1. The Chariot Arena That Took Over A Year To Build For Ben-Hur
No list of incredible sets built for a single scene would be complete without the inclusion of the set built for the chariot race sequence in Ben-Hur. Even by today's standards, the details of this set's construction are quite staggering. The set cost one million dollars, covered eighteen acres of land and took thousands of builders over a year to make. Once the set was carved out of a rock quarry, more than forty-thousand tons of sand were transported from Mediterranean beaches in order to cover the ground and make it look authentic. Not only that, but thousands of extras were employed and almost one-hundred horses were on set each day. At the time of release (1959) this was by far the largest film set ever constructed. A quick look at the scene proves it to be just as breath-taking today as it was back then. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frE9rXnaHpE What other ridiculous movie sets were made for just one scene? Share any we missed down in the comments.
