In 1925, the success of the fledgling Metro Goldwyn Mayer company depended on an epic film called Ben Hur; in 1959, the company's continued prestige and financial stability depended on its remake, into which some $15 million was invested. It was a gamble that paid off handsomely. The 1959 film was produced by Sam Zimbalist; William Wyler, who as a young man was among the assistant directors hired to work on the 1925 chariot race, was selected 34 years later to direct the whole show. Set in Palestine during the time of Christ, Ben-Hur remains the consummate epic, combining the powerful intimacy of performances by Charlton Heston as Judah Ben Hur and Stephen Boyd as his rival, Messala; the breathtaking spectacle afforded by a monumental sea battle between the Roman galleons and the Macedonian fleet; and, of course, the great chariot race inspired by the 1925 original. Ben Hur garnered a record 12 Oscars, and may still surprise viewers with its visual complexity, and an eye for detail that is quite remarkable for a film of its proportions.