Ben-Hur — Featurette: 'Chariot Race'

source:   youtube.com

added: Mon, Jun 13th '16

When filming the Charlton Heston-starring Oscar-winning epic "Ben-Hur," a stuntman nearly lost his life while performing in the now-iconic chariot race scene. More than 50 years later, the sprawling story of a fallen prince-turned-chariot champion is getting retold for the CGI generation. And you'll be surprised to know that some of the stunts in the 2016 remake were as real and dangerous as the1959 film.

"Everybody is going to think that this was some sort of big CGI feat that we managed to construct. But it's not at all," says British actor Jack Huston in a new featurette (watch it above), which goes into the making of their version of the chariot race sequence in the upcoming "Ben-Hur" remake. "We decided very early on that every time you see us with those horses; that's us with those horses."

Huston, best known for playing disfigured hitman Richard Harrow on four seasons of the HBO series "Boardwalk Empire," stars in the film as Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who is thrown into a life of slavery -- and eventually, a life of chariot racing -- after being double-crossed by his childhood friend and Roman officer, Messala (played by Toby Kebbell).

Directed by Russian-born action helmer Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and also starring Morgan Freeman, the film is set to hit theaters August 12th.