Ben-Hur

Warner Brothers Home Entertainment is releasing director William Wyler's 1959 classic Ben-Hur in 4K UHD format. The three hour 42 minute epic comes in a two disc set. A steel-book collectors edition was released earlier this year containing significantly more bonus material than is available here. This version comes with a music only audio track featuring the the original score by Mikos Rózsa and a commentary by film historian T Gene Hatcher and lead actor Charlton Heston.

The visual and audio quality of the film is, as can be expected of historical releases these days, very good. 4K, and a large screen, makes the original 2.76:1 comfortably viewable. HDR dosn't, with the exception of the naval battle, make much of an improvment to the film. It does however make a huge improvment to the overall viewing experience. The unusually wide aspect ratio requires that the film be letterboxed. The black bands at the top and bottem of the screen have to be as black as black can go.

Reviewed on: 20 Apr 2026