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Rating: Country: U.S.A. Release Date: March 14, 2006 Distributor: 20th Century Fox Director: · Henry King Cast: · Gregory Peck: King David · Susan Hayward: Bathsheba · Raymond Massey: Nathan · Kieron Moore: Uriah · Jayne Meadows: Michal Related Sites: · Full Cast and Crew (IMDb) Grade: B-

A majestic Technicolor epic, filled with lavish costumes and scenery, David and Bathsheba fleshes out the story set forth in the Bible's Second Book of Samuel of the King of Israel's detour into adultery with a soldier's wife. Biblical accuracy is most definitely optional, as two chapters of Old Testament text are expanded into nearly two hours of cinematic drama with artistic license. It seems to avoid the pageantry and sheer spectacle of some biblical productions of the time and, despite large sets and locations, has a homey feel to it that places the focus squarely on the main characters and their motivations.

The film opens with the Israelite's battle against the Ammorites outside of Rabbah, and establishes an extra-biblical rapport between King David, who longs for the days when he had a more hands-on role in battles, and Uriah, the captain who's interest is fully on the battlefield and admires the king for his ongoing military campaigns. Returning to Jerusalem, David executes his plan to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to its rightful place in Jerusalem. On the home front, things are not so rosy as his sons Absalom and Amnon engage in power struggles over their father's eventual successor to the throne, and wife Michal quarrels with her husband, eliciting the admission that he married the previous king's daughter for political purposes rather than the love she clearly has for him.

Strolling on the roof of his palace one evening, David spies a beautiful woman bathing in the courtyard of her dwelling below. Despite learning that she is Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, he invites her to an intimate dinner and promptly seduces her. Bathsheba, for her part, discloses the loveless nature of her marriage to Uriah, who spends most of his time in battle and apparently prefers that to a home life. In fact, she confesses that she knowingly bathed where she knew the king could see her. Bathsheba informs David that she is not interested in a casual affair, and they begin to spent plenty of time together to develop their relationship. On their way back from a rendezvous out in the countryside, the pair witness a woman accused of adultery being stoned to death, which puts a damper on their blossoming love. How they manage to keep this affair secret is a bit of a mystery that the movie does not dwell on. At this point, a catfight between Bathsheba and Michel would have been really cool, but this is the Bible, folks, not Hollywood.

The Ark of the Covenant makes its journey to the gates of Jerusalem with the prophet Nathan. In spite of warnings that the Ark is not to be touched, a soldier attempts to be helpful in righting the tipping vessel and promptly falls dead. As a result, Nathan demands that the Ark be kept outside the city walls until God's wrath at this sacrilege has been appeased.

Timing being everything, and to David's chagrin, Bathsheba informs him that she is carrying his child. Without the benefit of abortion being the law of the land, David hatches a plan to give the appearance of legitimacy to the forthcoming baby. He calls for Uriah to spend a couple of nights in Jerusalem, and with his wife, but this scheme is thwarted when Uriah sleeps in his soldiers' accommodations, justifying his behavior by telling the king he won't allow himself any comfort denied the other soldiers. In another deviation from biblical accurateness, Uriah, in a fit of military zeal, asks to be flung into "the hottest forefront of battle." This request comes in real handy for David, who honors it, but with the secret instruction to his commander to quickly withdraw once Uriah has engaged the enemy at the frontlines, thus leaving him to an inevitable demise. This request seemed to endorse the king's later command, rather than it being the premeditated act of evil that it was.

Sure enough, all goes as planned and Uriah meets a fateful end on the battlefield. Following the required month of mourning, David summons Bathsheba and marries her. By now, their romance is common knowledge and, in conjunction with Michel's overhearing behind-the-scenes, the people are aware of the king's treachery. In a powerful scene, the Lord sends the prophet Nathan to deliver a parable to the king. With a crowd behind him, Nathan imparts the tale of a rich man who receives a visitor and prepares a meal. Rather than take from his own abundant flocks and herds, he takes a poor man's only source of sustenance. Nathan concludes by asking the king what punishment should be administered to the rich man. Upon David's response that the actions merit death, Nathan responds, "You are that man!" What had been done in secret the Lord would now make public, and the reason for the drought that had descended upon Israel would therefore be known. Additionally, the son born of this union would soon die, despite the king's prayerful fasting. Still, David refuses to surrender Bathsheba and goes to pray for guidance in front of the Ark of the Covenant.

A scene of redemption unfolds, complete with flashbacks to his slaying of Goliath with a slingshot, and the prophet Samuel's proclamation that he has been anointed by God. With true repentance, David takes leave of the Ark to discover a heavy rain falling, and takes this as a sign of peace with the Lord. He returns to Bathsheba in the palace and, in a stunningly emotional scene, recites in its entirety what will become the Twenty-Third Psalm.

With the spotlight on individual characterizations, the acting must be good to pull this off and the cast delivers equitably. Though Susan Hayward as Bathsheba, Raymond Massey as Nathan, Kieron Moore as Uriah, and Jayne Meadows as Michal all provide fine performances, Gregory Peck really delivers the goods as the brooding monarch who turns his heart from the Lord for lustful desires. Director Henry King's deliberate pace allows the actors to act though the pacing may seem ponderous by today's standards. There is a very long shot on David's face as he recalls his beloved friend Jonathan's death along with King Saul's bloody defeat at the Mount of Gilboa. His anguish is plainly evident, without a word of dialogue needing to be spoken. The cinematography was good with a realistic depiction of the drought decimating the farmlands. A glaring exception was the painfully obvious painting backdrop of Bathsheba's courtyard when it was unoccupied. I found the use of the Shield of David to be a bit conspicuous and, though I'm no historian, doubted it would be utilized like a corporate logo to the extend it was in the film. In the end, it was hard to overcome the story's wanderings from biblical accuracy, but if the movie prompts a viewer to dig into the Bible and read the story for themselves, then that alone makes it worth the effort.

Special Features

"Once in 3000 Years" Featurette with Gregory Peck & Susan Hayward - A queer segment in black-and-white that chronicles actor Gregory Peck's journey through the 20th Century Fox studio lot to meet with director Henry King, who offers him the role of King David. Susan Hayward drives up in a car and encounters Peck on his way to the meeting and cryptically asks, "How's your aim with a slingshot?" King proclaims this part to be a defining role in Peck's career, and sends him off to do research on the character. Peck visits with writer Phillip Dunne to understand his inspiration, and in the midst of reading through the Old Testament passages with which Dunne "read between the lines" to extract his story... the segment abruptly ends and returns to the menu screen. I'm hoping it was just a defective copy of the DVD that caused this quick cut-off, otherwise I'm left to assume that these 3 1/2 minutes are all that exist of this particular footage.

Theatrical Trailers - Color Version, Black & White Version, TV Spot