Esther (1999)

Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), King of the Persians, whose empire now extends from India to Egypt after the defeat of the Babylonians, is holding a celebratory banquet for his people in the citadel ... See full summary »

Director:

Raffaele Mertes

Writer:

Sandy Niemand (teleplay)

Stars:

Louise Lombard, F. Murray Abraham, Jürgen Prochnow

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Louise Lombard	...	Esther
F. Murray Abraham	...	Mordecai
Jürgen Prochnow	...	Haman
Thomas Kretschmann	...	King Ahasuerus
Ornella Muti	...	Queen Vashti
Frank Baker	...	Ezra
John Hollis	...	Harbona
Umberto Orsini	...	Memucan
Phil Davies	...	Hegai
Natasha Williams	...	Maimuna
Peter Halliday	...	Carshena
Christopher Ettridge	...	Hathach
Darren Bransford	...	Nehemia
Nicola Harrington	...	Mara
Peter Guinness	...	Admatha

Storyline

Ahasuerus (Xerxes I), King of the Persians, whose empire now extends from India to Egypt after the defeat of the Babylonians, is holding a celebratory banquet for his people in the citadel of Susa to display his wealth and splendor. When he summons his attractive wife Vashti, to show off her beauty to the guests, the proud queen refuses to come. The king promptly bans her from ever entering his presence again, and gives orders for the most beautiful young virgins in the land to be brought to him. The young Jewess Esther, adopted daughter of her uncle Mordecai, is among the girls selected; they are told to beautify themselves in the royal harem and prepare to spend the night with the king. Esther succeeds in enchanting the king with her extraordinary beauty and charm, and he makes her his queen. The king promotes his loyal subject Haman - whose family is notably anti-Jewish - to the post of first minister of the kingdom. When the Jew Mordecai fails to kneel down before Haman like all ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | esther character | one word title | jewish | xerxes | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Five Mile River Films

Country:

Italy Germany France Spain USA Czech Republic Netherlands UK

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

5 December 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Bible: Esther

Filming Locations:

Ouarzazate, Morocco

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lube, Lux Vide, Beta Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

None of the actors are of Persian or Jewish descent. F. Murray Abraham, who is of Assyrian descent, is the only actor in the film of known Middle Eastern descent.

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Goofs

King Ahasuerus promoted Haman's popularity, after Esther was picked as the Babylonian queen, replacing Vashti, not before. Her Jewish name is Hadassah and Esther is her Babylonian name. Evidence: Holy Bible, Old Testament book, Esther, Chapters 2 and 3.

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Connections

Follows David (1997)

User Reviews

Exceptionally stirring

I have yet to read Esther fully in the Bible (but will tonight after this review) so I cannot comment on the scriptural accuracy of this film, but I will say that whether Jew or Christian, its an exceptional moving film and the main actress worthy of her title as "queen"!

F. Murray Abraham and the Louise Lombard are terrific and bring real feeling to their roles. I also leaped for joy when I saw Ezra and Nehemiah brought in as supporting roles. Of the films in this excellent DVD package (Solomon, Genesis and Jeremiah) I found this the most rewarding. Someone suggested that a theology student shouldn't be using this film and others like it as cliff notes for The Bible, but I would recommend them as a wonderful starting point and rewarding entertainment for others as well. My only wish is that the rest of the films in the series would get released on DVD (Notably "David" and "Moses". They are spiritually uplifting and well worth a rental or a purchase!