Ben-Hur (1959)

How did a studio on the brink, a Jewish director, and a second-rate star turn a pulpy, near-blasphemous mass market Christian book into a blockbuster for the ages? Join Chris and Lizzie as they travel back in time to a tinsel town in painful transition to learn why MGM bet it all on a remake of the costliest film of the silent era, examine Gore Vidal's controversial contributions to the script, and test Mussolini's assertion that film is the ultimate weapon.

*CORRECTIONS: Chris mispronounces both Cinecitta Studios (should be "chin-eh-cheetah") and Quo Vadis ("Vah-dis").