for that one evening. It was watched by 85.82 million people for a 37.1 average rating. It was one of the highest-rated movies ever screened on television at the time (behind the broadcast premieres of The Birds and Bridge on the River Kwai). Home media Ben-Hur has been released on home video on several occasions. A two-sided single disc widescreen release occurred in the United States on March 13, 2001. This release included several featurettes, including a commentary by Charlton Heston, a making-of documentary (made for a laserdisc release in 1993), screen tests, and a photo gallery. This edition was released soon thereafter as a two-disc set in other countries. The film saw another DVD release on September 13, 2005. This four-disc edition included remastered images and audio, an additional commentary, two additional featurettes, and a complete version of the 1925 silent version of Ben-Hur. A boxed "Deluxe Edition", issued in the U.S. in 2002, included postcard-sized reprints of lobby cards, postcard-sized black-and-white stills with machine-reproduced autographs of cast members, a matte-framed color image from the film with a 35mm film frame mounted below it, and a reproduction film poster. In 2011, Warner Home Video released a 50th anniversary edition on Blu-ray Disc and DVD, making it the first home release where the film is present on its original aspect ratio. For this release, the film was completely restored frame by frame from an 8K scan of the original 65mm negative. The restoration cost $1 million, and was one of the highest resolution restorations ever made by Warner Bros. A new musical soundtrack-only option and six new featurettes (one of which was an hour long) were also included. Ban in China The movie was banned in China under the regime of Mao Zedong for containing "propaganda of superstitious beliefs, namely Christianity". Comic book adaptation Dell Four Color #1052 (November 1959) • 32 pages in full color, plus covers • Published by Dell Publishing Co., Inc. • Designed and produced by Western Printing and Lithographing Co. • Copyright © 1959 by Loew's Incorporated • (Cover painting by Sam Savitt • Drawn by Russ Manning) [ Authorized movie tie-in ] See also List of American films of 1959 List of historical drama films List of films set in ancient Rome List of films featuring slavery List of Academy Award records References Notes Citations Bibliography Alexander, Shana. "Will the Real Burt Please Stand