DVD Verdict Interviews Fraser Heston, son of Ben-Hur Actor Charlton Heston

Judge Ryan Keefer

September 19th, 2005

With the monumental Ben-Hur arriving on DVD in a lavish special edition from Warner Brothers on September 13, DVD Verdict landed a rare opportunity to talk with Fraser Heston, son of the film's iconic star, Charlton Heston. An accomplished director of such films as Needful Things and Alaska, the younger Heston discusses his father's health as well as the film that defined his career and what the future holds.

DVD Verdict: In viewing the new documentary that is on the DVD, I noticed some fairly recent interview footage of your father. Can you provide us with an update on his condition?

Fraser Heston: Well you know, he's doing very well, all things considered. Obviously, he is suffering from Alzheimer's, so you know, it's very difficult. It's a very hard thing for the family to go through, but he's facing it with his characteristic upbeat attitude and a lot of courage. Almost everybody I know knows somebody or has a family member that suffers from it and it's amazing how many people are going through that very same thing. So he's not alone, and I think he's in the best possible condition we could hope for.

Verdict: Having recently viewed the remastered version of this DVD, I've gotta say the film looks fantastic. At what point did Warner Brothers approach you (or the family) for your contribution?

Heston: Well, they asked me to be a part of the documentary and I honored, actually to contribute in my small way. With filmmakers like Ridley Scott and so on, I was very pleased to do that interview, and of course I hadn't seen it at that time, I just saw it myself a few days ago, and I was very, very pleased. My father hasn't seen it yet, but I've held it back from him, I've got a big screen projector at home, it's never looked better.

Verdict: That's the best way to show it on one of the big screens, that's for sure.

Heston: Well, the folks at Warner Brothers have really done it proud. It wasn't their film originally of course, it was MGM's, but boy, Warner has done a terrific job.

Verdict: When I was looking at it, I was struck by it, and a lot of the complaints, well, not really complaints, but the issues that a lot of people had with the first version was the fact that it wasn't done enough justice video-wise and presentation-wise.

Heston: Oh, I agree, the VHS version looked terrible. I was just down recently, interestingly, we went through a restoration of one of our films, we have a film called Antony and Cleopatra, which my dad shot in the early '70s, starred and directed in, and we did an HD restoration, and I was amazed at what you can do and how much there is there if you go back to the original interneg. And you can make pristine material, even if it has scratches, and broken bits that have been repaired, that can all be fixed now on the computer, and they go through this stuff shot by shot, we did our stuff in about two months.

Verdict: When should we expect to see that?

Heston: Well, we are looking to make a distribution deal this year, so hopefully that'll come out next year. We're doingMother Lode as well.

Verdict: How did your father feel about the success and recognition that Ben-Hur received, and the acclaim it gets even after all these years?

Heston: Well, that's a wonderful thing isn't it? I think he's flattered and pleased by it all, I think he's got to realize that it's a seminal film. There are other films that may be better films, he loves Will Penny for example, and films like Planet of the Apes were equally big epics, The Ten Commandments started his career, but I think that this film defines his career and defined him as an actor. As someone who could keep a focus on the challenge of playing a personal role with a personal, intimate story.

Verdict: Do you think it's safe to say your brief appearance in The Ten Commandments (a three month old Frasier appeared as an infant Moses) was your first inspiration to get in the business?

Heston: (laughs) Well, I don't remember much of that, but it certainly had an effect on my later life. In a way, I think Ben-Hur was more of an inspiration. One of my first memories is my Dad coming home in his chariot driver outfit and I thought he was a professional chariot driver until someone told me it was make-believe. One day I remember him taking me to the set and I actually rode in one of the chariots around the arena, which was pretty impressionable.

Verdict: It sounds like your parents nurtured your interests and didn't steer you away from the business.

Heston: In a way they steered me away from acting. Dad thought that it would be too much of an obstacle to overcome, but as a writer and director, I had a wonderful asset. I never went to film school, and I picked it up as I went along and kept on moving.

Verdict: Well, you picked it up at an early age too. (Fraser was an assistant director on Antony and Cleopatra at 16, and Mother Lode, based on his script, was filmed when he was 25.)

Heston: I wrote my first film at 20, it seems like last year, by the way.

Verdict: (laughs) They get faster and faster, unfortunately. You've seen a lot of various aspects of the business, from writing to directing to producing. Is there any one you like more than the others?

Heston: No, I think certainly writing and directing. If I could successfully at the end of my career say that I was a filmmaker, and to me that involves doing whatever it takes to find a story or write a story, and have a burning desire to tell it, if you've got those things and come up with the wherewithal to allow you to make it as a movie, then you're a filmmaker, and if it's any good, you're a happy filmmaker. That's all you can ask for. You can't possibly hope to control any commercial or critical success.

Verdict: I understand you're working on an adaptation right now?

Heston: I am, I'm doing a version of a wonderful story of the search for Michael Rockefeller, who disappeared in the jungles of New Guinea in 1961, a terrific book by a guy named Milt Machlin that we have acquired, and we're writing it now.

Verdict: At the end of the day, does it all beat the sailing you've done over the years?

Heston: (laughs) Well, Rockefeller wasn't a very successful boater; his demise began when his canoe overturned off the coast and he decided to swim for shore, and uttered the famous last words, "I think I can make it," never seen again, except by perhaps a few cannibals on shore for all we know. But yeah, I've done a lot of sailing, hopefully, with more success than Michael.

Verdict: Well, I wanted to wrap up, but first I wanted to thank you for your time, but secondly, when I mentioned who I was going to interview to my family (particularly my father and his wife), everyone had two things to say: that they all hope that your father is doing OK, and they also want to thank him for the years of enjoyment that he's given to them. I can't echo those sentiments loud enough, and I'd like to thank you for your time today, Fraser.

Heston: Oh, that's really nice, thanks a lot Ryan, it's a very nice thing to say, it's my pleasure to be asked to be a part of it.