King David (1985)

Wonderfully offbeat film!

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

King David is an film about the second king of Israel, David that was based on from biblical accounts of Samuel I & II, Chronicles I and the Psalms.It stars Richard Gere in the title role together with Edward Woodward,Alice Krige,Luigi Montefiori,Niall Buggy and Jack Klaff.It follow through the events of fifty years wherein he's had many wives,numerous romances, brutal fights like that against Goliath,the insidious betrayals from his traitorous son Absalom,his encounters with the the weak-willed King Saul, and his experiences with his childhood friend Jonathan.No question that this was a poor film about King David.Richard Gere does not look comfortable portraying him.The screenplay just passes through the events and does not provide a character study of the Israelite king.One would feel bored watching it and probably won't even care for the events nor the characters of the movie.

David is hands-down my favorite Biblical character (aside from JC himself, of Course). I never tire of reading and studying the events of his life -- the trials & perseverances, the agonies & ecstasies, the successes and failures (man, that sounds hokey, huh?).Well, 1985's "King David," starring Richard Gere in the titular role, essentially covers IT ALL. That's right, you'll see all the following events covered in the picture:-- Samuel's choosing of David as successor to King Saul -- Israel's battles with the Philistines -- The challenge of the hulk Goliath and David's victory with a sling shot -- David playing his harp to soothe Saul's torment -- Saul's increasing jealousy and hatred of David -- David & Jonathan's brotherly love -- David's wandering in the wilderness with his men, fleeing Saul -- David's stealing Saul's spear while he sleeps in a cave, sparing him -- Saul's suicide -- David dancing in his skivvies when the Ark is brought into Jerusalem -- Michal's love and, later, hatred of David (as he dances before the LORD) -- David secretly ogling hottie Bathsheba bathing from his palace roof and the ensuing adultery -- David's murder of Uriah (Bathsheba's husband) and Nathan's rebuke -- Amnon's rape of his half-sister Tamar -- Absalom's justified slaying of half-brother Amnon -- Absalom's stealing of the Israelite's hearts -- Absalom's death and David's grievingWHAT WORKS:-- The film is very worthwhile if you desire to see these numerous events depicted before your very eyes. -- The cast, sets, costumes, locations and filmmaking are all of the highest order for 1985. -- Edward Woodward is excellent as the jealous and bitter King Saul, even though he lacks Saul's heighth (as he was a whole head taller than any other Israelite). -- Most aspects of the David/Goliath challenge are great; for instance, the troops shown on two separate hills. -- Alice Krige is truly beautiful as Bathsheba. Along the same lines, the woman who plays Michal is very good and possesses a very unique beauty.WHAT DOESN'T WORK:-- Despite the numerous events covered in David's life, the film only runs 1 hour and 51 minutes before the closing credits. Let's face it, there's at least 3 hours of material here. Condensing it down to less than 2 hours prevents the viewer from being captivated by the myriad characters and events. The viewer is left struggling to connect with the people and their stories. -- Despite the numerous events flying by, the film has a bit of a lazy vibe. There's very little spectacle like "The Ten Commandments" or "Ben-Hur." -- David was a very passionate man -- a "man after God's own heart." Gere is fine for this role (the Bible explicitly states that David was a ruddy and handsome man) but he plays the character a bit overly righteous, pensive and noble, hence, David never fully comes alive to the viewer. Please notice I said "a bit" and "never FULLY comes alive." In other words, Gere is quite decent in the role. In fact, the failures may be the writers' fault. -- When the boy David takes on Goliath there's zero passion and righteous ferocity as is in the Biblical account (e.g. "Who is this uncircumcized Philistine who would defy the armies of the living God?!!"). Plus the film doesn't show the serious trash-talking that went back and forth between the two. The fight's just too low key.Although the gist of the story is accurate there are inaccuracies that some could nitpick, e.g. Goliath challenged David and the Israelites himself, he didn't speak through another man; David picked up stones before going out to fight the giant, not while fighting him; Absalom waited a long time before slaying Amnon, he didn't do it immediately; etc. Changes like these aren't that big of a deal and won't ruin your viewing experience unless you're completely [...] about it (sorry for my crudeness).One reviewer criticized the film for showing Bathsheba at fault for seducing David. Actually, they both share fault equally. Everyone in Jerusalem knew the king stayed home while the troops were out fighting, so Bathsheba was likely fully aware that the king could catch a real nice tantalizing glimpse of her while she was bathing. Besides, even though David was the king, she could have said 'no' when the proposition of adultery later presented itself. In other words, she was both into it and into David.FINAL ANALYSIS: I've seen "King David" 3 times now and enjoy it every time. It's a very worthwhile and well-done film account of David's life. Unfortunately the picture cuts off way more than it can chew in a mere 1 hour and 51 minutes, leaving the viewer detached from the characters and events, in particular those who know little about the biblical account.Don't listen to those who give this film an absurdly low rating. They're way off. It's good, it just lacks the oomph and detail to make it great.GRADE: B

This thing looks, sounds and feels like the Reader's Digest version of some lame, 1980s, network TV miniseries that's had most of the action scenes cut out and a couple of nude scenes put in. I don't know how much money they spent on it, but it looks very cheap and low budget compared to the biblical epics that preceded it and it can't hold a candle to the big screen spectacles that followed it. The direction is lifeless and at times awkward. The story is paper thing and provides no subtext to any of King David's life. It neither grounds itself in realism nor takes on the moral and ethical questions posed by the source material. The performances, as a whole, aren't so bad with Richard Gere being the only one who looks out of place. And that's true in just about every way. The rest of the cast has an accent. Gere doesn't. Yeah, it's THAT kind of motion picture. Besides being proof that Alice Krige is one of those women who did get better looking as she got older, this movie simply doesn't have enough to offer.If you're unfamiliar with the tale, Saul (Edward Woodward) was king of ancient Israel. He offended God and the prophet Samuel (Denis Quilley) anointed a shepherd boy named David (Ian Sears) to be the next leader of the Jews. David joins the army, slays Goliath and rises to be Israel's greatest general. Then Saul's jealously and resentment cause him to turn against David, who flees and spends years in exile. Only after Saul dies on the battlefield does David assume the throne. He falls in love with Bathsheba (Alice Krige), and gets her husband killed so he can have her. That causes the prophet Nathan (Nial Buggy) to tell David he shall pay for his sin, which he does by needing to have his rebellious son Absalom (Jean-Marc Barr) assassinated. David's plans to built a temple for the Ark of the Covenant go unfulfilled, but he does leave behind another son, Solomon, to be king.The best things about King David are the work of Woodward as Saul, Quilley in a small role and Samuel and Cherie Lunghi in an even smaller role as Saul's daughter. The rest of the production ranges from "eh" to "ugh", highlighted by Gere's infamous diaper dance. If you haven't heard about it, after Saul dies and David comes to Jerusalem with the Ark, he strips down to his underwear and boogies through the city. It is there in the Bible, but that's no excuse. You can't stick Richard Gere in what looks like a diaper and have him wildly gyrate around and expect people not to roll their eyes. It doesn't look ridiculous. It looks retarded. If they had to have that scene in the film, it was absolutely essential to somehow prepare the audience for it so their reaction wouldn't be "WTF?" That didn't happen and so it's hard not to burst out laughing when Gere starts shaking him moneymaker.David was a warrior king, yet there's little warfare on display here. If you're not going to do that, it become essentially to give some depth to the political and religious conflict both between Saul and David and between the kings of Israel and the prophets. That doesn't happen either. This is a very shallow and superficial recitation of Biblical stories without any elaboration or context. This wasn't a movie made for adults, but nude scenes with Krige and Lunghi keep it from being for kids or the whole family.Bruce Beresford's direction is unimaginative except where it's inexplicable. There are too many times when he has the camera in the exact wrong place or the exact wrong distance and his staging possesses neither naturalism nor grandeur. Combine with the obviously limited budget, King David is the most visually boring religious movie I've ever seen.But here's the thing. King David isn't so bad that you can fun mocking it. It's just limp and flat and without any ambition. Don't bother with it.

It's biblically accurate. It has a gritty and realistic feel. Unlike the great De Mille films, the location and sets give it that stone age look that the Judea of that era would look and feel like.Edward Woodward's performance as Saul is strong. His ability to contort and rant makes a very believable fit of dementia. The only person I think that could have played that better would be Dennis Hopper. Who knows, maybe someone will create another biblical film with him as King Saul. This is a very unsung, and underrated film. Richard Gere's performance was nothing short of stunning.The giant Goliath was real, menacing and evil. Bathsehba was a real-world, believable stunning beauty-natural. I wish there were more films of this quality when it comes to biblical stories.