Solomon 

David, now an old man, is still king of Israel. Among his sons, the ambitious Adonijah and the clever Solomon. The two young men are fierce rivals, since both are prospective heirs to the ... See full summary »

Stars:

Ben Cross, Anouk Aimée, Vivica A. Fox

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ben Cross	...	Solomon
Anouk Aimée	...	Bathsheba
Vivica A. Fox	...	Queen of Sheba
Max von Sydow	...	David
Maria Grazia Cucinotta	...	Abishag
Umberto Orsini	...	Nathan
Stefania Rocca	...	Hannah
Richard Dillane	...	Jeroboam
Marta Zoffoli	...	Basemah
Ivan Kaye	...	Adonijah
G.W. Bailey	...	Azarel
Dexter Fletcher	...	Rehoboam
Roger Hammond	...	Zadok
Michael Culkin	...	Hiram of Naphtali
Stefan Gubser	...	Abiathar

Storyline

David, now an old man, is still king of Israel. Among his sons, the ambitious Adonijah and the clever Solomon. The two young men are fierce rivals, since both are prospective heirs to the throne and only one can be successful. During a hunting expedition, Adonijah challenges his younger brother Solomon to a chariot race. While Solomon, though brave, still retains a modicum of caution, the daredevil Adonijah is eager to win at all costs -- and loses control of his chariot. Solomon takes the seriously injured Adonijah back to Jerusalem. On the way there they meet the attractive Abishag, who despite her youth is versed in the use of healing herbs. She actually succeeds in helping the prince. Adonijah falls in love with Abishag -- but Bathsheba arranges things so that she works for David, hoping that her youth, her beauty and her healing powers will soothe the old king's suffering. Several members of the influential priesthood and also the respected army general Joab, who served David ...

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Plot Keywords:

tv mini series | king | king david | chariot | queen | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Five Mile River Films

Country:

UK Czech Republic France Italy Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Bibel - Salomon

Filming Locations:

Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company Credits

Production Co:

ARD Degeto Film, Beta Film, British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

166 min (2 parts) 180 min (2 parts)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Solomon: Nathan
Nathan: So, how's married life?
Solomon: Very pleasant. Very pleasant indeed.
Solomon: The pleasures of the body are not to be missed, Nathan.
Nathan: I have chosen to concentrate on God's love, my lord.
Solomon: Do you really think he meant you to deny yourself, Nathan? He made us this way did he not? Why would he not want us to taste the fruit?
Nathan: God put many things on earth we're not to taste, my lord. If it were not so, we would not have a free will... and he... would not be God... but simply the creator of blind animals.

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Connections

Follows Jacob (1994)

User Reviews

Spectacular and overlong TV series about the famous king and his relationship with Sheba , Adonijah , David , Bathsheba ....

Expensively mounted Biblical production with all star-cast and spectacularly filmed in North Africa . Breathtaking story set in Biblical times with emphasis in lavish costumes and crowds . Justly before his death in ancient Israel King David (Max Von Sidow) has a vision from God saying him that his younger son Solomon (Ben Cross) , should succeed him as king . His other son Adonijah (Ivan Kaye) is mean and promises to achieve the kingdom by whatever way . King David names his younger son, Solomon his heir and -Bathsheba's (Anouk Aimée) son- facing his older son Adonijah. King Solomon acts with wisdom and benevolent and his government is seen as a threat to more tyrannical monarchs in the region and subsequently building the templo of Solomon . But Joab utilizes the ambitious Prince Adonijah in her plots , making life dangerous for Solomon . Later on , Joab (David Suchet) and Adonijah agree schemes and to encounter manners to overthrow Solomon . Meantime , the Queen of Sheba (Vivica Fox) arrives in Jerusalem, supposedly for a friendly meeting , Solomon slowly falls in love with her.

An overblown all-star treatment of the stories in the Old Testament dealing with David , Salomon , Sheba and Adonijah . Lavish spectacle about Solomon and his lover Sheba based on historical events . Ben Cross and Vivica Fox play a sultriest couple , including some sexy scenes , as when they are bathing and swimming get together . There is also a fine support cast such as Max Von Sydow , David Suchet , Ivan Kaye , Umberto Orsini , G.W. Bailey , Michael Culkin , Stefania Rocca ,and Dexter Fletcher as Rehoboam . There's so much visual padding full of armours , weapons, carriages , and crowd scenes . Based on Biblical events with sad final as the kingdom that Solomon received from his father David, and invested with such might and magnificence, is divided between Jeroboam and Rehoboam . Director gives this film the feel of great spectacle , but there is little human touch to any of the deeds . Very good and evocative photography by Raffaele Mertes filmed in Tunez and Morocco . Evocative and impressive musical score by Patrick Williams and Ennio Morricone . Rating : 6 , passable and acceptable.

There is another known rendition in 1959 ¨ Solomon and Sheba ¨(original title) with Yul Brynner , though Tyrone Power died during the shooting in Spain and some shots still show him , he was replaced by Brynner who remade his early scenes, and Gina Lollobrigida , George Sanders , Harry Andrews , Marisa Pavan , John Crawford , Finlay Currie , David Farrar ...