and its effect is naturally a bit rough and simple today. I originally thought that the new version of "Ben Xu" would have a magnificent naval battle scene, but in fact this scene always follows the protagonist’s perspective and stays in the cabin of the battle. The ship collides on the sea and the battle between the two armies on the deck is just With the few shots in the light and glimpses, the whole battle made the audience follow the protagonist’s perspective and see the leopard in the tube, only to see an embarrassing situation.

The most gold-rich one-time horse race in the whole film, the new version of "Benxu" is more suitable for the rhythm of the action drama in the editing process, and the rest is an imitation of the old version of "Benxu", but In terms of overall scene scheduling and atmosphere rendering, it is slightly inferior to the older version. As for the ancient Roman architecture and sculpture restored by the CG special effects in the film, it is far less than the majestic momentum of the actual construction.



(The picture above is a screenshot of the 1959 version of "Benxu") It is

hard to imagine that this "disastrous" remake came from the Russian director Timo Beckmanbetov, the creator of "Night Watch" and "Wanted Order". His meticulous narrative arrangement and bursting visual style in his past works are like vodka with a strong and strong taste, but now this Binxu is like a glass of no-nutrient soft drink. The reason is probably that the inherent framework of "Bin Xu" limits the director's inspiration, and his usual exaggerated and violent action style does not conform to the overall tone of this epic masterpiece.

From 1959 to 2016, this remake spanning more than half a century is only a partial presentation of the original work by interrupting the context in the classic frame. The new version of "Ben Xu" is a catastrophic remake, and the castration in the release version is even more so. Regarding the classic profanity, I suggest that there is no need to waste time and movie tickets for such an incomplete remake. If you are interested in the story of "Bin Xu" and have enough patience, you might as well go find it. Publish the classic version of 1959 and experience the epic masterpiece that lasted 3 hours and 40 minutes.


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Extended Reading
  • Damaris 2022-01-06 08:02:36

    Above the white horse is the sad prince with hatred instead of faith, and above the black horse is the spring breeze general who prevails over grace and righteousness. The ancient legend of being slaves in the city-states of Jerusalem, the story of the brothers who embraced Yanhe in the racecourse of the Roman Empire. The sacred relics that survived the shipwreck, the bargaining chips of the merchants, and the myth of the recovery of leprosy are bound to be attributed to religion and fate. Bin Xu, who had shaved his beard and shone dazzlingly, was full of resentment, and the suffering of this house was still not worth mentioning in his eyes.

  • Keely 2022-03-21 09:02:37

    2016/10/10@City Film

Ben-Hur quotes

  • Jesus: Hate, anger, fear. Those are lies they use to turn you against each other. When you set aside the hate they force you to carry, that's when you know love is our true nature.

  • Judah Ben-Hur: [to Dismas] How many Romans do you even know? Have you ever had a conversation with a single one in your life? Don't spit your hate for all when you don't even know one.