Let's watch the classic Ben-Hur, then dinner TBD

Reminder - $1 will be collected from each person at the event to cover Meetup website costs.

One of the greatest films of the classic era and winner of a record-setting 11 Academy Awards returns to the screen for Easter Season.

Ben-Hur was released in 1959 to great acclaim and fanfare, becoming an event that seized the American popular culture. Its legacy has continued to fascinate film scholars as well as movie fans who find it to be a one-of-a-kind feat of cinema.

The film, based on the monumental best-seller by Gen. Lew Wallace, tells the highly emotional story of a Judaean prince who finds his life overtaken by great sorrow, pain and heartbreak amid the backdrop of political turmoil and religious persecution.

A member of the Jewish nobility living in Jerusalem, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) lives a religious life and peacefully opposes the tyrannical occupation of Judea by Rome. When a boyhood friend, Messala (Stephen Boyd), returns to the region as a Roman official, he and Judah become estranged due to Messala’s fanatical loyalty to Rome and ruthless indifference to the fate of Judea. Casting friendship aside, Messala fabricates a charge of treason against Ben-Hur, his sister and mother, all of whom are arrested by Roman soldiers.

The cast also features Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe and Finlay Currie.

Ben-Hur is directed and produced by the legendary William Wyler. The brilliant score is by Miklos Rosza.

Please note: Tickets for this special engagement are $23 including taxes and handling fees.

The run time for this movie is 3 hours and 47 minutes.

There will be an intermission. There will be no trailers.

Showtime is 2 pm. I am sitting in D9. The theater is already selling so it's a good idea to buy tickets online ahead of time. After the movie we can grab a bite nearby at a location TBD.

Hope to see you there.