King David

King David (1985)

The story of the man.

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

Date of release
1985-03-29
TMDB
5.7 / 10 (69)
Runtime
1h 54m
Genres
Action, Adventure, History, Drama
Director
Bruce Beresford

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Filmed in: Basilicata and Pinewood Studios
  • Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

King David is a 1985 American Biblical epic film about the life of David, the second King of the Kingdom of Israel, as recounted in the Hebrew Bible. The film is directed by Bruce Beresford, written by Andrew Birkin and James Costigan, and stars Richard Gere in the title role. The ensemble cast includes Edward Woodward and his son Tim, Alice Krige, Denis Quilley, Cherie Lunghi, Hurd Hatfield, John Castle, Jean-Marc Barr, Christopher Malcolm, Niall Buggy, John Hallam, Jack Klaff, and Gina Bellman.

Production

In July 1978 Michael Eisner of Paramount said he wanted the studio to make a Biblical film for release in 1981. The studio chose the King David script. According to Andrew Birkin, who was one of the later writers, the studio were attracted to the story because of its parallels to Star Wars with David as Luke Skywalker and Samuel as Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Birkin felt David's story was more ideal for a ten-hour mini series and struggled to include key elements like Samuel. "I found the brutality of the Old Testament hard to take" said Birkin.

"I hadn't realized that God's commandments were set out so clearly -there's no pink pages. It was hard to make God a hero. It was also hard in 1984 to write a film about our late lamented Imperialists. This is not a Ten Commandments story of beleaguered people in exile. David was the Cecil Rhodes of Ancient Israel. It was hard to make a case for him, the kind who carved an empire according to the map devised by Abraham."

Beresford said, "The forces that impinged on David, the decisions he had to make, the relationships he had with people and with God and the way he felt about Him – it becomes fascinating when you follow everything that happened to David from his childhood to his death." "What made David fascinating were his strengths and weaknesses", said Beresford.

In June 1982, Beresford said he would make the film for Paramount, after he made Tender Mercies. In February 1983, he said the budget would be $16 million and "it's got an absolutely wonderful script. I think we've gotten away from all of those old clichés of Hollywood biblical movies." "What I want to do is make a different sort of Biblical film", he said. "The ones Hollywood made in the past were far too reverential.

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