''One Night with the King'' is a 2006 American religious epic film produced by Matt Crouch and Laurie Crouch of

Gener8Xion Entertainment Gener8Xion Entertainment, Inc. is a Christian independent film production company based in Hollywood, California. The company is a spin off from Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). The company was led by Matt Crouch (TBN) until mid-2010. Fil ...

, directed by Michael O. Sajbel, and starring Peter O'Toole,

Tiffany Dupont Tiffany Dupont (born March 22, 1981) is an American actress, known for playing the lead character, Hadassah, a Jewish girl who will become the Biblical Esther, Queen of Persia, in the Hollywood film ''One Night with the King''. From 2007 to 20 ...

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor best known for portraying Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise and Gimli in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy. His other roles include Michael Malone in the 1993 series ''The Untouch ...

and

Luke Goss Luke Damon Goss (born 29 September 1968) is an English actor, and drummer of the 1980s band Bros. He has appeared in numerous films including ''Blade II'' (2002) as Jared Nomak, ''One Night with the King'' (2006) as King Xerxes, '' Hellboy II ...

. The screenplay by Stephan Blinn is based on

Tommy Tenney Tommy Tenney (born 1956) is an American preacher and author, known for his message of "God Chasers". In his book ''The God Chasers'' (1998), Tenney relates experiences of being "in the presence of God", including one occasion when a pulpit was pu ...

and Mark Andrew Olsen's novel '' Hadassah: One Night with the King''. ''One Night with the King'' is a dramatization of the Biblical story of

Esther Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...

, who risked her life by approaching the King of Persia to request that he save the Jewish people. Despite being a critical and

commercial failure Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...

, it received a 2007

CAMIE Award The CAMIE Awards, sometimes known as the CAMIEs, are awards for outstanding, uplifting films emphasizing character and morality. They are awarded annually by CAMIE Awards, Inc. Overview The word CAMIE is an acronym for "Character And Morality I ...

for Goss' portrayal of King Xerxes.

Plot

The film is set in Susa,

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

(modern-day

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

) King Xerxes holds a great feast for all the people to attend. An orphaned Jewish woman, Hadassah, longs to go to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to see the Holy Land and prepares to leave with the caravan along with her friend, Jesse. They stop by the king's feast before he goes marching to war to avenge his father's death. Hadassah and Jesse witness the king summoning Queen Vashti. Queen Vashti was opposed to the war, desiring king Xerxes to enhance his kingdom instead. She holds her own feast in protest against the war. When the king summons her to his feast, she refuses to come, stating, "I am queen and I will not lower my dignity. Or shame my crown by wearing it before your drunk and thinly veiled war council". Because of this, king Xerxes is advised to banish her and select a more worthy queen. All beautiful unmarried women in the city of Susa are brought to Xerxes. Under the command of her overprotective cousin, Mordecai (who was one of the king's scribes and worked in the palace) Hadassah does not reveal her nationality or family and changes her name to "Esther" (after the Babylonian goddess

Ishtar Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in Su ...

) she is taken in with the rest of the selected women and given cosmetics, perfumes and treatments under the care of

Hegai Hegai is a character from the Book of Esther, chapter 2, verses 8 & 15. He is a eunuch placed in charge of Ahasuerus's harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; f ...

, the king's royal eunuch. Through her quick wit, intelligence and integrity, she becomes Hegai's favorite. On their night with the king, each female candidate is allowed to bring along whatever she wishes from the harem. She goes in the evening and returns in the morning to a second harem. She will not be able to return to the king unless she pleases him and he summons her by name. During their preparation, Hegai discovers that Esther can read and listens to her reading to the other contenders. He admires her bravery. Late into the night, he brings her to king Xerxes to read to him. She starts reading from the assigned scroll and then begins telling the love story of

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

and

Rachel Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...

(from the Old Testament) he is amused and intrigued and dismisses her, saying that she shall read to him again. Esther falls in love with the king. When it is Esther's turn for her "one night with the king", she only wears what Hegai advises. She wins the king's favor by revealing her heart to him. He chooses her and crowns her queen. Meanwhile, Haman the Agagite is promoted to the highest-ranking official. He has all the king's servants at the royal gate to kneel before him. Mordecai refuses, declaring that he will only kneel before god and the king. He announces himself before Haman to be a son of Abraham, a Jew. Haman, filled with vengeance and hatred, seeks to destroy Mordecai and all his people because generations earlier; Jews persecuted his forefathers. Esther discovers the plot and breaks protocol by going before the king unsummoned, risking her life to plead for her people. The king spares her life out of his love for her. She invites the king and Haman to a banquet and there reveals her nationality and Haman's plot to kill the Jews. The king, overwhelmed by her revelation, leaves the banquet. Haman then attacks Esther. The king saves her and commands Haman be hanged on the gallows he had erected to hang Mordecai. After Haman is taken away for his execution, the king goes to Esther's side. Esther asks, "what made you come back"?. And the king responds with, "i saw the stars". Then King Xerxes kisses Esther. Mordecai is made a prince of Persia and issues a royal decree in his own name, with flashbacks of Esther being made queen and the crowd of Jews cheering in the streets. Mordecai proclaims, "i order this decree sent out under the great seal of Mordecai, Prince of Persia, a Jew".

Modification

The film generally adheres to the main plot of the Biblical version. However, the film adds stylistic elements not present in the Biblical story, as well as depicting several non-Biblical minor characters.

Production and sales

The movie's Premiere Night took place at Mann Bruins Theater in Los Angeles, California. The movie, filmed entirely in the state of

Rajasthan, India Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

, was released in theaters on October 13, 2006. During its opening weekend, it earned $4,120,497 in theaters. By the end of its theatrical run, the film had earned $13,395,961 domestically, and $13,728,450 worldwide.

Cast

as Hadassah/Esther, the main protagonist. The orphaned future queen and cousin of Mordecai. Esther's parents died; prior to the start of the film. *

as King

Xerxes I of Persia Xerxes I ( peo, 𐎧𐏁𐎹𐎠𐎼𐏁𐎠 ; grc-gre, Ξέρξης ; – August 465 BC), commonly known as Xerxes the Great, was the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, ruling from 486 to 465 BC. He was the son and successor of D ...

, Esther's husband; who is insecure in his new position as king. *

Mordecai Mordecai (; also Mordechai; , IPA: ) is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. He is described as being the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin. He was promoted to Vizier after Haman was killed. Biblical acco ...

, Esther's overprotective cousin and father-figure. Esther's nickname for Mordecai is Uncle Mordecai. Moredcai took Esther in after her parents died. * Omar Sharif as Prince Memucan, one of the few truly loyal Princes of Persia. *

Tommy Lister, Jr. Tommy Deebo "Tiny" Lister Jr. (born Thomas Duane Lister Jr.; June 24, 1958 – December 10, 2020) was an American character actor and occasional professional wrestler known for his roles as the neighborhood bully Deebo in the 1995 film ''Friday' ...

, the Royal

Eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

, the harem's bodyguard. * Jonah Lotan as Jesse, Esther's close friend who becomes a Eunuch in the Persian palace. *

John Noble John Noble (born 20 August 1948) is an Australian actor. He is known for his roles as Denethor in the ''Lord of the Rings'' film trilogy, Dr. Walter Bishop on the science fiction series ''Fringe'', Henry Parrish on the action-horror series '' ...

as Prince Admatha, a scheming prince who plots to become king himself. *

James Callis James Nicholas Callis (born 4 June 1971) is a British actor. He is known for playing Dr. Gaius Baltar in the re-imagined '' Battlestar Galactica'' miniseries and television series, and Bridget Jones's best friend Tom in '' Bridget Jones's Di ...

Haman Haman ( ; also known as Haman the Agagite or Haman the evil) is the main antagonist in the Book of Esther, who according to the Hebrew Bible was an official in the court of the Persian empire under King Ahasuerus, commonly identified as Xerxes I ...

, the

Agagite The term Agagite is used in the Book of Esther as a description of Haman. The term is understood to be an ethnonym although nothing is known with certainty about the people designated by the name. According to Cheyne and Black, this term is used ...

, the film's main antagonist, Haman tries to use his position to kill the Jewish inhabitants of Persia. Scenes including Haman and his followers in the film make use of imagery associated with Nazism, including swastika-like symbols and torchlit nighttime rallies. * Peter O'Toole as Prophet Samuel *

Denzil Smith Denzil Leonard Smith (born 6 November 1960) is an Indian film and stage actor and producer. Born to Anglo-Indian parents in Mumbai, he is known for his stage and screen roles as a character actor. Smith has acted in over 50 plays and 60 films. ...

as Prince Carshena *Jyoti Dogra as Queen of Persia

Vashti Vashti ( he, , translit=Vaštī; ; ) was a queen of Persia and the first wife of Persian king Ahasuerus in the Book of Esther, a book included within the Tanakh and the Old Testament which is read on the Jewish holiday of Purim. She was either e ...

Tom Alter Thomas Beach Alter (22 June 1950 – 29 September 2017) was an Indian actor. He was best known for his works in Hindi cinema, and Indian theatre. In 2008, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India. Early life Born in Mussoorie ...

as King

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered t ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

*Aditya Bal as Amalekite King

Agag Agag (; he, אֲגַג ''ʾĂgāg'') is a Northwest Semitic name or title applied to a biblical king. It has been suggested that "Agag" was a dynastic name of the kings of Amalek, just as Pharaoh was used as a dynastic name for the ancient Egyp ...

*Dilshad Patel as Hannah *

Nimrat Kaur Nimrat Kaur (born 13 March 1982) is an Indian actress who appears in Hindi films and on American television. She began her career as a print model and went on to act in theater. After brief appearances in a few films, Kaur starred in Anurag Ka ...

as Sarah *

Asif Basra Asif Basra (27 July 196712 November 2020) was an Indian actor who worked in Bollywood films and TV serials. He is best known to Western audiences for his role in '' Outsourced''. He also appeared in many other films. Basra died of suicide by h ...

as Cameo Role

Production

The movie was filmed entirely in the state of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

, India. Jeannie Tenney wrote and sang "One Night with the King", which can be heard during the final credits. She was a co-author with her husband, Tommy Tenney (also a producer of the film), of the book upon which the film is based.

Promotion

The Genius Club ''The Genius Club'' is an American 2006 Christian-themed dramatic thriller film written and directed by Tim Chey. It was released on 27 October 2006 via Cinemark Theatres. The film tells the story of seven geniuses who try to solve the world ...

'' from writer/director Tim Chey was also released theatrically in 2006. The film's trailers showed before ''One Night With The King''.

Reception

Box office

''One Night with the King'' was released to theaters on October 13, 2006. During its opening weekend, it earned $4,120,497 in theaters. By the end of its theatrical run, the film had received $13,395,961 domestically, with $13,728,450 worldwide. Subsequent DVD sales were strong at $20,688,299, more than making up for production costs.

Critical response

''One Night with the King'' received a generally negative reception, garnering a 19% positive rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 26 reviews, with an average of 4.4 out of 10. V.A. Musetto of the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'', noting that, "The cinematography and sets look great, but the script is a bummer. It's overlong, overwrought and overblown." The film received better views from the Christian community. The film was awarded four Doves by the

Dove Foundation The Dove Foundation is an American non-profit organization based in Portland, Oregon, that issues film reviews, ratings and endorsements of movies that it considers suitable for family audiences, and that bases said reviews on Christian values. De ...

and received the Dove ''Family-Approved'' Seal.

MovieGuide Millard Robert E. Theodore Baehr (born 1946) is an American media critic and chairman of the Christian Film and Television Commission, a division of Good News Communications, Inc. He is publisher and editor-in-chief of ''Movieguide'', a website ...

has also reviewed the film fairly favourably, giving it 3 out of 4 stars, saying that "despite some minor flaws, tbrings back the biblical epic in an entertaining, inspiring way." The movie has also been endorsed by the

American Bible Society American Bible Society is a U.S.-based Christian nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. As the American member organization of United Bible Societies, it supports global Bible translation, production, distribution, literacy, engage ...

Classification

The

British Board of Film Classification The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of f ...

granted this motion picture a PG certificate, noting that it contained "images of moderate battle violence". In the US, ''One Night With The King'' is also rated PG by the

MPAA The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distribu ...

for violence, some sensuality and thematic elements.

References

External links

* * * * * *{{AllRovi movie, 342307, One Night with the King
Grace-Centered Magazine Christian Movie Review
2006 films Films set in ancient Persia Religious epic films American independent films Cultural depictions of Esther Cultural depictions of Xerxes I Films based on the Book of Esther Films about Jews and Judaism Films about antisemitism Films set in the 5th century BC Films shot in Rajasthan Films based on American novels Films based on adaptations Films shot in India Films scored by J. A. C. Redford 2000s English-language films 2000s American films