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DVD Description
Yul Brynner stars as the legendary King Solomon in what is considered to be the most spectacular motion picture of its time. When Solomon is chosen to succeed his father, King David, he vows to rebuild Jerusalem and lead Israel to greater strength. However, his jealous brother Adonijah, the Egyptian Pharoah and the seductive Queen of Sheba conspire against Solomon to bring down his throne. This mighty epic was King Vidor’s final film and colourfully portrays some of the greatest rulers, kingdoms and battles in Biblical history.
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), French ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), German ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), Italian ( Mono ), Spanish ( Mono ), Danish ( Subtitles ), Dutch ( Subtitles ), English ( Subtitles ), Finnish ( Subtitles ), French ( Subtitles ), German ( Subtitles ), Italian ( Subtitles ), Norwegian ( Subtitles ), Spanish ( Subtitles ), Swedish ( Subtitles ), WIDESCREEN (2.35:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Interactive Menu, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Shortly before his death in ancient Israel King David has a vision from God telling him that his younger son Solomon should succeed him as king. His other son Adonijah is unhappy and vows to attain the throne. Meanwhile the Egyptian Pharoah agrees to cede a Red Sea port to the Queen of Sheba is she can find a way to destroy Solomon, whose wisdom and benevolent rule is seen as a threat to more tyrannical monarchs in the region. Sheba, Pharoah, Adonijah, the leaders of the Twelve Tribes and his own God make life difficult for Solomon who is tempted by Sheba to stray. ...Solomon and Sheba
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Another large-scale film rendition from the biblical epic,
By A Customer
This review is from: Solomon and Sheba [VHS] [1959] (VHS Tape)
Another large-scale film rendition from the biblical epic genre! Typical "Hollywood style" of finding "love story" themes from biblical narratives, which always creates an impact! For this film, MGM first employed Tyrone Power for the part of Solomon but during initial filming Tyrone Power died and amazing epic actor Yul Brynner (Rameses in TEN COMMANDMENTS) replaced him. The "battle scenes" were so magnificently filmed in cinemascope that the film authorities kept Power in particular scenes where he could not be recognized in spite of the fact that Brynner took the lead role. The great epic actor Finlay Currie (who played Balthasar in Ben Hur) issues a magnificent portrayal of King David while David Farrar does a good job with playing Pharaoh, king of Egypt. The same problems of human nature where brother fights against brother is clearly seen in the character of Solomon's brother Adonijah stunningly played by British actor George Sanders. This particular UK video release of this classic is a "must see" for it captures both the original cinematic technique of the use of camera 70 and stereophonic sound. The UK PAL version is better than the NTSC.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A mere shadow of what it could have been,
By
This review is from: Solomon And Sheba [DVD] (DVD)
Solomon and Sheba is a film more famous for original star Tyrone Power's death two-thirds of the way through shooting than for anything it achieved once the cameras started rolling again with Yul Brynner in the role (having shot most of the big exteriors, there simply wasn't enough footage of Power in the key scenes with Gina Lollabrigida's Sheba to cut together into a feature).
From the few extracts that have emerged of Tyrone Power's footage this could have been a contender, but after his fatal heart attack filming the final swordfight with long-time co-star George Sanders, unpopular replacement Yul Brynner had the script rewritten to replace Power's doubting warrior king with a more confident and less interesting typical movie hero. There's a huge element of half-heartedness to much of the film that doesn't help matters, much of it no doubt due to reshooting so much of the film again, but it's doubtful this would ever have been more than big-budget hokum. The result is one of those films like Blood Alley (which saw Robert Mitchum controversially replaced by John Wayne days into filming), where the story of what happened behind the screen is much more interesting than the one on it. Unlike the atrocious Taiwanese DVD, the UK PAL DVD boasts a good 2.35:1 widescreen transfer and includes the original theatrical trailer, which does offer a brief glimpse of Power swinging a sword from his chariot in a battle scene, though it would have been nice to see some more of the surviving Power footage as well.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
AN EPIC OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS...,
By
This review is from: Solomon and Sheba [VHS] [1959] (VHS Tape)
I must say that this film was a very pleasant surprise. It was released in 1959 when biblical epics were at their zenith. Starring Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders, and Marisa Pavan, this film is not lacking in star power. It is a lush, compelling story.The film details the rivalry between Solomon (Yul Brynner) and his older brother, Adonijah (George Sands), the warrior. It was a rivalry that grew out of the fact that Adonijah was passed over for succession to their father David's throne upon his death. It was Solomon who was chosen to rule Israel. This was to cause a rift in their relationship that would be irreparable. The film also details the love affair between the beautiful Queen of Sheba (Gina Lollobrigida) and Solomon, wise in all things except love. It shows how an affair that started out as a political maneuver on the part of the Queen of Sheba would turn into a selfless, passionate love of the heart. It was a love that would almost rend a nation asunder. Yul Brenner, as the viewer has probably never seen him (with a head of hair), is excellent as the idealistic and tolerant ruler. Gina Lollobrigida turned out to be a much better actress than I had imagined. She is sensational as the beautiful, exotic, voluptuous Queen of Sheba. She also has a figure that must have been the envy of every woman at one time. It is a perfect hourglass figure that shows off her striking and seductive costumes to perfection. George Sands is compelling as the envious Adonijah, who sought to take what was not his by any means, fair or foul. His desire for the throne would compromise the very existence of Israel and lead to a climactic finale. Moreover, his hatred for the Queen of Sheba was as great as that of his hatred for his brother. This wellspring of emotion was to have great repercussions for all. Despite a pagan orgy scene that is so over the top as to be laughable, this is a spectacular biblical epic that will keep the viewer riveted to the screen.
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