This 1976 three-hour television film was shot in Israel. Dr. Noel Freedman, co-editor of the Anchor Bible Series, served as consultant to this version of the life of the bold but vulnerable Old Testament hero.
Timothy Bottoms plays David as a young man who serves in King Saul's court as a musician and armor-bearer. The drama presents his combat with Goliath, his adventures as a fugitive from the angry king, his friendship with Jonathan, and his honorable response to Saul's downfall.
Keith Mitchell plays David the King as an ambitious ruler who created a great empire with a capital, court, royal residence, and unity of purpose. Through his court historians, David insured that his reign would be remembered as it was — a mixture of sin and a sense of wisdom. Israel's greatest king put on open display both his faults and his accomplishments.
The Bible devotes more space to King David than to any other person. This fine drama gives us more clues to why this is so.
