The Favorite

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.

The Favorite (novel)

The Favorite (Russian: Фаворит) is a historical novel by Soviet writer Valentin Pikul, written in 1979-82.

Plot

The novel describes the life of an outstanding military and political figure of the second half of the 18th century, Grigory Potemkin. Being one of the most "officially" beloved of Catherine the Great, Potemkin had a huge influence on the Empress, but he used it not only for personal gain, but for the good of the state. Potemkin became famous as a wise politician, an experienced diplomat, a brave captain. Under his leadership, major reforms have been carried out in the Russian army. However, envy and hatred of the last favorite of Catherine II, Count Platon Zubov led Potemkin to disgrace at first, and then to a premature death ...

Much of the novel is devoted to the description of two Russian-Turkish wars, Crimean Khanate was destroyed as a result of this and the occupied territories were incorporated into the Russian Empire.

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