Ben Hur

The highly esteemed prince Judah Ben-Hur, of his Jewish people, lives as a wealthy merchant in Jerusalem at the time of Christ's birth. Ben-Hur has acknowledged Roman rule, but when his Roman childhood friend Messala returns to the city as a power-hungry tribune and seeks to force him to betray his Jewish people, the friendship of the once inseparable pair turns into merciless hatred. The ruthless Messala wants to demonstrate his cruelty and seizes the first opportunity to imprison Ben-Hur's family and banish his former friend as a slave.