Cinematic Versions of Esther

I'm working on finishing up my proposal for Xerxes Atlas today, so I don't have a lot of process or research to share today. Instead, I thought I'd take a look at the different versions of Esther that have made it to film (or at least youtube). There are quite a lot of them!

Esther and the King

Here's a song from another musical version of Esther. It's obviously aimed at younger audiences ("What's the real difference between the genders?" "Umm... hair and make-up!"), but it's cute and the hairstyles are a bit of a kick. What this clip does a good job of is emphasising that Esther is an outsider, different and wiser from the other girls. Our Esther doesn't need to be so Polly-Annaish, but I think her outsider quality is key.

One Night with the King

This is the trailer from One Night with the King, which I think is the most recent film based on the Esther story. It's mentioned a couple of times in the Xerxes Atlas treatment as a version that gets things right, and although I haven't seen the full film yet, the trailer looks suitably epic and emotional. I spotted a few things which looked like revisions from the original story, but the trailer at least hits most of the key plot points from the text.

For Such a Time

For Such a Time is a considerably lower-budget affair, and it shows in just about every corner of this trailer. But aside from that, this trailer demonstrates how important it is to be concise and focus on character. Even with great source material, the filmmakers failed to really demonstrate what makes Esther a compelling story. Nice costumes, though. And I liked the narrator, who seemed to have missed the memo that this wasn't intended as a parody.

Purim: The Movie

This is a trailer for an upcoming animated take on the tale, and I rather like the art direction. The trailer nicely and succinctly sums up the characters, although perhaps not in a way that would be obvious to viewers not already familiar with the story. The end of the trailer seems to hint that it will be giving more emphasis to the bloody finale of the book, which most adaptations seem to downplay (and I think we will, too). The concept art on this movie's website features Esther with a mask, which echos an element I want to integrate into Xerxes Atlas.

Watching all of these clips, I was reminded of what a popular, powerful story the Book of Esther is -- these are just a few of the adaptations out there! It's also clear that having a great story for source material doesn't automatically make for a great film. An understanding of the story and its dramatic underpinnings is really necessary in order to produce a successful adaptation.