David and Bathsheba
by Henry King
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Gregory Peck, James Robertson Justice, Kieron Moore, Raymond Massey, Susan HaywardDirector: Henry King
Brand: Fox
Cinematographer: Leon Shamroy
Editor: Barbara McLean
Producer: Darryl F. Zanuck
Writer: Philip Dunne
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 1.0; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 1.0
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 116 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-03-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Movie Reviews of David and Bathsheba
Movie Review: A Bit SLOW at Times, but 90% Bible Accurate, and 10% Bible Rearranged Nicely!
Summary: 5 Stars
I never heard of this film until I saw it on amazon.com's "People Who Bought This Also Bought..." web feature. I am glad I saw it there, it is a very interesting 1950's film starring a very famous Hollywood star, Gregory Peck!
DAVID AND BATHSHEBA itself is a little low on action, but it redeems itself by being cram-packed with accurate Bible scenes, and intelligently re-arranged Bible scenes that do not offend the sensibilities of folks who know the actual Bible story well! It is probably more accurate than THE TEN COMMANDMENTS starring Charlton Heston, also from the 1950's, but Heston's film is more fun and more famous. Nevertheless, DAVID AND BATHSHEBA is very good, especially for being a nearly forgotten film that few people seem to know about.
Gregory Peck is awesome as the thoughtful King of Israel who strays from God as a mid-life crisis, but pays the price! Peck has the screen presence and intelligence to make an excellent King David during this era of David's life! Susan Hayward is okay as Bathsheba, (but she seems a little too All-American, strawberry blonde, instead of Jewish brunette).
The script follows the Bible pretty closely, concerning Bible scenes and characters. There is minor chronological re-arranging, and minor character development details not in the Bible, but throughout the film, the added details enhance the film without contradicting the Bible verses! A lot of the details are so close to accurate that I had to pick up my King James Bible to verify if they had gotten it right or not, and they usually had gotten it right! I even learned that the correct pronounciation is BATHsheba, according to this film and my King James Bible, though I always said bathSHEba! Watch and learn.
Absalom is probably too young at times, but scenes with Michal, David's first wife, are NOT in the Bible, but very accurate to Michal's complaining, negative attitude! The guy playing Uriah is great, and very well written. This movie actually helped me to envision Uriah in a different, more detailed way that I think makes perfectly logical sense.
The the biggest, worst thing that I saw where they got the Bible wrong is that the last 30 minutes of the film focuses on the people demanding that Bathsheba be stoned for her adultery, and how King David tries to resolve her fate. In the Bible, of course, Bathsheba is NEVER criticized publically or called to be punished by the people. Having said that, the last 30 minutes are also some of the nicest scenes in the film, showing King David reciting Psalm 23, and showing flashbacks of David's childhood, such as slaying Goliath!
There is also an interesting b/w feature of an oddity, a promotional piece showing Gregory Peck, Susan Hayward, and the director acting out how Gregory Peck supposedly got hired for this film. My DVD copy stops abrubtly after 3 minutes, mid-verse(!), but hopefully everybody elses will play correctly.
If you collect Bible movies, like I do, then this will make a nice addition to your Bible DVD library!
Summary of David and Bathsheba
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