''Samson and Delilah'' is a German/Italian/American television film that was first shown on

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

in the United States. It was directed by

Nicolas Roeg Nicolas Jack Roeg (; 15 August 1928 – 23 November 2018) was an English film director and cinematographer, best known for directing ''Performance'' (1970), '' Walkabout'' (1971), ''Don't Look Now'' (1973), '' The Man Who Fell to Earth'' (1976 ...

and broadcast December 8, 1996.

Plot

Samson Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...

is chosen by God to destroy the

Philistines The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, whe ...

, who have occupied the land of

Canaan Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...

. He is given the greatest strength ever known to man as long as he remains true to his vow and its conditions, yet he still is not convinced of his purpose, preferring instead to spend his time with Philistine company. He eventually falls in love with a Philistine girl, decides to marry her, but is betrayed by her on his wedding day. He soon learns she was blackmailed by the Philistine lords who are plotting his demise, and goes to reclaim her, but she has been murdered along with her entire family. Meanwhile, a treacherous courtesan of the king,

Delilah Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label= Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved ...

, is convinced of her ability to bring even the mighty Samson to his knees. She appeals to Samson as a beautiful woman, and Samson is immediately taken with her. They begin the relationship of two passionate lovers, and Delilah convinces Samson of her love, ultimately seducing him into telling her the secret of his strength. Samson is thus at last captured by the Philistines, who blind him and make him into a slave, forcing him to grind grain at a millstone. At the celebration of his and his kingdom's defeat, he is brought in chains to be both an example and entertainment to his captors. Unbeknownst to them, his strength has returned, and as he stands between the two pillars that support the building, he asks God for forgiveness. He then pushes against the pillars, collapsing the building and killing those inside, including himself. Delilah, who was present in the temple, also dies as well. As often in film and movies Delilah is portrayed as weak and unwise but not evil and apparently genuinely in love with Samson.

Cast

Eric Thal Eric Thal (born August 10, 1965) is an American film and stage actor, perhaps best known as Ariel in Sidney Lumet's ''A Stranger Among Us''; Sam Nivens in '' The Puppet Masters''; Samson in ''Samson and Delilah''; Meade Howell in '' The Wedding''; ...

Jonathan Rhys Meyers Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born Jonathan Michael Francis O'Keeffe; 27 July 1977) is an Irish actor, model and musician. He is known for his roles in the films ''Michael Collins'' (1996), '' Velvet Goldmine'' (1998), ''Titus'' (1999), '' Bend It Like ...

as Young Samson *

Elizabeth Hurley Elizabeth Jane Hurley (born 10 June 1965) is an English actress and model. As an actress, her best-known film roles have been as Vanessa Kensington in ''Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery'' (1997) and as the Devil in ''Bedazzled (2000 ...

* Dennis Hopper as General Tariq *

Diana Rigg Dame Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg (20 July 193810 September 2020) was an English actress of stage and screen. Her roles include Emma Peel in the TV series '' The Avengers'' (1965–1968); Countess Teresa di Vicenzo, wife of James Bond, in ''On H ...

as Mara * Michael Gambon as King Hanun * Daniel Massey as Ira * Paul Freeman as

Manoah Manoah ( ''Mānoaḥ'') is a figure from the Book of Judges 13:1-23 and 14:2-4 of the Hebrew Bible. His name means "rest". Family According to the Bible, Manoah was of the tribe of Dan and lived in the city of Zorah. He married one woman, who ...

Ben Becker Ben Becker (born 19 December 1964) is a German film, theatre and voice actor. Biography Becker was born in Bremen, the son of actress Monika Hansen and actor Rolf Becker. He is the brother of actress Meret Becker and the stepson of Otto San ...

as Prince Sidqa * Jale Arıkan as Naomi *

Pinkas Braun Pinkas Braun (7 January 1923 – 24 June 2008) was a Swiss film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1952 and 2002. He was born in Zürich, Switzerland and died in Munich, Germany. Partial filmography * '' Sky Without Stars'' (1955) - Ko ...

as Harach *

Alessandro Gassman Alessandro Gassmann (born 24 February 1965) is an Italian actor and film director. Early life Gassmann was born in Rome, Italy, the son of Italian actor Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He is of German, Jewish and French ...

as Amrok *

Debora Caprioglio Debora Caprioglio (born 3 May 1968) is an Italian actress. Internationally, she is best known for playing the title character in the 1991 film '' Paprika'' by Tinto Brass and a relationship with Klaus Kinski from 1987–1989. In 2007, she took ...

as Rani * Sebastian Knapp as Yoram ** Matt Green as Elder Yoram *Karl Tessler as Jehiel **

Leo Gregory Leo Gregory (born 22 November 1978) is a London born English film, television, voice-over artist and pantomime actor. Best known for starring as Bovver in '' Green Street'' (2005). Acting career Gregory has appeared in films such as the BAFTA w ...

as Young Jehiel *Luke Mullaney as Amran ** Tobias Saunders as Young Amran * Tim Gallagher as Habor *

Mark McGann Mark Anthony McGann (born 12 July 1961) is an English actor. Early life He attended the De La Salle Grammar School, Liverpool. Mark's father Joe was a Royal Naval Commando who died in 1984, and his mother Clare was a teacher. His three bro ...

as Mahal *Luke de Lacey as Philistine Soldier * John Forbes-Robertson as Philistine Doctor *Mary Hanefey as Delilah's Servant *Neil Robinson as Yoram as Narrator

Production

The film was entirely shot in

Ouarzazate Ouarzazate (; ar, ورزازات, Warzāzāt, ; ary, وارزازات, Wārzāzāt; shi, label=Berber, ⵡⴰⵔⵣⴰⵣⴰⵜ, Warzazat), nicknamed ''the door of the desert'', is a city and capital of Ouarzazate Province in the region of Dr� ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

from early March and late June 1996. The Italian actor Giorgio Francesco Palombi was one of the film's stunt performers. He later appeared in TNT's biblical television film ''David'' as Goliath of Gath. A male African lion named Sudan was trained by Hubert G. Wells,

Sled Reynolds Paul "Sled" Reynolds (born December 7, 1950), sometimes credited as Paul C. Reynolds, Paul Reynolds, Slad Reynolds, or Sled Reynolds, is an animal trainer, best known for his work in film. Filmography *'' Tarzan, the Ape Man'' (1981) (head anim ...

and Victoria Vopni.https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/413588/samson-and-delilah#credits In addition, English mechatronic engineers from

Jim Henson's Creature Shop Jim Henson's Creature Shop is a special/visual effects company founded in 1979 by puppeteer Jim Henson, creator of The Muppets. The company is based out of Burbank, California, United States. History Jim Henson's Creature Shop was originally ...

provided an animatronic lion for the animal's attack scene.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samson and Delilah (1996 film) 1996 films 1996 television films American television films German television films Das Erste original programming Italian television films Films about Samson Films directed by Nicolas Roeg Bible Collection Films shot in Morocco