King David (1985)

Director:

Bruce Beresford

Writers:

Andrew Birkin (writer)
James Costigan (story)

Release Date:

29 March 1985 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War | Adventure

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Female Nudity | Female Frontal Nudity | Giant | Old Testament | Biblical

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Rankcolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Campo Imperatore, L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy

Company:

Barclays Mercantile Industrial Finance

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.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In Saul's final battle scene, a warrior is lassoed around the neck and dragged behind a chariot. However, the camera angles show that he is attached to a rope tied around his waist under his costume.

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."
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ken Adam: Designing Bond (2000) (V)

Gere's Best Performance

Gere is a marvel as David, and he should be most proud of this. However, the last half of the film tries too hard to cram everything into a few minutes, including his relationship with Bathsheba. Woodward is quite good as Saul, but parents might want to beware of the nudity and bloodshed here, this should have been rated R. I give this a 7.