King David

King David tells the story of the biblical figure who rose from shepherd to ruler of Israel. The prophet Samuel, acting on divine instruction, chooses the young David to succeed the reigning king, Saul. David's standing grows when he defeats the Philistine giant Goliath, and he is brought into Saul's court, where the aging king's jealousy turns to open hostility. David eventually takes the throne, though the film follows his reign only so far.

Bruce Beresford directed the film, the fourth of the twenty features he made, arriving between Tender Mercies and Aria. The screenplay was written by Andrew Birkin and James Costigan, and Martin Elfand produced. Richard Gere plays David, with Edward Woodward as Saul, Denis Quilley as Samuel, Alice Krige as Bathsheba, Cherie Lunghi as Michal and John Castle as Abner. The production credits list 42 cast members and 73 crew members, and the film runs 114 minutes.

Released in March 1985, the film cost 22 million dollars and returned about 5 million worldwide. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.3 from roughly 2,700 votes, and on TMDB 5.7 from 67 votes, while the critics' rating stands at 4 out of 10 from 12 reviews.