Which 1959 epic film won a record 11 Academy Awards?
Answer
Ben-Hur
Which 1959 epic film won a record 11 Academy Awards? Ben-Hur did, becoming the first film to reach that total.
Directed by William Wyler and starring Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur is a biblical epic adapted from Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. Its famous chariot race is only one part of a story about Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince enslaved under Roman rule.
The film received 12 Oscar nominations at the 32nd Academy Awards, held in 1960, and won 11, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor. Its record stood until Titanic matched it in 1998 and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King matched it in 2004. The Ten Commandments is another biblical epic, but it did not win the same number of Oscars.