Ben-Hur (1959) shenanigans

Less than four minutes long, this sequence gives me hours of pleasure, there's so much cinematic gold. First and foremost, a wonderfully-timed zig-zag of missed connections on the part of Tiberius Caesar, played by George Relph, and his aide, charmingly played by Ralph Truman. Watch how each character behaves around the 01:55 mark. Caesar's so into his power that he is focused outward, soaking up the pomp, the circumstance. His aide is likewise, but this means he falls short in his role. This tiny conflict, an inconvenience of the lowest order, reveals the extent of the pecking order that separates them. (It may have been carefully planned out, or else it's a happy accident, but even the soundtrack's cymbals seem in sync with the main beats of action in here.) Notice at the end of this exchange Caesar's indignant, relentless glare at his aide. As animators, we might be too tempted to rush out of a moment after we think the point's been made, without giving it time to really breathe the way this one does.

And as if this is not enough, Relph emphasizes the poor service he gets by gruffly re-gripping his sceptre, underlining how insufficiently close it was brought to him!

Framed in the act
In the early 01:20s, get a load of how Jack Hawkins' Quintus Arrius is framed against the immense stairs he's climbing. The overflowing background makes an almost abstract backdrop to his ascent, emphasizing the massive scale of the moment and location.

If only I had that power...
Can you imagine being able to immediately silence such a crowd the way Caesar does with a casual wrist flip at 02:22?! It's positively comical. Even Chuck Heston's Judah Ben-Hur can't believe it, judging by his look around a few seconds later. These are visual cues for us to appreciate the gravity of the moment. And in case any of us still doubted his power and influence, like a Hell's Angel revving his engine through a sleepy town on Sunday morning, Relph lets 'er rip with a couple of self-indulgent waves to the rabble at 02:43 and 03:18; the ensuing roars practically topple the walls.

Bonus marks for active listening:
Not wanting to take his eyes off the adulation of his assembled audience, Caesar spends large chunks of time talking with Quintus Arrius while looking away from him, at 02:53, for instance. This sequence feels very right played this way, and is yet another example of how, depending on the characters and their circumstances at the moment, there's hardly ever an obligation to make eye contact at any given moment. Don't be shy of "breaking the connection" if it breathes more believability into your characters.