The Favorite
| The Favorite (Intimate Power) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jack Smight |
| Produced by |
Georges-Alain Vuille Ascona Films Inc. |
| Written by |
Prince Michael of Greece (novel) Larry Yust (screenplay) |
| Starring |
F. Murray Abraham Maud Adams Francesco Quinn Amber O'Shea |
| Music by | William Goldstein |
| Cinematography |
Giorgio Tonti Howard Wexler |
| Edited by |
Dennis Virkler Devon Heffley Curry, adr supervisor |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release dates | 9 August 1989 (France) |
Running time | 104 min. |
| Country |
United States Switzerland |
| Language | English |
For the opera by Donizetti, see La favorite. For the stadium in Palermo, Italy, see La Favorita. For the Canadian early music ensemble, see La Favoritte. For the Brazilian soap opera, see A Favorita.
The Favorite (also titled Intimate Power) is a 1989 film based on the life story of Aimée du Buc de Rivéry (1776-1817) that takes place at the dawn of the 19th century. It is the final film of director Jack Smight.
Premise
A young French woman named Aimee is kidnapped and forced into a sultan's harem in Turkey. 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 of his wives, who wants her son Mustafa 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 the Russians who have better weapons than they do.
The source for the story is a novel by Prince Michael of Greece and Denmark titled Sultana - La Nuit du Serail.
Cast
- F. Murray Abraham as Abdul Hamid
- Maud Adams 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 as Adult Mahmud
- Andréa Parisy 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
- Mike Johnson as First Mate
- 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 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 Mustafa
Production
- Director: Jack Smight
- Production Company: Ascona Films, Inc.
- Filming Locations: Istanbul, Turkey
Sources
- Jason Ankeny, Allmovie.
- The Favorite at the Internet Movie Database