Watch: The visual effects of the Ben-Hur chariot race

If there’s one thing the cast and crew of Ben-Hur wanted us to know, it’s that the actors were really driving those chariots that we see in the climactic chariot race. But of course, the scene was not without its visual effects: there’s no need for matte paintings and a cast of thousands when you can digitally add a crowd full of spectators to the background of some shots, and of course it’s a lot safer to go digital when the script calls for the humans or the horses to do anything particularly dangerous.

So if you’re wondering how much of the chariot race was “real” and how much of it was computer-generated, a new visual-effects reel posted by Mr. X, one of the companies that worked on the film, gives us a look at how some shots looked before and after the digital effects were added. You can check it out below:

Ben-Hur, incidentally, is still rolling out overseas. According to the IMDb, the film comes to France and to the British Isles on Wednesday, to Russia on Thursday, and to Turkey on Friday, and it will spread to Italy and South Korea later this month.

Check out earlier trailers and other videos here:

• The first domestic and international trailers, the ‘Welcome to ShareBenHur.com’ video, and the Entertainment Tonight promo (March 16, 2016)
• The ‘Epic Faith’ trailer (March 23, 2016)
• The ‘Rodrigo Santoro as Jesus’ featurette (March 25, 2016)
• The second faith-based trailer (June 8, 2016)
• The Entertainment Tonight reports (June 11, 2016)
• The ‘Chariot Race’ featurette and Entertainment Tonight report (June 13, 2016)
• The ‘Epic’ featurette (July 6, 2016)
• The ‘Ceasefire’ music video (July 13, 2016)
• The ‘Revolution’, ‘Spark’, ‘Legend’ and ‘Combo’ TV spots (July 18, 2016)
• The ‘Back to You’ music video (July 21, 2016)
• The second domestic and international trailer (July 25, 2016)
• The ‘Jesus the Carpenter’, ‘Jesus Helps Judah’, ‘Jesus Protects the Leper’, ‘Judah and Esther’ and ‘Jesus’ Crucifixion’ clips (July 26, 2016)
• The ‘Ceasefire’ worship video, the Jack Huston interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the ‘Defy an Empire’ TV spot (August 1, 2016)
• The ‘The Only Way Out’ music video, the ‘Andra Day BTS’ featurette, and the ‘Rise’, ‘Greatest’ and ‘Revolution’ TV spots (August 2, 2016)
• The ‘You Should Have Killed Me’ clip (August 4, 2016)
• The AOL Build, WSVN News and Movieguide interviews, the Morgan Freeman interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live, and the living poster (August 8, 2016)
• The ‘Chariot Race’ clip (August 8, 2016)
• The ‘Morgan Freeman’ featurette (August 10, 2016)
• The ‘Ben-Hur: A Tale of Forgiveness’ making-of video (August 10, 2016)
• The Mexico City premiere and red-carpet interviews, the 100 Huntley Street, The Talk and Sway’s Universe interviews, the Spanish webcast, the Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony, and the ‘Chariot Race 360°’ video (August 11, 2016)
• The ‘Roma Downey Star Ceremony’ and ‘Cinecittà Legacy’ featurettes, the Fandango interview, and the ‘Chant’ and ‘Legend’ TV spots (August 15, 2016)
• The ‘Chant’, ‘Follow’ and ‘Bold’ TV spots (August 17, 2016)
• The ET Canada set visit, the CBN News special, the Los Angeles red-carpet interviews, the press-junket interviews and the B-roll footage (August 18, 2016)
• The ‘Slave Ship’ clip (August 18, 2016)
• The second batch of press-junket interviews (August 22, 2016)
• The third batch of press-junket interviews, and the Chicago red-carpet interviews (August 25, 2016)