1. Ben-Hur, chariot race
Number one, as the most expensive stunt ever performed comes from Ben-Hur film.
Released in 1959, Ben-Hur was far and away the most expensive movie of its day.
With an unprecedented $4 million budgeted for coordinating the stunt-laden chariot race alone, was actually one fourth of the film’s entire budget.
The sequence involved mass amounts of planning, training, man hours, and set construction, with the actual chariot arena being built over the course of a few months by more than 1,000 men.
Stunt coordinators led by famed stuntman Yakima Canutt worked with lead actor Charlton Heston and others for months to perfect training with the 82 horses that were brought into Rome all the way from Yugoslavia for the scene.
Thanks to all of the big action and stunt sequences, including the breathtaking chariot race that opens the film, Ben-Hur continues to be one of film history’s most brilliant cinematic achievements.
Which one was your favorite?
