King David (1985)

This is a movie about the life of Israel's king David.

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

Andrew Birkin, James Costigan (story based upon The Books of Samuel I and II Chronicles I and the Psalms of David)

Stars:

Richard Gere, Edward Woodward, Alice Krige

1 nomination.

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

Storyline

This is a movie about the life of Israel's king David.

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Plot Keywords:

king david | nudity | kissing while having sex | sex | reference to god | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | War

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 March 1985 (USA)

Also Known As:

Le roi David

Filming Locations:

Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance, Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Second and final of two films that producer Martin Elfand made with actor Richard Gere. The first had been An Officer and a Gentleman (1982) around three years earlier.

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Goofs

Unlike the film, according to the Bible King Saul was "more handsome than any of the sons of Israel" and being very tall he "stood head and shoulders above any of the people". (1 Sam.9:2)

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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?*...
[...]

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Connections

Version of David (1997)

User Reviews

Almost fatally flawed, but not without merit

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!