MovieChat Forums > Ben-Hur A Tale of the Christ (1927) Discussion > PLEASE TELL ME...

PLEASE TELL ME...

posted 19 years ago by roman_g
10 replies | jump to latest

hi!

I really like the music carl davis composed for this movie. now my question: does the original score of ben hur sounds differently than the carl davis score?

[–] The-Silent-Photoplayer 19 years ago

MUCH differently and it is a MUCH better score.

-J. Theakston
The Silent Photoplayer
http://www.thephotoplayer.com/

[–] roman_g 19 years ago

really?

i didn´t hear the old score, but the newer is VERY great. the ben hur theme is super, for example durin the chariot race, everytime ben hur is in the picture, this theme is played. has ben hur in the old score an own theme too?

and in the last shot, after ben hur says: "He will live forever in the hearts of men!" how does the music sounds when the movie fades out? are there also violins?

sorry for my english, I try my best.

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] 19 years ago

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[–] solou 18 years ago

I just saw it and I still think it is the "bees knees"...the Ramon Novarro & Francis X. Bushman persormances are all time classics...they both OWN those roles for eternity...the 1959 movie just does not compare in any way to the original classic of 1925...it's like Casablanca...it just can not be equaled...if it ain't broke don't fix it...I like the classic acting of the silent films...it is a whole different art form...

[–] gishpuppy-pk 18 years ago

MUCH differently and it is a MUCH better score.

How did you hear it?

[–] fibbovan 18 years ago

"I like the classic acting of the silent films...it is a whole different art form..."

I agree; it's been said that if actors in silent films acted like actors today (that is, as just a regular film with the sound turned off), the audience would be a) bored to tears and b) wouldn't know what was going on.

*I was talking to myself.*

[–] Harold_Robbins 18 years ago

Times change, styles change, expectations change - many of today's audiences are finding the acting in sound films from the 1930s, 1940s and even the 1950s hard to take now. It doesn't mean it was bad, (which unfortunately seems to be the first conclusion most jump to), just that it's different than what we're used to now.

"I don't use a pen: I write with a goose quill dipped in venom!"---W. Lydecker

[–] mckelvey-1 17 years ago

Apparently it was a mix of classical music themes (Lohengrin, Parsifal, etc) and not through composed by any one person, but assembled by someone on the studio payroll.

[–] Chance2000esl 16 years ago

When I was in high school (1961) a friend of mine had an old piano roll (for his family's player piano, of course) of "The Ben Hur Chariot Race" from the 1925 film. I would play it several times whenever I visited him. I can still sing it for you if you'd like to hear it. Duh-duh, duh-duh, DAH, duh duh dut-daah; duh-duh, duh-duh, DUT, dah-dah daah-- these bars keep repeating. It really souded more like a peppy syncopated dance number like 'Stumbling' (All Around the Party). Needless to say, the magnificent Carl David soundtrack is way different, but it is one that strongly complements the film and heightens the film's power.