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King David (1985)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
29 March 1985 (USA)
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Plot:
This is a movie about the life of Israel's king David. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
1 nomination
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User Comments:
Almost fatally flawed, but not without merit
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Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Richard Gere | ... | David |
 | Edward Woodward | ... | Saul |
 | Alice Krige | ... | Bathsheba |
| Denis Quilley | ... | Samuel |
| Niall Buggy | ... | Nathan |
| Cherie Lunghi | ... | Michal |
| Hurd Hatfield | ... | Ahimelech |
| Jack Klaff | ... | Jonathan |
| John Castle | ... | Abner |
| Tim Woodward | ... | Joab |
| David de Keyser | ... | Ahitophel |
| Ian Sears | ... | Young David |
| Simon Dutton | ... | Eliab |
| Jean-Marc Barr | ... | Absalom |
| Arthur Whybrow | ... | Jesse |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
114 min
Language:
Color:
Color (Rankcolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Rachel Weisz was offered a large part in this film when she was only 14, but her parents would not allow her to do it.
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Goofs:
Factual errors: The "Star of David" on the shields and military standards is inaccurate. The symbol only came into common usage as a religious/national symbol many decades later. (Some believe during the middle ages) Assuming that this symbol represents David, as the name suggests, this would not be an Israelite symbol until the time of David's Kingship. This is out of place during the reign of King Saul.
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Quotes:
[first lines]
Saul's guard: The king cannot speak with you now. He is engaged in the affairs of state.
Samuel: Since when have the affairs of state taken precedence over the affairs of God?
[shoves his way past and enters Saul's throne room]
Saul: ...Samuel. We welcome you. With God's blessing, our victory is complete.
Samuel: Is THIS how you show Him your gratitude... by robbing the Amalekites of their women and cattle? By holding their king in chains?
Saul: We were discussing a possible treaty. The king is to be ransomed...
Samuel: A *treaty?* *Ransom?* Saul, for this you have betrayed your own soul in the sight of God. His instructions were plain enough: "... Spare nothing from the sword."
[beheads the Amalekite king]
Samuel: ... When our tribes clamored for a king, to make us like other nations, I answered them: "We are not like other nations. The Lord of Hosts is both our God and our King." The people said, "We want a king we can see. We want a king of our own flesh and blood."
[...]
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Saul's guard: The king cannot speak with you now. He is engaged in the affairs of state.
Samuel: Since when have the affairs of state taken precedence over the affairs of God?
[shoves his way past and enters Saul's throne room]
Saul: ...Samuel. We welcome you. With God's blessing, our victory is complete.
Samuel: Is THIS how you show Him your gratitude... by robbing the Amalekites of their women and cattle? By holding their king in chains?
Saul: We were discussing a possible treaty. The king is to be ransomed...
Samuel: A *treaty?* *Ransom?* Saul, for this you have betrayed your own soul in the sight of God. His instructions were plain enough: "... Spare nothing from the sword."
[beheads the Amalekite king]
Samuel: ... When our tribes clamored for a king, to make us like other nations, I answered them: "We are not like other nations. The Lord of Hosts is both our God and our King." The people said, "We want a king we can see. We want a king of our own flesh and blood."
[...]
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Movie Connections:
Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (16 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for King David (1985)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Val Kilmer!!! | torq89 |
| bathsheba | m-rougeau |
| question | zwag |
| remake | natjoseldlan |
| King David: Very Good Action Movie. | lyle134 |
Recommendations
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| Solomon | David and Bathsheba | Solomon and Sheba | David | A Story of David |
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King David was the Alexander of its day, a critically reviled epic box-office disaster that was damned more for what it got right than what it gets wrong. Critics at the time were aghast at the violence and ridiculed the scene where Richard Gere dances through the streets of Jerusalem in a loincloth, but in actuality both are straight from the Book of Kings and are considerably watered down: this David doesn't give his father-in-law hundreds of Philistines foreskins in return for the hand of his daughter, and the decimation of his enemies takes place safely offscreen. But the film's attitude to religion is strikingly grim. This isn't the cosy feelgood God of Sunday school but a vengeful, unforgiving God who orders genocide and abandons those He anoints. Both Saul and David fall from Grace, but strangely enough it's Saul's fall that really registers. Edward Woodward is superb in the role, and all too easily dominates the film in the face of little competition from some especially bland British and Irish actors.
Gere should be ideal casting for David's vanity at least, but he's a transparent presence in the film, lacking depth and over-reliant on his limited range of affectations. But he's not helped by the fact that David never becomes a character or even an active participant in his own life story: if anything, he is almost a bystander observing the deeds of others. After slaying Goliath, we never see him in battle or earning his reputation as a great king, and he doesn't feature in either of the two underwhelming battle scenes, a problem highlighted by intercutting them with shots of David miles away waiting to hear the result. As an epic, it's desperately underpopulated (they had major problems getting enough extras to the Italian locations), and you get the feeling at time that it's almost a picture made up of leftovers – the costumes were originally made for Scorsese's first abortive attempt to film The Last Temptation while the Ark of the Covenant probably has 'Property of Indiana Jones' stamped inside it Somewhere in there there's an idea fighting to get out about the search for God, but unfortunately it's so low-key and evenly paced that there are no real highs to the film. Carl Davis' score has its moments and it's not the turkey its reputation implies, but it never catches fire. As Bruce Beresford noted, they should have taken the hint when they started shooting in Israel only to get caught up in snowstorms – someone was definitely trying to tell them something!