'Ben-Hur' Blu-ray Details Revealed!

Details are slowly trickling in for one of the greatest epics of all time planned for Blu-ray release this year!

As previously reported, Warner Brothers is working on 'Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collector's Edition' for a Blu-ray release sometime in 2011.

Directed by William Wyler, the winner of 11 Oscars (including Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture) tells the tale of a Jewish prince (Charlton Heston) who is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend and not only regains his freedom, but also comes back for revenge.

For its 50th Anniversary Ultimate Collector's Edition release, the film is being meticulously restored with a newly minted frame-by-frame transfer from the original 65mm negative at a resolution of 6k (six times the resolution of the previous DVD edition).

The Blu-ray release will contain two BD-50 Blu-ray discs (or five DVDs in the standard-definition version shown at the end of this article) and loads of special features including the brand new Charlton Heston & Ben-Hur A Personal Journey -- a feature length documentary chronicling the life of the actor while making the film. The feature is composed of behind-the-scenes footage, rare Heston home movies, and much more.

Other bonuses include: Ben-Hur, A Journey Through Pictures: An audiovisual re-creation assembled using stills, storyboards, sketches, music, dialogue and other archive materials; Ben Hur: The 1925 Silent Film; 2005 Documentary, Ben-Hur: The Epic That Changed Cinema; 1994 Documentary, Ben-Hur: The Making of an Epic; Original Screen Tests; Vintage Newsreel Gallery; Highlights from the 4/4/60 Academy Awards Ceremony; and a Theatrical Trailer Gallery.

Inside the package will also be two collectible books, with the first being "Charlton Heston: The Ben-Hur Diaries" -- an in-depth look at the actor's experiences during filmmaking with personal photos and some of Charlton Heston's sketches.

A second book will be packed with rare photographs, production artwork, and reproductions from the original theatrical press book.

You can find the latest specs for 'Ben-Hur: Ultimate Collector's Edition' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under PENDING.