Much of the same comments I made in connection with Joseph AND HIS BRETHREN (1960; see above) apply here as well; in fact this is a Biblical peplum also found on the same 3-Disc 10 film collection I rented in time for Good Friday. Luckily, this is slightly superior in that one gets to see re-enacted events with which one is not much familiar (unless he is a staunch Bible reader or theologian). In fact, although the film opens with the perennial David and Goliath confrontation (which while swift is also remarkably bloody), it mostly concerns itself with the embittered and ever worsening relationship between renounced Israelite sovereign Saul and his champion warrior David who regularly makes mincemeat of legions of Philistines.
Saul is portrayed as a pitiful weakling by Norman Wooland (a surprising but not ineffective bit of casting) while blond-haired Gianni Garko is suitably imposing as the psalmist-harpist-warrior David of Bethlehem. As the story goes here, Saul’s persecution of David is so long drawn-out that the latter almost joins the Philistine ranks against his own people! While the handling of the material is insufficiently inspired to sustain one’s interest for two hours, as I said the main thrust of the narrative is fresh enough to distinguish itself from other cinematic versions of the Biblical tale I am familiar with: David AND BATHSHEBA (1951; with Gregory Peck as David), David AND GOLIATH (1960; another Italian costumer with Orson Welles as Saul) and KING David (1985; with Edward Woodward and Richard Gere as, respectively, Saul and David).
Saul is portrayed as a pitiful weakling by Norman Wooland (a surprising but not ineffective bit of casting) while blond-haired Gianni Garko is suitably imposing as the psalmist-harpist-warrior David of Bethlehem. As the story goes here, Saul’s persecution of David is so long drawn-out that the latter almost joins the Philistine ranks against his own people! While the handling of the material is insufficiently inspired to sustain one’s interest for two hours, as I said the main thrust of the narrative is fresh enough to distinguish itself from other cinematic versions of the Biblical tale I am familiar with: David AND BATHSHEBA (1951; with Gregory Peck as David), David AND GOLIATH (1960; another Italian costumer with Orson Welles as Saul) and KING David (1985; with Edward Woodward and Richard Gere as, respectively, Saul and David).