- 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 BuggyJack 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 andCraco ,Italy . It was directed byBruce Beresford and starredRichard 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 KingAchish 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 withBathsheba and hasUriah killed, his children - firstAmnon , thenAbsalom , rebel against him. The movie reverses the chronological order, having the punishment first and then the sin.
*QueenMichal scolds David for his dance before theArk 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 theCanaanites .
*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.
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