History Awesome / BenHur

* Judah's confrontation with Messala before the Race. Messala and his Roman friends gather to see the wager posted from Shiek Ilderim's servant: Fifty Talents. Messala attacks the servant, accusing him of fraud. Who has Fifty Talents? Enter Judah, in possession of such a sum. Messala is stunned at seeing his former friend after several years. He tries to insult him before his friends: A Jewish charioteer? But Judah remains firm. He signs up on the wager. Messala hesitates about betting as well, fearing the risk of losing everything. Judah pokes his ego by making an IronicEcho about the so-called Roman supremacy over his Jewish person. Messala bids.
* [[TheBigRace The chariot race]]. One of the most spectacular action sequences in the Silent Film Era.

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* UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} giving Judah the water. The Roman centurion yells at him to stop, and he keeps pouring it for Judah without so much as flinching. When the centurion gets angry and steps forward, Jesus stands up tall and silently looks the man in the eye. The centurion goes from anger to confusion to sheepishness to guilt, then backs off.
* [[TheBigRace The chariot race]], which doubles as a big {{revenge}} showdown between Judah and Messala. Expertly staged with every edit, every stunt, every close-up detailing the hatred and bloodlust the two characters have against each other. ''Still'' considered one of the greatest action sequences in film history.
** Even the 1994 pan-and-scan VHS of this movie reverted to the Letterbox screen just so this sequence can retain its impact (the 1983 pan-and-scan Laserdisc cropped this scene as well)
* A more low-key example would be the scene where Judah and Messala toss spears at a rafter beam and ''nail'' it.
* Judah's dramatic boast, "I told you I would return," and his demanding of Messala to find his family or else. This man has just come back from a certifiable death sentence - he shouldn't have even survived the trek to the boat! - so if he swears vengeance on you, not even the whole Roman Empire can help you (especially when he comes back the favored son of a Roman superior).
* The 'Miracle' sequence, right after the Christ's death on the cross. A thunderstorm erupts, forcing Judah's leprosy-stricken sister and mother to seek shelter in a cave. Amidst torrential rain and repeated lightening strikes, they suddenly realize their affliction has disappeared. As the music swells, cut to montage of Christ's blood flowing to the base of the cross and being carried overland by rain-swollen streams, symbolically cleansing the world.
* Judah's escape from the warship, freeing many other slaves in the process, saving Quintus Arrius' life with his [[JavelinThrower spear-throwing]] skills and shoving a torch in the face of a Macedonian soldier.

* Judah's confrontation with Messala before the Race. Messala tries to insult him, but Judah remains firm. He reveals his native wealth by betting on his success with his money. Messala hesitates about betting against him, knowing his own money can't stack against Judah's immense bid. Judah pokes his ego by making an IronicEcho about the so-called Roman supremacy over his Jewish person. Messala bids.

* UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} giving Judah the water. The Roman centurion yells at him to stop, and he keeps pouring it for Judah without so much as flinching. When the centurion gets angry and steps forward, the Christ stands up tall and looks the man in the eye. The centurion goes from anger to confusion to sheepishness, then backs off.

** Even the pan-and-scan versions of this movie revert to the Letterbox screen just so this sequence can retain its impact.

* UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} giving Judah the water. The Roman cebturion yells at him to stop, and he keeps pouring it for Judah without so much as flinching. When the centurion gets angry and steps forward, the Christ stands up tall and looks the man in the eye. The centurion goes from anger to confusion to sheepishness, then backs off.

* The chariot race once again, even if it falls short of 1959 version.

* The chariot race once again, even without the novelty and {{fanfare}} of the 1959 version.

* The 'Miracle' sequence, right after Christ's death on the cross: [[spoiler: A thunderstorm erupts, forcing Judah's leprosy-stricken sister and mother to seek shelter in a cave. Amidst torrential rain and repeated lightening strikes, they suddenly realize their affliction has disappeared. As the music swells, CUT TO montage of Christ's blood flowing to the base of the cross and being carried overland by rain-swollen streams, symbolically cleansing the world.]]

* The chariot race is an epic setpiece once again, even without the novelty and {{fanfare}} of the 1959 version.

* UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} giving Judah the water. The Roman slavemaster yellsat him to stop, and he keeps pouring it for Judah without so much as flinching. When the slavemaster gets angry and steps forward, the Christ stands up tall and looks the man in the eye. The slavemaster goes from anger to confusion to sheepishness, then backs off.

** Judah is able to hold on, fight off Messala and win with his chariot running on ''one wheel'' after the other gets destroyed.

** Judah is able to hold on, fight off Messala and win on ''one wheel'' after the other gets destroyed.

* [[TheBigRace The chariot race]], which doubles as a big {{revenge}} showdown between Judah and Messala. Expertly staged with every edit, every stunt, every close-up detailing the hatred and bloodlust the two characters have against each other. ''Still'' considered the greatest action sequence in film history.

* The chariot race between Judah and Messala. Expertly staged with every edit, every stunt, every close-up detailing the hatred and bloodlust the two characters have against each other. ''Still'' considered the greatest action sequence in film history.

* The chariot race is an epic setpiece once again, even without the {{fanfare}} of the 1959 version.

* The chariot race is an impressive piece of filmmaking once again, even without the {{fanfare}} of the 1959 version.

* The chariot race once again, even without the {{fanfare}} of the original.

* Judah's escape from the warship, freeing many other slaves in the process, saving Quintus Arrius' life with his spear-throwing skills and shoving a torch in the face of an enemy soldier.

!!1959 film:

!!2016 film:

* Jesus giving Judah the water. There's a Roman soldier yelling at him to stop, and he keeps pouring it for Judah without so much as flinching. When the soldier gets angry and steps forward, he stands up tall and looks the man in the eye. The man goes from anger to confusion to sheepishness, then backs off.

* The Chariot race between Judah and Messala. Expertly staged with every edit, every stunt, every close-up detailing the hatred and bloodlust the two characters have against each other. ''Still'' considered the greatest action sequence in film history.

* Judah's escape from the warship, freeing many other slaves in the process, saving Quintus Arrius' life with his spear-throwing skills and shoving a torch in the face of an enemy soldier.

* Jesus giving Judah the water. There's a Roman soldier yelling at him to stop, and he keeps pouring it for Judah without so much as flinching. When the soldier gets angry and steps forward, he stands up tall and looks the man in the eye. The man goes from anger to confusion to sheepishness, then backs off. As this troper's sister said. "You can have Medusa on your chest, and you still can't face down Jesus."

* Judah's escape from the warship, freeing many other slaves in the process, and shoving a torch in the face of an enemy soldier.