King David (film)

Infobox Film | name =King David


caption =Original film poster
director = Bruce Beresford
producer = Martin Elfand
writer = Andrew Birkin
James Costigan
starring = Richard Gere
Edward Woodward
Alice Krige
Luigi Montefiori
Niall Buggy
Jack Klaff
music = Carl Davis
cinematography = Donald McAlpine
editing = William M. Anderson
distributor = Paramount Pictures
released = March 29,1985
runtime = 115 min.
language = English
budget =
imdb_id = 0089420

"King David" is a film about the second king of Israel, David.

It was filmed in 1985 in Matera and Craco, Italy. It was directed by Bruce Beresford and starred Richard Gere in the title role.

Conflicts with Biblical text

*In the Bible (I Samuel 17:40), David chooses five smooth stones from the riverbed, before the battle. In the movie, he scampers at the last moment to grab any stones from the ground.
*According to I Samuel 17, the stone David slung sank into Goliath's forehead (I Samuel 17:49). In the movie, it bounces off his forehead.
*In the Bible, David escapes from the palace of King Achish of Gath by feigning madness. (I Samuel 21). The movie reverses this, and has David "gaining" access to Achish - who apparently does not have enough madmen yet - by pretending to be insane.
*In the Bible, after King David commits adultery with Bathsheba and has Uriah killed, his children - first Amnon, then Absalom, rebel against him. The movie reverses the chronological order, having the punishment first and then the sin.
*Queen Michal scolds David for his dance before the Ark of the Covenant using sarcasm: "How glorious was the King of Israel today!" This, according to the Bible. In the movie, the sarcasm disappears, and Michal says simply and coldly: "I saw no king."
*"I live in a house of cedar," David says, quoting the Bible - but the house shown in the movie is made of carved stone - ashlar - not cedar.
*In the Bible, David is denied the honor of building the Temple because he has shed too much blood - most notoriously that of Uriah. In the movie, the problem is that he has not shed enough blood: He has not exterminated the Canaanites.
*In the film, near the end of his life David smashes a model of the future Temple in anger, and among his last words to his son urge him not to trust priests. Neither action appears in the Bible.

Other inaccuracies

*The swords used by King Saul's armies bear a heavy resemblance to swords of Roman design rather than those of the Semitic nations of the time.

*The Star of David is used as the symbol of the Hebrew kingdom during Saul's reign.

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089420/ King David] at the Internet Movie Database
* [http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/king_david/# Rotten Tomatoes] 13% rating of the film.