In effort to give each and every DVD it's full share of coverage, we at the site do our best to scour the movies we are sent and review not only the films but all their special features.

In my review of William Wyler's epic Ben-Hur, I hypothesized that on the commentary track provided by Charlton Heston and Film Historian T. Gene Hatcher, it sounded like they had been cut together from two different viewings of the movie and not done at the same time as the DVD seemed to suggest.

Well, it appears that I was correct and here is what T. Gene Hatcher had to say about it in a recent email to the site:

"Tonight a friend pointed out to me Evan 'Mushy' Jacobs' review of last year's Ben-Hur DVD set. Mr. Jacobs' review includes the guess that Mr. Charlton Heston and I recorded our audio commentary while we were in separate places. The truth is Mr. Heston's audio commentary was recorded for the Ben-Hur laserdisc, which was released in 1993. Because Mr. Heston now has Alzheimer's Disease, he was unable to record new commentary for the DVD, and so his twelve-year-old commentary was intercut with my commentary recorded on April 18, 2005. Obviously, because so many listeners believe Mr. Heston and I were commenting together or within a few days of each other, then DVD producer Gary Leva's edit of Mr. Heston's and my commentary is impressively deceptive. Thank you."

Dont't forget to also check out: Ben-Hur

Ben-Hur was released November 18th, 1959 and stars Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet, Stephen Boyd, Hugh Griffith, Martha Scott, Cathy O'Donnell, Sam Jaffe. The film is directed by William Wyler.