Film

King David

Name: King David
Genre: Action, Adventure, History, Drama
Released: 1985
Cast: Richard Gere, Edward Woodward, Denis Quilley, Alice Krige, Cherie Lunghi

Drama

Richard Gere stars as the shepherd-turned-warrior who became Israel's greatest king. Director Bruce Beresford aims for biblical epic grandeur across David's rise, his psalms, his wars, and his moral reckoning—a 1985 film that swings for the fences with period action sequences and surprisingly intimate character work alongside the spectacle.

TMDb rating

2.9

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you like stately, talky biblical epics where politics, faith and family rivalry carry the weight more than swordplay, and you don't mind a star reaching for gravity.

Skip it if you want a lean, muscular action picture; this one moves at a deliberate, often ponderous clip, and its earnest dialogue can feel stiff, especially in the quieter stretches.

What it asks of you: Settle into two patient hours of sprawling storytelling, long stretches of court intrigue between the set pieces, so give it your full attention rather than background time.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

The Ten Commandments1956

DeMille's colossal biblical drama with Charlton Heston. Epic in scale, operatic in scope, unafraid of both bombast and genuine reverence. Sets the template Beresford was working from.

But Three-and-a-half hours of 1950s Technicolor piety. The sexual politics have not aged well, and the portentousness can feel suffocating.

Ben-Hur1959

Charlton Heston again, but this time caught between Judaism and Rome. The chariot race is immortal, yes—but the film's real power lies in its exploration of faith under occupation and revenge as spiritual poison.

But Genuinely long, and the middle hour moves slowly. The dialogue can sound like everyone's delivering sermons rather than having conversations.

Samson and Delilah1949

Hedy Lamarr and Victor Mature in Cecile B. DeMille's other biblical strongman picture. Lurid, colorful, genuinely fun—treats the Bible like melodrama, which it often is, without apology.

But The acting is broad. The dialogue is purple. If you need subtlety, you've picked the wrong film.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from King David

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

A Prophet2009

Both follow an outsider's ascent to leadership through intelligence, language, and understanding others. Both ask what remains of the person when they reach the top.

Jacques Audiard's film about a young man rising through prison hierarchy, learning languages and reading people like texts. Not biblical, but the structure—a nobody becoming a leader through vision and strategy—mirrors David's arc exactly, and it's far grimmer about what that actually costs.

But French-language crime drama set entirely in prison. The violence is casual and frequent. Not comforting, and it assumes you're patient with the slow accumulation of power.

The Last Temptation of Christ1988

Scorsese's Dafoe as a Jesus tormented by doubt and desire. Spiritual wrestiling match disguised as a film. Challenges rather than comforts, which is sometimes what faith actually needs.

But Deliberately provocative. If the premise offends you on sight, no amount of artistic merit will change your mind, and that's fair.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages1916

D.W. Griffith's four-era epic including Babylon, cutting between them with revolutionary technique. Ambitious, visually staggering, genuinely moving about power's cruelty across centuries.

But A silent film from 1916. The pacing is glacial by modern standards, and you'll need to commit completely or lose the thread.

Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages poster

Risen2016

Joseph Fiennes as a Roman centurion investigating the Resurrection as a mystery. Uses genre—the detective procedural—to ask fresh questions about faith. Clever and humane.

But Budget is modest and it shows. Some dialogue lands awkwardly. It's sincere in ways that can feel earnest to the point of strain.

The Bible: In the Beginning...1966

John Huston's sweeping Old Testament chronicle. Episodic, so it breathes—no overarching plot to exhaust you. Huston's eye for landscape and ritual gives it genuine weight.

But Even longer than King David, and sometimes it feels like a series of tableaux rather than a continuous story.

Exodus: Gods and Kings2014

Ridley Scott sends Christian Bale across the desert as Moses. If you want biblical epic as action spectacle with actual craft behind the camera, this delivers. The plagues sequences are stunning.

But The casting is controversial and the theology is muddled. Also genuinely hollow—impressive to look at, thin in the soul.

Noah2014

Darren Aronofsky's Noah with Russell Crowe as a haunted, uncompromising zealot. Visually inventive, tonally strange, wrestling with environmental apocalypse and divine will.

But Weird in ways that don't always work. The third act becomes more abstract and mythic, which some find pretentious and others find necessary.

The Prince of Egypt1998

Both are epic biographical arcs of exile and return, chosen leaders burdened by their calling. Animation lets this one achieve something painterly that live-action often reaches for and misses.

DreamWorks' animated Moses with voice work from Val Kilmer and Ralph Fiennes. Visually orchestral, emotionally muscular, and genuinely funny. Shows how far animation can reach into biblical drama without irony or camp.

But It's animated, which turns some viewers away on principle. The faith elements are sincere in ways that can feel saccharine if you're not in the mood.