One Night with the King

One Night with the King is a 2006 American historical epic film produced by Matt Crouch and Laurie Crouch of Gener8Xion Entertainment, directed by Michael O. Sajbel, and starring Peter O'Toole, Tiffany Dupont, John Rhys-Davies and Luke Goss.

One Night with the King
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael O. Sajbel
Produced byStephan Blinn
Richard J. Cook
Laurie Crouch
Matthew Crouch
Lawrence Mortorff
Screenplay byStephan Blinn
Based onHadassah: One Night with the King
by Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen
StarringTiffany Dupont
Luke Goss
John Rhys-Davies
John Noble
Tommy "Tiny" Lister
James Callis
Jonah Lotan
Peter O'Toole
Omar Sharif
Music byJ. A. C. Redford
CinematographySteven Bernstein
Edited byGabriella Cristiani
Stephan Blinn
Production
company
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • October 13, 2006 (2006-10-13)
Running time
123 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$20 million
Box office$13.7 million

The screenplay by Stephan Blinn is based on Tommy Tenney and Mark Andrew Olsen's novel Hadassah: One Night with the King and Nathaniel Weinreb's novel Esther (the latter uncredited, but the film closely follows Weinreb's book in plot, including direct quotes and events in the novel), One Night with the King is a dramatization of the Biblical story of Esther, who risked her life by approaching the King of Persia to request that he save the Jewish people.

Despite being a critical and commercial failure, it received a 2007 CAMIE Award for Goss' portrayal of King Xerxes.[1]

Plot

The movie is set in Susa, Persia (modern-day Iran). King Xerxes holds a great feast for all the people to attend. A Jewish woman, Hadassah, longs to go to Jerusalem to see the Holy Land and prepares to leave with the caravan along with her friend, Jesse. They stop by the King's feast before he goes marching to war to avenge his father's death. Hadassah and Jesse witness the King summoning Queen Vashti. Queen Vashti was opposed to the war, desiring King Xerxes to enhance his kingdom instead. She holds her own feast in protest against the war. When the king summons her to his feast, she refuses to come, stating, "I am queen, and I will not lower my dignity. Or shame my crown by wearing it before your drunk and thinly veiled war council". Because of this, King Xerxes is advised to banish her and select a more worthy queen.

All beautiful unmarried women in the city of Susa are brought to Xerxes. Under the command of her foster-father, "Uncle Mordecai" (who was one of the king's scribes and worked in the palace), Hadassah does not reveal her nationality or family and changes her name to "Esther" (after the Babylonian goddess Ishtar). She is taken in with the rest of the selected women and given cosmetics, perfumes, and treatments under the care of Hegai, the king's royal eunuch. Through her quick wit, intelligence, and integrity, she becomes Hegai's favorite.

On their night with the king, each female slave is allowed to bring along whatever she wishes from the harem. She goes in the evening and returns in the morning to a second harem. She will not be able to return to the king unless she pleases him and he summons her by name. During their preparation, Hegai discovers Esther can read and listens to her reading to the other contenders. He admires her bravery. Late into the night, he brings her to King Xerxes to read to him. She starts reading from the assigned scroll and then begins telling the love story of Jacob and Rachel (from the Old Testament). He is amused and intrigued and dismisses her, saying she shall read to him again. Esther falls in love with the King. When it is Esther's turn for her 'one night with the king', she only wears what Hegai advises. She wins the king's favor by revealing her heart to him. He chooses her and crowns her queen.

Meanwhile, Haman the Agagite is promoted to the highest-ranking official. He has all the king's servants at the royal gate to kneel before him. Mordecai refuses, declaring he will only kneel before God and the king. He announces himself before Haman to be a son of Abraham, a Jew. Haman, filled with vengeance and hatred, seeks to destroy Mordecai and all his people because generations earlier, Jews persecuted his forefathers.

Esther discovers the plot and breaks protocol by going before the king unsummoned, risking her life to plead for her people. The king spares her life out of his love for her. She invites the king and Haman to a banquet and there reveals her nationality and Haman's plot to kill the Jews. The king, overwhelmed by her revelation, leaves the banquet. Haman then attacks Esther. The king saves her and commands Haman be hanged on the gallows he had erected to hang Mordecai. After Haman is taken away, the king goes to Esther's side. Esther asks, "What made you come back"? And the king responds with, "I saw the stars". Then King Xerxes kisses Esther.

Mordecai is made a Prince of Persia, and issues a royal decree in his own name, with flashbacks of Esther being made Queen, and the crowd of Jews cheering in the streets. Mordecai proclaims, "I order this decree sent out under the great seal of Mordecai, Prince of Persia, a Jew".

Modification

The film generally adheres to the main plot of the Biblical version. However, the film adds stylistic elements not present in the Biblical story, as well as depicting several non-Biblical minor characters. For example, the Biblical story focuses mainly on Haman and his plot to destroy the Jews, and Esther is only becoming a dominant character in Chapter 6. In the film, Esther is featured prominently throughout, and it is Haman who receives little screen-time until the last third of the film.

Production and sales

The movie's Premiere Night took place at Mann Bruins Theater in Los Angeles, California. The movie, filmed entirely in the state of Rajasthan, India, was released in theaters on October 13, 2006. During its opening weekend, it earned $4,120,497 in theaters. By the end of its theatrical run, the film had earned $13,395,961 domestically,[2] and $13,728,450 worldwide.

Cast

Production
Premiere Night at Mann Bruins Theater in L.A. California

The movie was filmed entirely in the state of Rajasthan, India.[3]

Jeannie Tenney wrote and sang "One Night with the King", which can be heard during the final credits. She was a co-author with her husband, Tommy Tenney (also a producer of the film), of the book upon which the film is based.

Promotion

The Genius Club[4] from writer/director Tim Chey[5] was also released theatrically in 2006. The film's trailers showed before One Night With The King.

Reception

Box office

One Night with the King was released to theaters on October 13, 2006. During its opening weekend, it earned $4,120,497 in theaters. By the end of its theatrical run, the film had received $13,395,961 domestically, with $13,728,450 worldwide.[6] Subsequent DVD sales were strong at $20,688,299, more than making up for production costs.[7]

Critical response

One Night with the King received a generally negative reception, garnering a 19% positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 26 reviews, with an average of 4.4 out of 10.[8]

V.A. Musetto of the New York Post, noting that, "The cinematography and sets look great, but the script is a bummer. It's overlong, overwrought and overblown."[9]

The film received better views from the Christian community. The film was awarded four Doves by the Dove Foundation and received the Dove Family-Approved Seal.[10] MovieGuide has also reviewed the film fairly favourably, giving it 3 out of 4 stars, saying that "despite some minor flaws, [it] brings back the biblical epic in an entertaining, inspiring way."[11] The movie has also been endorsed by the American Bible Society.[12]

Classification

The British Board of Film Classification granted this motion picture a PG certificate, noting that it contained "images of moderate battle violence".[13]

In the US, One Night With The King is also rated PG by the MPAA for violence, some sensuality and thematic elements.[14]

See also

References
  1. Character and Morality in Entertainment, verified 2007-08-20.
  2. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/One-Night-with-the-King#tab=box-office
  3. Treasure Valley Christian News, by Ken Malgren, Boise, Idaho
  4. Thegeniusclubmovie.com
  5. Timchey.com
  6. "One Night with the King". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  7. https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/One-Night-with-the-King#tab=video-sales
  8. "One Night With The King (2006)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  9. Musetto, V.A. (October 22, 2006). "ONE NIGHT WITH THE KING". New York Post. Archived from the original on October 22, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2020.
  10. "One Night with the King". The Dove Foundation. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  11. One Night with the King - MovieGuide Review
  12. Mathews, Jack; Elizabeth Weitzman (October 13, 2006). "King-Size Story". New York Daily News. Retrieved May 27, 2009.
  13. "PRINCESS OF PERSIA". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  14. "Search". FilmRatings.com. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
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