Ben-Hur

As the grand finale of Oscar Week at Cinecittà, Ben-Hur (1959) returns to the big screen for a one-time screening. You might be wondering: why is Cinecittà showing this particular film during Oscar Week? It’s because the film won more Oscars than any other. In 1960, it took home a record-breaking 11 Oscars out of 12 nominations, including Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Special Effects.

Ben-Hur remains one of Hollywood’s great spectacle productions to this day. When the film was released in 1959, director William Wyler set a new standard for what cinema could be. At a time when Hollywood risked losing audiences to television, Ben-Hur offered an unparalleled cinematic experience with massive sets, thousands of extras, and technical craftsmanship that was unmatched. The epic story of Judah Ben-Hur—about betrayal, loss, revenge, and ultimately redemption—seamlessly combined human emotion with overwhelming spectacle. The absolute highlight is the twenty-minute chariot race, which remains breathtaking and is considered one of the most thrilling action sequences in film history, amplified by Miklós Rózsa’s iconic score, which helped make the film a lasting cultural phenomenon.