''The Favorite'' (also titled ''Intimate Power'') is a 1989 Swiss-American historical drama film based on the unsubstantiated story of Aimée du Buc de Rivéry that takes place at the dawn of the 19th century. It was the final film of director

Jack Smight John Ronald Smight (March 9, 1925 – September 1, 2003) was an American theatre and film director. His film credits include ''Harper'' (1966), '' No Way to Treat a Lady'' (1968), '' Airport 1975'' (1974), '' Midway'' (1976), and '' Fast Break ...

Premise

A young French woman named Aimee is kidnapped and forced into a Sultan's

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Fiercely independent, she resists, but must make choices in order to survive. She begins to influence the Sultan toward more fair manners of solving his conflicts, but finds herself at odds with another one of his wives, who wants her son

Mustafa Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mou ...

to become the new sultan. As the years pass, she must deal with the new Sultan's advances while protecting her adopted son Mahmud, and helping the Ottoman Empire against

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

during the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792. The source for the story is a novel by

Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark, (born 7 January 1939) is a Greek prince, historian, and author. He has written several historical books and biographies of Greek and other European figures, Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. " Burke’s Royal F ...

titled ''Sultana - La Nuit du Serail''.

Cast

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he wo ...

Abdul Hamid ʻAbd al-Ḥamīd (ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الحميد) is a Muslim male given name, and in modern usage, surname. It is built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and ''al-Ḥamīd'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which gave rise t ...

Maud Adams Maud Adams (born Maud Solveig Christina Wikström; 12 February 1945) is a Swedish actress and model, known for her roles as two different Bond girls, first in '' The Man with the Golden Gun'' (1974) and then as the eponymous character in ''Oct ...

as Sineperver * Amber O'Shea as Aimée Dubucq de Rivéry * Ron Dortch as Tulip * James Michael Gregary as Selim * Laurent Le Doyen as Sebastiani *

Francesco Quinn Francesco Daniele Quinn (March 22, 1963 – August 5, 2011) was an Italian-born American actor. The first son of Oscar-winner Anthony Quinn and Iolanda Addolori (Anthony Quinn's second wife), Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role ...

as adult

Mahmud Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 1 ...

Andréa Parisy Andréa Parisy (sometimes credited as Andrée Parizy; 4 December 1935 – 27 April 2014), was a French film actress. Born Andrée Marcelle Henriette Parisy in Levallois-Perret, she was best known for her roles in films such as ''Le Petit Bai ...

as Mihrişah * Tom McGreevey as Uncle (as Thomas McGreevey) * Celeste Simpson-Boyd as Zinah * Robere Kazadi as Orchid * Garth Wilton as British Consul * Reuven Bar-Yotam as Algerian Captain * Farouk Peker as Baktar * John Kennedy Hayden as Chief

Janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ...

* Mike Johnson as

First Mate A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the shi ...

*Thomas Rosales Jr. as Third Mate * Michael Saad as Jeweler * Dale Dye as French Officer * Joseph Darrell as Manservant * Ayse Gungor as Harem Girl *

Starr Andreeff Starr Andreeff is a Canadian producer and former actress from Hamilton, Ontario. She was Miss Teen Hamilton and a semi-finalist in the 1980 Miss Teen Canada pageant. She is best known for her roles in B-movies such as ''Dance of the Damned'', '' ...

as Harem Girl * Erica Zeitlin as Harem Girl * Victoria Dakil as Old Woman * Roz Witt as Nun * George Marshall Ruge as Kamir * Joe El Rady as Boy at the bazar * Jonathan Vuille as Young Mahmud * Glenn Scarpelli as

Production

*Director:

*Production Company: Ascona Films, Inc. The film was shot in Turkey. Smight says half way through the production the producer Georges-Alain Vuille, ran out of money so a company run by Steve Friedman took over the film. Smith finished the film "and in my estimation, it turned out better than expected, but once again 'into oblivion'."

Sources

*Jason Ankeny, Allmovie. *

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Favorite, The 1989 films Films based on Danish novels American independent films Swiss drama films 1989 independent films English-language Swiss films 1980s adventure drama films Films set in the 1780s Films set in the 1790s Films set in the 1800s Films set in 18th-century Ottoman Empire Films directed by Jack Smight American adventure drama films 1989 crime drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films