Marcello Baldi, among whose better known works of historical fiction are "Mole Men against the Son of Hercules" and "Goliath and the Dragon", does a decent job directing this epic biblical tale of the early history of the Kingdom of Israel. In one of the first scenes, Saul (Norman Wooland) and Samuel (Carlos Casaravilla) set the tone of the film as Samuel tells Saul that he has already lost Israel through his disobedience to Jehovah and that a new king is already on the rise. Wooland and Casaravilla are the class of the acting talent here, and throughout most of the film, Wooland is forced to carry the dialog.
In that first scene, the seeds of Saul's paranoia and betrayal begin to sprout and Samuel, after a meaningful pause, says "you are already beginning to torment yourself." This really sets the tone of the entire story. The film chronicles the decline of Saul and the rise of David and Israel.
As with most biblical epics, this film would be a bit hard to watch for anybody who does not already appreciate the story. While the story is an intriguing and powerful one, the film relies fairly heavily on its audience's faith and knowledge and does not go out of its way to entertain.
A lot of the acting is mediocre - especially Gianni Garko's David - unfortunate because so many of his scenes are shared with the often manic performance of Wooland. Anthony Mayans and Luz Marques are fairly good as Jonathan and Abigail.
Although nicely shot, edited and directed, this version of Saul and David is just a little too scholastic and slow for me. Although I believe many of the stories of the old testament to be worth paying attention to, I find a straightforward presentation of these stories difficult to watch. On the other hand, Wooland's rather different and somewhat disturbing take on Saul might make this film worth watching for some.
