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Vodcast: Is the New Ben-Hur Better Than the Old Ones?

Judah Ben-Hur just gets better and better with age.

And, depending on who you ask, the same is true of his movies.

The latest retelling of Lew Wallace’s epic 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, limped through the box office during its opening weekend—perhaps not altogether unlike some of the horses in the 1925 silent version of the classic story.

But, in spite of a less-than-stellar box office take, an argument is being made that this update is in fact better than the 1925 version, and even better than the 1959 Charlton Heston classic that garnered a record 11 Academy Awards.

What is that argument? Is it valid? Can it really be argued that a box office flop is better than a Oscar-laden classic? You might be surprised by who thinks the answer to the latter question is a resounding “Yes!”

You might also be surprised by who has only read the sizable 1880 tome and skipped the movies altogether.

And, for those of you who want to take this lightning rod controversy of a topic on the road, here is an audio version that you can stream or download.