Solomon & Sheba
MGM (Video & DVD) - MGM (Video & DVD)
Release date: 2008-03-25
DVD
Actors: Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, George Sanders, Finlay Currie, David Farrar
Color, Dangerous Attraction, Drama, Fall From Power, Feature, Feature Film-drama, Historical Film, Lavish, Movie, Questionable for Children, Religious Epic, Romance, Sweeping, Tense, USA
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Solomon & Sheba
Date undefinedWell, besides being a big ham, unless of course you are a big fan of the Bible and the Scriptures, this is a worthless effort in story telling.
Nowadays we have much more specific indications on who Solomon was and how the Queen of Sheba came into play. There are even sources that really and strongly doubt the two ever actually met.
So, premises apart, and taken into consideration that it is a Yul Brynner / Gina Lollobrigida vehicle, it is still watchable, especially for its "saucy" values of the time (1959).
A bit like "The Prodigal", this is by no means a serious attempt at translating the Bible into a historic document.
It is just Big Circus meets Big Actors. There is even poor George Sanders standing by, lending a hand at this.
Poor man, he must have been desperate in doing so.
Anyway, if the pay is right, why not...
It is barely good enough for Popcorn and Soda and for keeping your kids laughing for a couple of hours in front of your TV set.
Other than that, consider, it is cheap, so if you decide to buy it, it won't be a big dent in your purse, just do not expect something really intellectual out of this one.
And Yul in a wig is ridiculous at best.
Stick to "The King and I" or other better pictures, like "The Magnificent Seven" and even the Sci-Fi thriller "Westworld", if you really like to see Yul at his best.
Image, Screen Ratio and Sound as conventional as ever for MGM/UA products.
As said, cheap.
Solomon & Sheba
Date undefinedSOLOMON AND SHEBA finally gets a U.S. DVD release and the wait was worth it! The movie hasn't looked or sounded this good since the day it was released back in 1959. Gina Lollobrigida at her most beautiful and Yul Brynner with hair...plus a cast of thousands. Who could ask for more? Great entertainment in the DeMille tradition.
Solomon & Sheba
Date undefined"Solomon and Sheba"
Expanding the Bible
Amos Lassen
I love movies based on the Bible--even if they are inaccurate. They make me think and that is a good thing. "Solomon and Sheba" which was made in 1959 has several good things going for it even if it gets its Biblical facts wrong. First it is visually beautiful and Gina Lollabrigida is alluring as the queen of Sheba. Also this is the last film of King Vidor, one of the masters of the Hollywood epic.
The film got off to a bad start. With 75% of the film finished, Tyrone Power who was playing Solomon died and was replaced by Yul Brynner who convincingly portrays the wise king. The film does live up to the King Vidor trademark.
The Biblical inaccuracies are throughout the film, however. The movie is a Biblical stew. Several incidents are woven together and a little extra is thrown in by Hollywood. In the Bible there is very little said about the two monarchs. The queen simply went on a trade mission to Israel, talked with the king and returned to her country with goods she received. There is no hint of romance. Sheba did not see the famous case of the two women who came before Solomon and neither did she know anything about the Temple. She was not involved in the dispute of the succession of Adonijah, Solomon's brother and that is the heart of the film. The story of Adonijah in the Bible is nowhere as elaborate as shown here in the film.
In the Bible, there is no mention of the Queen of Sheba being a temptress; it simply says she is an admirer of Solomon.
Nonetheless, I love this movie. It is beautiful to watch and it certainly made me return to the Bible to check the facts. I say, look at it but keep your mind and your Old Testament open.
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