The Story of Esther

source: The Story of Esther

Middling Italian/American sword & sandal flick based on the biblical story of Esther. Jewish Esther (Joan Collins) marries Persian King Ahaseurus (Richard Egan) to help her people and falls in love with him. Collins playing a 'good girl' is amusing. Look out for sexy Daniela Rocca's dance scene. Have mercy! Definitely the movie's highlight. All of the men in the movie are forgettable. Overlong and dull, it should appeal mostly to those into biblical movies or Italian sword & sandal movies from the '60s. Mario Bava is cinematographer and co-director on this. The other director is the great Raoul Walsh, who also produced and co-wrote it. Pretty blah stuff.

Saw this in the movies as a child and just lately on tape.I must say it doesn't stand up at all.All that is memorable is a young Joan Collins. A hint of Mario Bava's work to come is not enough to trace this flick. Pass it by unless you wish to be transported to a youth that never really was.

¨The power , the pageantry , the sweep of one of the greatest love adventures of all¨ . Biblical costumer with the hunk Richard Egan as the great Persian king , statesmanlike as well as conqueror ruler , and the gorgeous Joan Collins as Judean maid , the young Jewish girl , Hadassah , goes on to become the Biblical Esther , the Queen of Persia , who saves the Jewish nation from annihilation at the hands of its archenemy , Haman . As the stiff king wants to her in place of the murdered queen , Daniella Roca . The movie is partially true to the Biblical account of a Jewish woman who , at the risk of her own life, stands up to the King and a man named Haman , Sergio Fantoni , who was almost successful in convincing the king to wipe out all of the Jews in the land . In the Bible, one of the best lines is spoken by Mordecai , played by Denis O'Dea , Esther's uncle , who tries to assuage Esther's fear by saying, "Who knows, perhaps you have been chosen for such a time as this" . It was written : ¨Gather together all the fair young virgins unto the palace and let the maiden which pleased the king be queen¨ . In the end , Haman constructed a gallows from which to hang Mordecai whom he insisted was subversive , but things go awry . This is the classical and biblical story of Esther , a book in the Old Testament and King Artexerxis , a powerful Babylonian king . This is breathtaking movie in every sense : filmmaker used spectacular palaces , luxurious gowns , stirring dances full of beauties , and lots of extras . Writing and direction , however are average . ¨Esther and the king¨ is in the greatest Cecil B DeMille tradition , the best in mass audience , displaying great production design and lavishly made . There is romance , battles and intrigue as is common with many Old Testament accounts . Epic , rambling events and spectacle are regularly blended in this flick realized in Peplum style , if raggedly and tortuously scripted story of Esther and the King . Wooden acting by Richard Egan and marvelous Joan Collins , though this vehicle first was announced for Hedy Lamarr in 1953 . Here Esther is portrayed as one who is not only fun-loving but brave and wise and Artexerxes is portrayed as a man who carefully measures his decisions and falls deeply in love with Esther . It boasts superior secondary cast plenty of known American/Italian actors . As support cast is pretty well , such as Dennis O'Dea , Rick Battaglia , Gabrielle Tinti , Rosalba Neri , Folco Lulli , Renato Baldini and Sergio Fantoni as Haman who was hanged on his own gallows . There is another version about these deeds titled ¨One night with the king¨ (2006) by Michael O. Sajbel with Tiffany Dupont as Hadassah / Esther , Luke Goss as King Xerxes , John Noble as Prince Admantha , Omar Sharif as Prince Memucan , John Rhys-Davies as Mordecai and James Callis a Haman, the Agagite This long epic Italian/USA co-production shot in Cinemascope and color by De Luxe well photographed by Mario Bava . Evocative and moving musical score by Angel Francesco Lavagnino . The motion picture financed by Galatea Production and realised by Twenty Century Fox Corporation was professional but middlingly directed by Raoul Walsh . Raoul was an expert on action , thriller , Film Noir , Western genres . He made several adventure/epic movies as ¨Blackbeard pirate¨, ¨Sea Devils¨, ¨Captain Horacio Hornblower¨, ¨The world in his arms¨ and this ¨Esther and the king¨ and at the same time collaborated , but uncredited , in ¨Helen of Troy¨ by Robert Wise .

Amidst the wars, pageantry, violence and mayhem, not to mention palace intrigues, is a touching story of Esther's growing love for the king, played by Richard Egan, one handsome fellow, I must admit. In many of the quieter scenes the lovely music adds much to the atmosphere, evoking gentler moods and feelings. As well, I've always admired Denis O'Dea whatever role he played, and here as the steadfast Mordecai he gives a fine performance as usual. I like the sincerity of the actors, and an innocent portrayal of Esther by Joan Collins is so refreshing. The pace of the story is steady throughout so that one doesn't feel slowed down. Most action episodes are fierce enough for me, thank you, as some violence is inevitable in movies such as this. All in all it's a good movie that I personally cherish.

There are many reasons to watch this _peplum—and first of all the director—Walsh (also producer and writers; otherwise, much better known for his Westerns and gangster movies), then its cast (Daniella Rocca, Rosalba Neri) and crew (did you spot Bava on the credits?); the subject of 'Esther …' was mighty topical—intolerance, etc., and who could prevent Walsh from giving it a goofy, lavish and slightly sleazy twist. It's nothing less than an author movie—directed, written and even produced by Walsh. The goofiness and insouciant dumbness of the approach can't be disputed. This movie of decadent glamor and bright Technicolor comes from Walsh, triply at its helm; he was a cognate of sorts of that generation—Ford, Hawks, Wyler. And it's also a transition _peplum, given its hybrid origin—Walsh on the one hand, in charge of many—and a handful of Italians, on the other. The strident, embarrassing, annoying anachronisms and goofiness are to be resolutely forgiven, in the name of that swiftly all—pervading gusto—which the Italians of course had—and since the blessed age of Pastrone—the Pastrone—but which daddy Walsh, now in the twilight of his career, also had, and abundantly. What heartrending beauty! And Leone, who directed the best _peplum ever, is not far! There's a bit of enjoyable, glamorous decadency—like a foretaste of Leone—but then again, there's generally a bit of decadency, at least in Walsh's later outings. 8Never mind the lecturing about Mordecai as a socio—political and administrative reformer; there are better things in Walsh's _peplum. The beautiful and nymphomaniac Vashti is played by the herself gorgeous, slightly plump, big—breasted Daniela Rocca. 9After dancing, this rejected, despised and fun—loving Queen bares her tits in front of an assembly, the spits on the King, whose instincts are left cold, even frozen, by her lovely dance; this was a nicely done scene. Otherwise, Persia had an enlightened monarch, a reformist with democratic leanings, ready to temper the autocratic tendencies that made those oriental realms, kingdoms and empires, known. At least, that's Walsh's take on the events. 10Unfortunately, Esther herself, bravely as she behaves, tends to be a bit of a bore—it's not the role, but the actress. I also thought Naaman was more handsome than his King. Walsh knew to shot the Persian knights, the mounted military, and those scenes are also vivid. Many things in 'Esther …' already point towards a suggested Eurocinema sleaze—nudity, murders shown graphically, etc.. Nice turns of phrase abound—we hear about 'scorching deserts', etc.. The eunuch—in—chief is a corny, caring and protective uncle, ready to correct injustices and abuses, if in his strength to do so. I have eagerly awaited for the sight of the necropolis—well, the scene looked creepy enough. The idea of a Jew hiding between tombs is, of course, delirious. The king proves to be a reasonable guy, not at all like one of those nasty oriental monarchs. Anyway, the institution on the Purim is a fine, touching scene. Walsh's Persia is a very Romanized, Latinized one, with the barbarous Persians looking like clean—shaved Roman officers with '50s hairdos. The men in the movie—be they Persian, Judean or even Syrian—are resolutely in the square—jawed, Germanic—looking category. Well, not the eunuch or Mordecai, but the sexually—active ones, the males. Conveniently Aryan and Septentrional.

They say it's more Mario Bava's work than Raoul Walsh's whose métier was not really the biblical epic .The cinematography ,often dark,recalls some of the Italian director's horror movies,particularly Haman's henchman's murders.And I think that Joan Collins was better at playing a Villainess as she did in Hawks' "land of the pharaohs" . The part of Simon-played by Ric(k) Battaglia ,a specialist of the cheap Italian sword and sandal ,who played such figures as Orlando(Roland) or Vercingetorix- was made from start to finish by the screenwriters ,to create a dilemma for the heroine.The Bible,anyway,is given a rough ride :nothing is told ,for example ,about the fact that Mordecai -not Esther's uncle ,but actually her cousin,which does not make a big difference anyway- did not want to make a deep bow to Haman. Richard Egan ,on the other hand, is a good king ,he has style ,and he is as convincing a monarch as he is the good doctor,Pollyanna's friend ,the same year.

Much like another feminist and contemporaneous Biblical epic i.e Henry Koster's THE STORY OF RUTH (1960), this turns out to be more enjoyable and even compelling than one expects it to be. Actually, although I was aware of Mario Bava's engagement as a cinematographer here, it had not occurred to me that he was also a co-director (which prompted this unforeseen revisit from yours truly – a few weeks after Good Friday which would have been the ideal time for it). As was often the case with such U.S./Italian co-productions, a Hollywood veteran 'supervised' the production actually helmed by an Italian craftsman; in Bava's case, he had already collaborated with Jacques Tourneur on THE GIANT OF MARATHON (1959) and would do so again with Henry Levin on THE WONDERS OF ALADDIN (1961; see my review above). However, when it comes to ESTHER AND THE KING, it seems that Raoul Walsh's involvement was much more hands on since, atypically for him at the twilight of his impressive career, he was also the producer and co-screenwriter of the film! Joan Collins and Richard Egan ably portray the titular roles of the Hebrew maiden and the Persian King and the cast list is peppered with recognizable faces that add appeal to the alternately solemn and campy proceedings: Denis O'Dea (in his last screen appearance as Collins' uncle and Egan's trusted counselor), Rik Battaglia (as Collins' embittered fiancé and Egan's former friend), Sergio Fantoni (clearly enjoying himself a great deal as the film's leering villain), Daniela Rocca (as Egan's nymphomaniac wife – the dance sequence ending with her topless has to be seen to be believed), Rosalba Neri (as Fantoni's ambitious but ill-fated mistress), Gabriele Tinti (as Battaglia's pal) and Folco Lulli (regrettably wasted in a throwaway cameo towards the end of the film). While the few scattered fight sequences are not particularly vivid or exciting, another element I enjoyed was the equally rousing and lovely music score that is here credited to Angelo Francesco Lavagnino (a peplum veteran) and Roberto Nicolosi (a Bava regular).

What do you get when you put middle-range American stars in the leading roles in a peplum film? Pretty good peplum, that's what. Contrary to what one might expect, "Esther and the King" is not a lavish Hollywood historical spectacle in the mode of DeMille, but is an Italian production using Joan Collins and Richard Egan to play the eponymous characters. For this reason the film is often characterized as a bargain-basement epic, whereas it is actually a peplum with a slightly higher than average budget. Appealing performances by the leads, a delightfully schlocky musical score, a good story, and atmospheric sets and cinematography makes this an enjoyable sword-&-sandal effort.

I've always thought that the story of Esther And The King in the Bible is a fascinating account of palace intrigue. Maybe one of the earliest ones we have though the Old Testament gives a nice account of all the power plays in the Saul, David and Solomon monarchies of Israel as well. Joan Collins in her salad days plays Esther who has a relative in high places, that being Mordecai one of the Persian King Ahaseurus's chief councilors. His rival is Haman who is one serpentine rival, a reckless intriguer, but he's also Persian so he has that advantage with the king who is played with proper noble bearing by Richard Egan. All that Denis O'Dea as Mordecai has going for him is the sound advice he gives. But it illustrates a line that George Peppard spoke in the war film Tobruk about Jews always being guests in someone else's country. Haman is played by Italian actor Sergio Fantoni who American fans probably best know as the sympathetic Italian lieutenant in Von Ryan's Express. This guy loves intrigue for its own sake, for the rush it gives him. Eventually that's what does him in. The reason that Egan has to take a new wife is that the old wife Queen Vashti was doing a lot of catting around while he was at war. She's played by Daniele Rocca and it's a shame that lady didn't become better known. She was quite the looker. Esther And The King gets the usual revisions DeMille style for biblical epics. I saw it over 50 years ago in the theater and it holds up very well. And it's a chance to see Joan Collins play a virgin.