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Release Date: March 5th, 2013 Movie Release Year: 2006

One Night with the King

Overview -

With lush cinematography, a mesmerizing score, and an all-star cast that includes Peter O'Toole, Omar Sharif and John Rhys-Davies, One Night With The King is a sweeping epic about Hadassah, the young Jewish orphan who becomes the biblical Esther, Queen of Persia. Born into poverty, Hadassah (Tiffany DuPont) grows up to become a beauty who catches the eye of the powerful King Xerxes - and ultimately becomes his bride. But despite her position, Hadassah's life is in danger, as the state has decreed that all Jews will be put to death. Defying warnings to remain silent, however, Hadassah struggles to save her people, even as she attempts to hide her heritage, in this exciting and inspiring story about courage, faith and destiny.

OVERALL:
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Rating Breakdown
STORY
VIDEO
AUDIO
SPECIAL FEATURES
Tech Specs & Release Details
Technical Specs:
BD-25 Blu-ray Disc
Video Resolution/Codec:
1080p/AVC MPEG-4
Length:
123
Aspect Ratio(s):
2.40:1
Audio Formats:
English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Subtitles/Captions:
Spanish
Special Features:
Trailers
Release Date:
March 5th, 2013

Storyline: Our Reviewer's Take

Ranking:

It's no surprise that I missed this 2006 film about the rise of Esther and her husband Xerxes, mostly due to how badly it was executed on film. Director Michael O. Sajbel who got his career start as a director of photography for films like 'Hot Shots' part 1 and 2, as well as 'Son In Law,' and has now transitioned into full time director, with 'One Night With The King', being his most expensive film. It seems like the money went to set design and costumes rather than a decent screenplay and lead actors. The finished product is a garbled mess that's confusing and uninteresting.

One of the fatal flaws with this film is that it's horribly miscast. This looks like the product of a studio executive wanting to put pretty faces in lead roles rather than talented actors. Not to mention the fact that the script is all over the place. Only if you knew the story of Esther would you be able to follow along clearly. I have a feeling that if any one of 100 different directors were to take the reins of this film, this could have been at ton better.

We follow Xerxes the Persian king (Luke Goss) who chooses to banish his queen Vashti (Jyoti Dogra). After doing so, he picks Hadassah/Esther (Tiffany Dupont) after she charms him by being genuine self, although she is hiding her Jewish upbringing. Xerxes and Esther have a gentle and decent relationship at first, however, Prince Admantha (John Noble) has been scheming for some time to take control of Persia under his own rule with the help of Haman (James Callis).

Here is where Esther enlists the help of her uncle Mordecai (John Rhys-Davies) and Prince Memucan (Omar Sharif) to persuade and stop Xerxes and the others from killing all of her people. Interspersed between this story are the confusing relationship between Esther and Xerxes as they have a 'Romeo and Juliet' type of background and forbidden love. Then you have Haman's revenge plot with Admantha's evil plan to take over the land. It sounds good on paper, however, none of it is executed properly, leaving us trying to follow along.

The only decent performances here are by the veteran actors, notably Davies, Sharif, and Peter O'Toole. Despite O'Toole getting top billing on the Blu-ray case, he is on screen for less than a minute. I despise companies that do this. With the script they are given and the limited amount of time they have on screen, they do a decent enough job to keep us interested in what they are doing and what they have to say. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the cast, but unfortunately it tends to be more pretty faces than acting chops. Their performances play out like a bad daytime soap opera, only longer and more drawn out.

With a terrible script, unclear plot lines, bad acting, and sub par direction, 'One Night With The King' can only go so far. I'm sure a lot of you have heard the story before, but if you haven't, please don't make this your introduction into the story of Esther. and trust me, I know some of you that see the name Xerxes anywhere will think of '300'. This is far from that film, so don't get your hopes up. If this flick was in better hands, it could have been a better movie.

Video Review

Ranking:

'One Night With The King' comes with a very good 1080p HD transfer in the 2.40:1 aspect ratio (although the box states otherwise).

The image itself looks great, with the detail sharp and the colors coming across very bright with tons of golds and yellows. The blues come across nicely as well. However, a few scenes, specifically a few exterior shots, seem to be softened a bit before going back to being sharp in the next scene. The flesh tones look natural and smooth all around with the black levels running deep. The colors though really do shine during the wedding ceremony and just livens up the screen. There was a tad bit of motion blur, but no evidence of banding. All around a solid enough video presentation, but it could have been better.

Audio Review

Ranking:

This release comes with a lossless DTS-HD 5.1 audio mix that sounds fairly good. The dialogue is crystal clear and easy to understand throughout the duration of the film. The score is the best part as it flows through nicely throughout every speaker. The sound effects and ambient noises pop up sporadically, but are not used to their best ability and sound a little soft. I only noticed the bass rumbling in a scene or two and it could have been used more. The directionality is okay here, but not used again to its full potential. It seems as if there is just something lacking here that didn't give it the fullest possible sound.

Special Features

Ranking:
  • Audio Commentary - The producers of the film, Stephan Blinn, Matthew Crouch, and Richard Cook provide the commentary track and all three have worked together on the same films before. They provide a decent commentary, diving into all aspects of production for the film. They have a good time with each other, but those looking for tons of entertainment from a commentary track won't get it here, although it is very informative.
  • Trailers (HD, 4 mins) - A couple of trailers for other films.

The film itself is pretty wretched. It's dull, poorly acted, and a mess in almost every respect. The video and audio presentations are decent, but fail to live up to what they could have been. The extras are very slim with only a commentary track by the producers, one of whom was also a writer for the film. It's a decent enough listen, but not entertaining. If you're a fan of biblical films, I'd rent this one first. Other than that, you can skip this one.