Ben-Hur (Original Soundtrack)

If you do not want to pay the money for the 5 disc version of this soundtrack (much of that is repetitive but good) I would highly recommend this CD. It gives you all of the main music that makes up the movie. A very enjoyable CD. There is another CD out there that claims to be the original soundtrack but it is not. some of the music in it does not sound correct due to it is done not by the original orchestra. The true original should be done by the orchestra of MGM Studio and by Miklos Rozsa and Eugene Zador orchestra which this CD has.

If not every piece of music from the movie is here, it comes very close. Great buy.

I've seen some complaints about the sound quality, but I didn't notice any issues. I'm big into music, and I'm pretty picky..As others have mentioned, the booklet is excellent, giving the story narrative and the song titles (in bold) if you want to follow it all super closely..I do want to find the original soundtrack that was on vinyl. We have the vinyl (including a collector's edition with the box and book), but would like the CD of that shortened version..It's the one I remember as a kid, and I'd like to listen through it again ... for the first time, uninterrupted.No record to turn over :->

With all the interpreted soundtracks on the market occasionally you come across not only a great classic but you actually (although it seems rarely) get the bonus of the actual conductor and actual musical score used in the movie on the CD. This Ben Hur release is a example of the extraordinary talents of the incomparable composers during the golden age of Hollywood epics. Every track conducted by Mr. Rozsa is reminiscent of greatness of the film and his iconic score (not like today's mindless whatever ...my opinion of course). To me that's what makes it a great soundtrack/score. Earlier I purchased another Ben Hur CD with a similar cover but in yellow instead of this version. That CD set is a woefully underachievement compared to this release. I am so happy I found this and it is simply outstanding in every aspect. I recently purchased the scores from The Big Country, Shane, and Patton. from Amazon and gladly put them in this same category.

For those who aren't familiar with this magnificent score (with, IMO, the most beautiful love theme ever composed for a film, with Alex North's theme in "Spartacus" a very close second), you owe it to yourself to acquire this Sony reissue of the original Rhino deluxe release of the remastered and reconstructed soundtrack. The sound is very good (not as spectacular as the Phase 4 excerpts conducted by the composer, now available on Eloquence), but it is very good. The Golden Age of Film Music is sadly over, but, thankfully, we have these OST recordings, and rerecordings, to share with a whole new generations of listeners. Essential.

Miklos Rozsa's Oscar winning score has now been released, almost complete,on this 2 disc set. It does lack one item, on disc 1, the fanfare music heralding Messala's arrival into Jerusalem is missing. The last DVD release with the "music only" of course, has the missing piece.This is the only fault with this fabulous release and unless a potential buyer is expecting to hear this item,like a purist,this part of the review is aimed at them.But as to the rest of the release, it is superb. If this is your sort of musical heaven then you could't do any better than getting yourself a copy. It comes with an elaborate full-color booklet, and the score on 2 discs in beautiful stereo, along with tons of outakes not used in the movie itself and well worth the investment. Personally, I'm waiting for the dvd (done properly) of Sodom and Gomorrah to get a release, hopefully on Blu-Ray with extras would be nice.

This is a very complete version of the soundtrack from the all-time classic film.For soundtrack fans this will lift you up in the exact same way viewing the film does.Very highly recommended, a superb production from Sony Classical.

One of the good things to come out of the CD era is that complete recordings of original soundtracks are being released. Soundtracks released on LP's were more often that not severely edited and incomplete. I found this Ben Hur soundtrack to be as complete as you could possibly want and has excellent sound quality to boot - and at a very attractive price.