Ben Hur

Ya!

Ya!

Ya!

Messala. Whoa!

Messala!

Messala.

Messala?

Did I win?

No, but you nearly killed yourself trying to. Come on.

Is there any other way to race?

Tell that to my mother.

One, two, three!

I should have a line of slaves behind me.

And one beside you, whispering in your ear that you're a man, not a god.

Is that not the Roman way, Octavius Messala?

Whoa! Whoa!

What happened to the other cart?

We went over some rough ground.

They're not racing chariots, you know?

I told him that.

We'll repair it, Mother. I promise.

Where have you two been all day?

Why didn't you take me with you?

Because you are child and not proper company for young men.

Tickle her severely, Messala.

Judah.

A messenger from the Garrison delivered this.

It's for Messala.

We always knew this would come.

But it's been five years,

more, since his mother died.

Would you prefer his father had sent for him immediately?

Tirzah will be most unhappy.

None of us will be happy, Judah.

And Simonides has arrived.

You must change your clothes before you greet him.

Yes, I forgot he was coming.

I'm sorry. I should have been here to meet him.

Yes.

It's time for you to take up your responsibilities,

and for Messala to face his.

Childhood only lasts so long.

So our childhoods end on the same day, his and mine.

And our lives go in different directions.

Different directions,

but the same journey to manhood

and all its rewards and responsibilities.

And I know that you will meet whatever lies ahead

with a good heart and a brave spirit,

for you are your father's son.

And my mother's.

No mother was ever more blessed in a child.

Go now, Judah, and tell your friend playtime's over.

So it would seem.

What's the secret?

You just have to be ready.

Who is it from?

From my illustrious father, Senator Marcellus Agrippa.

You read it.

It's a private letter, Messala.

I don't think you'll be embarrassed by too many intimacies.

Remember, the secret is to expect it to fall every single moment.

"To Octavius Messala.

"You will leave Jerusalem with the next military convoy to Caesarea"

"where transportation has been arranged for your journey to Rome."

Is that all?

He's a man of few words, Marcellus Agrippa.

I sometimes envy you having a dead father.

Judah, how good to see you.

Forgive me for not being here to meet you.

It is of no matter.

You are well?

Yes, yes, thank you.

And you? Your journey was not too tiring?

The distance from Antioch does not grow shorter,

and I do not grow younger.

Judah, I think you know

that your father, of blessed memory,

hoped that one day we would unite our families

in more than mercantile matters.

The painter does my daughter no justice.

Esther is not simply a face, but a mind and a spirit of rare quality.

I hope your father's and my aspirations will be fulfilled.

Yes, yes.

It has to be your wish also.

And Esther's?

Of course. Of course.

Thank you.

No, no. It is for you

until you meet in person.

Come with me.

Would if I could.

Where you are going is the center of the world, Messala.

Things that would never be possible here will come your way.

Will you write to us?

I doubt it. I am no hand with a pen.

But I'll think of you, all of you. And I'll miss you.

And I will come back.

Promise?

You be safe, Octavius Messala.

We will race again.

God willing.

Forward march! Left, right. Left, right. Left, right, left.

Left, right. Left, right. Left, right, left.

Judah! Judah!

This came for you.

Messala is here.

Open it.

What does it say?

"Judah Ben Hur is ordered to present himself"

"to the Garrison Commander upon receipt of this notice."

Well, it's to the point.

Probably written by a scribe.

It certainly wasn't written by a friend.

Well, you better not keep the Garrison Commander waiting.

Halt.

I see you forgot nothing I taught you.

You know what the emperor Octavius said of Rome?

He said, "I found this city built of bricks, and I left it made of marble."

That is what I intend to say of Jerusalem.

That is a remarkable aspiration for a garrison commander.

I won't always be a garrison commander

anymore than Pontius Pilate will always be the Governor of Judaea.

We could do great things here together, you and I.

Marcellus Agrippa's got plans for me.

He spent a great deal of money and influence advancing my career.

Only shows his regard for you as his son.

No.

No, it's his regard for his own future.

He wants a strong man on his side,

someone with military renown to his name.

Yes. And he's chosen you, Messala.

No, not quite. I mean, he still hasn't given me his name.

I am still his unacknowledged bastard.

Begotten of a mistress he abandoned when he found someone younger.

No. My father, the senator, is a cruel, cunning, capricious man,

and those are some of his better qualities.

He's given me this chance, which I am determined to take.

The trouble is it's earned me the enmity of Pontius Pilate.

So I must tread carefully.

You can be of help to me, Judah.

Of course, in whatever way I can.

This festival of the Passover.

Now should you know of any elements

that plan to disrupt Pilate's arrival,

I'd want to know of them.

It would reflect badly on me, you understand?

Are you asking me to become an informer, Messala?

I'm asking you to help preserve the order of a Roman province.

This is my career, Judah.

I can't afford mistakes. Not now, not at the start.

Pilate, he'd have me removed

or demoted, given a chance.

All I'm asking, between friends,

is if you know, or hear, or suspect anything,

just let me know.

Believe me, it saves much worse

if such things can be nipped in the bud.

Speaking of nipping in the bud,

which of these do you prefer?

I give you first choice.

I'm nothing if not a generous friend.

If you will excuse me.

Shouldn't have thought you suffer from the Greek affliction.

Judah, when may I pay my respects to your mother?

She's well I hope?

She is.

She's looking forward to seeing you.

And Tirzah, she must be married by now at her ripe age?

No. Tirzah has set her standards so high

that none of her suitors can meet them.

So there is hope for me yet.

Come and eat with us.

It's good to see you, Judah.

We'll do great things here, you and I.

A great thing has already come to pass.

You are here with us again.

Hey! Let's hurry up. Get a move on.

He's a surly bugger, that foreman of yours, Judah.

Saves me from having to be one.

Yes.

Well, that's what I'll be doing

under the new Garrison Commander.

What do you mean?

I'm being forced to step down a rank for some child.

Well, he must have the qualifications,

or he wouldn't have been given the post.

It's not what you know. It's who you know.

The Governor's none too pleased.

He wanted to make me permanent.

Mind you, I wouldn't trust Pilate's judgment either.

It's all politics with these buggers.

That's it then, David.

All done.

You intend to enter the chariot race, Gaius?

Is there any other reason to live, Judah?

You'll be safe laying a talent on me.

It wouldn't do for a Jew to wager

against his own team, now would it?

Suit yourself,