I have yet to read Esther fully in the Bible (but will tonight after this review) so I cannot comment on the scriptural accuracy of this film, but I will say that whether Jew or Christian, its an exceptional moving film and the main actress worthy of her title as "queen"!

F. Murray Abraham and the Louise Lombard are terrific and bring real feeling to their roles. I also leaped for joy when I saw Ezra and Nehemiah brought in as supporting roles. Of the films in this excellent DVD package (Solomon, Genesis and Jeremiah) I found this the most rewarding. Someone suggested that a theology student shouldn't be using this film and others like it as cliff notes for The Bible, but I would recommend them as a wonderful starting point and rewarding entertainment for others as well. My only wish is that the rest of the films in the series would get released on DVD (Notably "David" and "Moses". They are spiritually uplifting and well worth a rental or a purchase!

This is another film in the Time Life series of Bible films, and in "Esther" we see the events of the book of Esther from the Old Testament played out in a convincing and realistic way. The film sticks closely to the Bible narrative, even using the script word for word from the Bible, at least from the New King James Version, which I read along with the film while watching. Acting is excellent, and Louise Lombard does well in the title role. F Murray Abraham, an excellent actor, plays the part of Mordecai very well, and Thomas Kretschmann, whom I had not previously heard of, does an excellent job as King Ahaseurus. Jürgen Prochnow does a good job of playing the evil Haman, and by the time Haman is executed, I was hating Haman for his evil crimes, and regarding Mordecai, Esther and Ahaseurus with great admiration. The film also uses other Biblical characters, not mentioned in the book of Esther, but whose books come before Esther in the Bible, i.e. Ezra and Nehemiah. I am not sure if they were contemporary with Esther, or shortly after her time, but the way they are used in the film fits in very well with the story. I had previously seen a 1950s film with Joan Collins about Esther, which was totally wrong and mostly made up, whereas this film is very true to the Bible and worth seeing. Even if you have never read the Bible or know the story of Esther, I would recommend this film as it is a great film in its own right, and very enjoyable and watchable.

As the second wife of the King of Persia, Queen Esther went from Jewish maiden to a very powerful woman, and use that power for good. Now that's the type of princess or queen to celebrate, and her goal is for her people to be able to live in peace. Under the reign of King Ahasuerus (Thomas Kretschmann),Queen Esther (Louise Lombard),corruption in his regime is discovered, through his own right hand man (Jürgen Prochnow),while Esther saves the life of her cousin/guardian F. Murray Abraham. This is a biblical story taking place during the time when the post-Exodus Jews were a scattered people, with many of them living in Persia, and Israel not yet under their control. This is years before David and Solomon, an era not much dealt with in the movies, although there was a 1960 B Epic with Joan Collins and Richard Egan, fun but mediocre, and easy to find 8n a public domain version.

This film, made over a year before its American TV release, is spectacular and certainly cinematic, and while not in a huge wide screen does look very good on modern televisions. Lombard certainly is quite a beauty, and very convincing. Abraham adds another memorable role to his many others, with Prochnow a great villain (given some noble qualities to make him less one dimensional) and Kretschmann a very commanding king who is allowed to be troubled, sometimes arrogant and proud. A shocking scene has Esther, picked up basically as a slave, and tossed into a harem, becoming the wife after the king gets rid of his first one, Vashti (Ornella Muti). One of many made for cable biblical films in the 90's and early 21st century, this is quite a stunning movie.