One of the first things I tell young filmmakers when they ask for advice is to WATCH MOVIES! Watch a LOT of movies! You have to be familiar with what has already been done and build on that rich history. There are so many techniques and styles you can pick up. Why miss out on that?

Today we’re launching a new series of posts. This year, I decided to watch the current AFI Top 100 films in order starting at 100 and going up. I watched the old list when I was in film school. It was really fun because most of the films I hadn’t seen before. Now, most will be repeats but I’m sure I’ll get much more out of the films this time around.

For each movie on the list, I’ll post a little tidbit of what I picked up while watching the film or the special features. I recommend you all watch along with me and post your own thoughts in the comments section. We could start our own online movie discussion club. It’ll do wonders to increase your film vocabulary and it will be a lot of fun.

Now let’s begin with number 100: William Wyler’s Ben-Hur.

IMDB.com gives this logline for Ben-Hur: When a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge. Ben-Hur’s full title is Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Judah (played by Charlton Heston) interacts with Jesus several times and the story is ultimately about his redemption and conversion to Christianity.

These are the things that struck me while watching Ben-Hur. (I’ve seen this movie a dozen times – I love it.)

1. The visual FX – There are several shots where simple matte paintings extend the physical sets to give a sense of scale. They are subtle but so effective. I never paid attention to these until I watched the special features. There are a lot of matte paintings in this film. I’m so amazed that someone can hand-paint a photo-realistic painting.
2. The Chariot Race - George Lucas admittedly stole this scene and placed it in Star Wars: Episode One and called it a Pod Race. But the reason it works in Ben-Hur is because the two men racing were once best friends so the emotional tension behind the scene is great. In Star Wars, we’re watching Anakin, a character we don’t care about, race against Sebulba, a character we care even less about. I recommend watching both scenes back to back. I ALWAYS fall asleep in the Pod Race but I’m riveted by the Chariot Race. It seems like basic stuff but you could apply this principle to any action scene – make us care about the characters.
3. The Score – I love it when there are several musical themes in a film. (We made sure to request multiple themes you could whistle to the composers on our film, Dangerous Calling.) Ben-Hur has some great themes and they are used in some subtle and not-so-subtle ways. My favorite is Jesus’ theme and the Galley theme.

William Wyler said his goal was to make one of every kind of film. This was his Cecile B. Demille epic. I’m amazed that he was successful with all of them. He was a very well-rounded filmmaker and one of my favorite directors.

Who’s going to join me watching the Top 100 this year? What did you discover while watching Ben-Hur?