I have long found it difficult to remember any of the distinctive features of this particular film which was released in 1960 towards the end of a decade that featured numerous similar biblical epics. Checking a dozen of these at random one probable reason for this quickly became clear - Esther and the King had the lowest weighted rating among IMDb users. However it has been featured as a home video on several DVD's whilst many of its contemporaries from the same period have never seen a DVD release (except perhaps in the form of Asiatic copies), and this made me feel it might be worth watching again. On doing so, my first reaction was a better appreciation of how good an actress Joan Collins used to be. Sibling loyalty in playing many almost unplayable parts from her sisters rather trashy novels was probably very commendable, but must have lost her many fans from those who did not remember how well she could also play other types of part. But I also quickly became aware of the many deficiencies in this film. The dialogue was very artificial, and the architecture and costumes seemed more improbable than usual. Its historical period, a few centuries before the Christian era, was one where there were beautiful fabrics but few fashion designers, and no images from the period which I have seen in museums had prepared me for costumes which all so effectively emphasised the female bust - or for such a variety of western style coiffures. Similarly the male costumes were more reminiscent of a cross between colourful academic robes and casually decorative dressing gowns. No doubt there are experts who can tell us what we could expect from the architecture of the period, particularly that to be met with in Royal palaces, but somehow the palace in this film was too reminiscent of Hollywood style homes. The lighting in the copy I saw (which may not have done justice to the original film) seemed quite inadequate. Both still art and cinematography frequently make very effective use of spot lighting, the shaft of sunlight or the single candle close under the chin, to provide both mood and atmosphere for a scene, but when this is repeated continuously throughout a full length film, with everything else frequently disappearing into a gloomy background it can become very monotonous to watch. This was one of the early films in which Mario Bava learned his trade, his later ones show his ultimate mastery of graphic imaging to better advantage. I do not concur with the criticisms that early scenes were slow with insufficient action - these scenes provided essential character development whilst action scenes generally provide very little except a touch of the spice that should always be used with great restraint. But the action when it finally took place was largely at night, and groups of armed men with their swords flashing and clashing, barely glimpsed through the enveloping darkness, contributed nothing towards carrying the story onwards. This contrasted very poorly with "Sodom and Gomorrah" - a longer film that also only featured one battle, but a lengthy one which Robert Aldrich shot sequentially in daylight so that viewers could understand the tactics adopted by both sides and follow the ebb and flow of fortune right through.
The brief critique above is probably sufficient to explain the poor IMDb User ratings for this film, but I must acknowledge that I enjoyed re-watching it very much more than I had expected to, and after all personal enjoyment is the reason for watching this type of film. I do not find it easy to understand what so much attracted me to the film but a partial explanation was certainly the acting (despite the poor dialogue that was imposed upon the cast by their filmscript). Apart from Joan Collins as Esther, Daniela Rocca gave a fine performance as Queen Vashti (as well as what may be the nearest to a striptease to have ever been featured in a film produced under the Hayes code. One may wonder what that of Rita Hayworth in "Salome" would have been like if she had been allowed to finish it and not interrupted by the arrival of John the Baptist's head on a platter, but as things stand the palm has to be awarded to Daniela Rocci. She probably only got away with it because the Queen paid for her folly with her life a few sequences later in true Hayes Code style) On the male side Richard Egan provides a commanding and sympathetic portrait of King Ahasuerus but the honours are shared by Denis o'Dea as the wise and discrete elder statesman Mordecai and Sergio Fantoni who plays Haman brilliantly, always showing a smiling face to the world and displaying complete self- confidence that he is clever enough to achieve his goal whatever minor obstacles crop up en- route. Rick Battaglia as Simon - a non-biblical character - also plays his part extremely well.
Ultimately however the whole is often greater than the parts, and this seems to be particularly true here. Hollywood-Italian Sword and Sandals epics almost always have a very fine musical score carefully integrated with a deliberately rather poetic (or even Shakespearean dialogue), and with both the lighting and cinematography, that enables them to capture a mood of relaxation and fantasy. Even children's films such as "Hercules, Samson and Ulysses" which initially seem totally laughable still have something of this quality. Surrender yourself to the mood and forget reality for a few brief hours, and you may find this is one of the films that still has a lot to offer. Rating it is not easy. Based on its technical failings and inadequacies my rating would probably be 5, but I have preferred to rate it on the cinematographic experience it provided for me and have rated it at 7.
The brief critique above is probably sufficient to explain the poor IMDb User ratings for this film, but I must acknowledge that I enjoyed re-watching it very much more than I had expected to, and after all personal enjoyment is the reason for watching this type of film. I do not find it easy to understand what so much attracted me to the film but a partial explanation was certainly the acting (despite the poor dialogue that was imposed upon the cast by their filmscript). Apart from Joan Collins as Esther, Daniela Rocca gave a fine performance as Queen Vashti (as well as what may be the nearest to a striptease to have ever been featured in a film produced under the Hayes code. One may wonder what that of Rita Hayworth in "Salome" would have been like if she had been allowed to finish it and not interrupted by the arrival of John the Baptist's head on a platter, but as things stand the palm has to be awarded to Daniela Rocci. She probably only got away with it because the Queen paid for her folly with her life a few sequences later in true Hayes Code style) On the male side Richard Egan provides a commanding and sympathetic portrait of King Ahasuerus but the honours are shared by Denis o'Dea as the wise and discrete elder statesman Mordecai and Sergio Fantoni who plays Haman brilliantly, always showing a smiling face to the world and displaying complete self- confidence that he is clever enough to achieve his goal whatever minor obstacles crop up en- route. Rick Battaglia as Simon - a non-biblical character - also plays his part extremely well.
Ultimately however the whole is often greater than the parts, and this seems to be particularly true here. Hollywood-Italian Sword and Sandals epics almost always have a very fine musical score carefully integrated with a deliberately rather poetic (or even Shakespearean dialogue), and with both the lighting and cinematography, that enables them to capture a mood of relaxation and fantasy. Even children's films such as "Hercules, Samson and Ulysses" which initially seem totally laughable still have something of this quality. Surrender yourself to the mood and forget reality for a few brief hours, and you may find this is one of the films that still has a lot to offer. Rating it is not easy. Based on its technical failings and inadequacies my rating would probably be 5, but I have preferred to rate it on the cinematographic experience it provided for me and have rated it at 7.