La Biblia: David

David has been described as "the most winsome figure in the Bible" and in the dictionary "winsome" means charming. Unfortunately there is little charm in the stiff and mannered performance by Nathaniel Parker as the adult David. Nor is the Saul of Jonathan Pryce any better. Slight and balding, Pryce lacks the physical presence to make a convincing Saul--first king of Israel and a character as tragic as David was charming.

However, among a mainly British cast there are a few standouts. Most memorable are the portrayal of Absalom the rebellious son by young Rowan, the portrayals of Abner and Joab-- generals to Kings David and Saul--and in a small role, the actor who played adviser to Absalom in the very late sequences--and took his own life knowing that when his excellent advice went unheeded, it sealed his and Absalom's doom.

As Samuel, Prophet in Israel, a bearded and heavily made-up Leonard Nimoy seemed more an East European **rebbe** of the late 19th century, folksy and unpretentious, than a character of 3,000 years ago. Yet this contrasted nicely at times with the stagey manner of the other lead players. Sheryl Lee--more dancer than actress--did her best as Bathsheba, the woman beautiful enough to make a man disobey God but her acting had little conviction nor did she look all that dazzling.

It is in the outdoor and crowd scenes that that cheap production values of this made-for- cable video become painfully evident. It was filmed in Morocco, actually a promising location for a Bible epic, but apparently rushed to production with little attention to realism or coaching of locally recruited extras.

"The Story of David" (1976) starring a young Timothy Bottoms in Part I and filmed in Israel did much more with as little or less. THAT David truly was winsome--and "ruddy" as the Book of Samuel describes the shepherd boy who became king.

a king. and his reign. his fights. his victories. his sins. Nathaniel Parker does a decent job. but , in many scenes, it is not enough. because the case of David is more delicate than the situation of another personalities presented in Holy Scripture. he is alive. the informations are many and complete. his virtues and his errors are not field for innovations for scriptwriter. he has a clear portrait and, for the Christian or Jew, it is the only portrait possible. the film make the error to seems be an improvisation. its David is only a drawing. an exercise, an essay about one of the most important heroes of Israel. pieces who imagine a puzzle. result - a nice film who not use the Bible as source but only for inspiration. and that is, in that case, a great error because the story seems be fake or only pretext for costumes.

Since I, a minister, like to see the Biblical accounts enacted, I like this movie. Though the setting is Israel, Morocco passed for the Jewish country. There was plenty of action and very good acting. I liked Leonard Nimoy as the prophet Samuel, quite a change from his role as Star Trek's Dr. Spock. Jonathan Pryce was mean and evil, as was King Saul himself; but, unlike the real Saul, Pryce was not nearly as tall and heavy. Nathaniel Parker portrayed Israel's monarch almost flawlessly. And Sheryl Lee acted well the part of the tempting Bathsheba. The time setting was correct in this movie, going all the way from Saul's rejection of king (which led Samuel to go to the home of David's father Jesse) to David's being anointed as king, then to the end when God said the young boy Solomon would be the one to whom the temple would go. People may have wondered where David was during the strife taking place in his household, but the Bible does not indicate this. As a basic rule I was pleased with this TV movie about one of the most well-known characters in the Bible

Biography about the second King of Israel with emotion , thrills , spectacular fights and nice production design in ancient times . The series focuses on David epic life from 1010 to 970 B.C. recounting his troublesome youthful , problematic family relationship , rebellion his son Absalom and essentially delving the intricacies of his love with Bathsheba. David : Nathaniel Parker is a very human figure who is really recorded in Bíblical episodes , Samuel Books 1 and 2 , he conquered Jerusalem and was author the Psalms. First King was Saul : Jonathan Pryce , who was named by Prophet Samuel : Leonard Nimoy . King Saul of Israel is jealous of fame and adoration of David , who long ago slew Goliath and defeated Philistines and brought victory to Saul army , too . But, subsequently , Saul and his son Jonathan : Ben Daniels were vanquished . When Saul was murdered by a sword slashed himself , David claimed his reígn by right of his marriage to Saul's daughter : Gina Bellman . The continued threat and domination of invaders forced the Jewish tribes uniting under a strong King : David . The harpist David is specially recorded by his acquisition of his favorite wife , Bathsheba : Sheyl Lee , though he had a harem to boot. After King David seeing the gorgeous Bathsheba bathing from the Palace room , he enters into an adulterous love affair which has dramatic consequences for his family and Israel , to be aware the vengeful God of Israel , then David will fall in distress and despair. The new wife was accomplished by sending her husband Uriah the Hitita : Marco Leonardi, a warrior serving as mercenary into way in war . David was supported by his commander Joab : Maurice Roeves and by Prophet Nathan , Franco Nero . His throne was married by usual dynastic confrontation among his children , Absalom and Ammon and Tamar : Clara Bellar. David must rediscover his faith in God in order to save his Kingdom from famine , war , starving and himself from his great number of sins . David was succeeded by Salomon , son of Queen Bathsheba , he inherited the reígn at David's death and became himself a Major King of Israel , building the famous temple of Salomon where the Ark of covenant was guarded.

Lavish and spectacular rendition about the notorious king and being well paced at this epical , bliblical Tv series . Here are brought to life some known events based on David life , as fights between David and Goliath , the cunning plot to murder Uriah that brings the wrath of God , Absalom rebellion and murder his brother Ammon who previously raped his sister Tamar . The series gets a brilliant and colorful cinematography by Raffaele Mertes . As well as a rousing and evocative musical score by Carlo Siotto. The motion picture was well made by Robert Markowitz . He is a good craftsman, usually working in TV series and episodes such as : Twilight zone , The plot's wife , The panthom of opera , Overexposed, A long way home , The Great Gastby , Avenger , Murder in the Heartlíne , Serpico and Kojak .

Other films upon this powerful Bíblical King are the following ones : David and Bathsheba 1951 by Henry King with Gregory Peck , Susan Hayward , Kieron Moore . David and Goliath by Fernando Baldí with Orson Welles , Ivo Payer , Edward Hilton . A story of David 1961 with Jeff Chandler , Basil Sidney , Donald Peasence. Saul and David 1964 by Marcello Balldi with Gianni Garco , Norman Woodland , Antonio Mayans , Aldo Sambrell. King David 1985 by Bruce Beresford with Richard Gere , Dennis Qulley , Cherie Lunghie, Alice Krige.

The stories of David, Samuel, and Saul are recorded in great detail in the books of Samuel, as well as additional information in the books of Chronicles. Considering the wealth of information and detail we have from the Biblical sources, there's not much need to go outside of the text to create a great movie. The most obvious climax of David's life comes early on in his life (his confrontation with Goliath), and the Biblical text in 1st Samuel reads just like an action movie. Had the filmmakers just stuck with the text, they would have hit a homerun. Instead, they bunted into foul territory... or struck out while messing themselves. Just a complete waste of what should have been a great scene. Very inaccurate to the Biblical story and very disappointing. I stopped watching after David took the throne as I couldn't deal with it any more.

This is coming from the perspective of a Christian that believes the Bible is the the inspired and infallible Word of God. If you do not hold to these beliefs, this may be a good movie for you (I can't say as I didn't finish it and my perspective is completely skewed). If you do, you will likely be disappointed like I was.

I find movies based on Scripture to be very touchy in general, and extremely difficult to translate to the screen without something coming across as inaccurate (or what we perceive as inaccurate). Even movies that supposedly stick word for word to the text still take artistic license (as you have to since you're translating the written word to a visual medium).

This one was overall NOT a good translation from the first half that I saw. I'm not going to point out the accurate parts as they were negated by the inaccuracies. Even from the beginning of the movie Saul was not taller than the other Israelites, which is clearly described in Scripture. I'll quit there, as there are a lot of other things I could point out.