The historical drama One Night with the King that follows the Biblical Esther, Queen of Persia has come to Blu-ray for the first time. The film features an extremely emotional story with widescreen vistas that lend to the enchantment. With a huge recognizable cast, visual effects wizard and director Michael O. Sajbel it contains every possible filming technique for lasting dramatic impact.
The story based on a young Jewish woman who takes on the servers of Persia and becomes her Queen. Hiding her faith by changing her name from Hadassah to Esther, the beautiful strong willed Queen had to face danger from both sides. Rising from peasant status she knows where her roots are and tries to protect her birth people even in the face of probable death.
The story follows several key protagonists including John Rhys-Davies as Esther's uncle Mordecai who has Hadassah change her name to Esther, Tommy Lister, Jr. as Hegai the royal eunuch who works with Hadassah to make her beautiful in the eyes of King Xerxes I of Persia (played by Luke Gross) and James Callis as the main antagonist Haman who wants the Jews killed and uses his power in an attempt.
The only downside in the presentation of the story comes with weak acting on the part of some of the support characters. While the characters come across strong enough, they seem to pop in and out of the story, sometimes without a lot of meaning. The movie also could have been shortened somewhat as it really doesn't meet epic standards. While Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif are listed in the cast, their roles are more of a matter of fact and putting a recognizable face in the movie.
The only bonus feature is audio commentary featuring Producers Matthew Crouch (The Omega Code), Richard J. Cook (Megiddo: The Omega Code 2) and the screenwriter Stephan Blinn.
The video quality of the Blu-ray presentation is actually very good, especially the visual effects, the widescreen cinematography and the close-ups of key characters. The sets are clear and have an excellent sharpness adding to the charm of the Persian Empire.
The sound quality using the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 provides clear and easy to understand dialogue with sound effects that sometimes are very cringing. With my system I can hear intended side talk, crowd noise and even the whispers.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you are into ancient history than it's a must have. (C )
The story based on a young Jewish woman who takes on the servers of Persia and becomes her Queen. Hiding her faith by changing her name from Hadassah to Esther, the beautiful strong willed Queen had to face danger from both sides. Rising from peasant status she knows where her roots are and tries to protect her birth people even in the face of probable death.
The story follows several key protagonists including John Rhys-Davies as Esther's uncle Mordecai who has Hadassah change her name to Esther, Tommy Lister, Jr. as Hegai the royal eunuch who works with Hadassah to make her beautiful in the eyes of King Xerxes I of Persia (played by Luke Gross) and James Callis as the main antagonist Haman who wants the Jews killed and uses his power in an attempt.
The only downside in the presentation of the story comes with weak acting on the part of some of the support characters. While the characters come across strong enough, they seem to pop in and out of the story, sometimes without a lot of meaning. The movie also could have been shortened somewhat as it really doesn't meet epic standards. While Peter O'Toole and Omar Sharif are listed in the cast, their roles are more of a matter of fact and putting a recognizable face in the movie.
The only bonus feature is audio commentary featuring Producers Matthew Crouch (The Omega Code), Richard J. Cook (Megiddo: The Omega Code 2) and the screenwriter Stephan Blinn.
The video quality of the Blu-ray presentation is actually very good, especially the visual effects, the widescreen cinematography and the close-ups of key characters. The sets are clear and have an excellent sharpness adding to the charm of the Persian Empire.
The sound quality using the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 provides clear and easy to understand dialogue with sound effects that sometimes are very cringing. With my system I can hear intended side talk, crowd noise and even the whispers.
FINAL ANALYSIS: If you are into ancient history than it's a must have. (C )
