Customer Reviews

THE EGYPTIAN [NTSC-ALL Regions / IMPORT] (1954)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I found no problem with turning off the subtitles which another reviewer mentioned. There is also a Widescreen edition from Hong Kong I enjoyed more than this full-screen edition.

"The Egyptian" is a gripping story of two men who rose to the heights of the Pharaoh's kingdom, and the two women who marked their destiny. Against the background of the first glimpes of a monotheistic worship of the sun, it gives fascinating performances, especially by Peter Ustinov. Victor Mature is in his element as a handsome, if arrogant all-male, ambitious man, and Jean Simmons is absolutely gorgeous as the poor tavern girl with more class than the exquisite royal princess played by Gene Tierney. Michael Wilding is strangely haunting as the mystical, introverted Pharaoh Akhnaton.


Gorgeous photography and old-Hollywood-style majestic sets and costumes are a treat for the eyes of those who love losing themselves in movies of another era, without car chases and shootings.

Some reviewers say the Egyptian is total fiction. There is confusion over Sinuhe the physician and protagonist, and Pharoh Akhenaten.
Facts we do know: Akhenaten was from the 18th Dynasty(circa 1350 B.C.), married to Nefertiti (famous bust in Berlin Museum), believed he was the representative of Aten (sun god), and probably the father of Tutankhamun.

Sinhue in the flick is a representation of the Story of Sinhue from ancient scrolls at least back to Egypt's 12th Dynasty. The author Mike Waltari (Finnish) of The Egyptian used poetic license to combine the legend of Sinhue with Akhenaten. Historically he did study and utilize lifestyles of Egyptians which Egyptologists state as accurate as we know.

Like all historical novels/movies there are fictional episodes, characters and details since it is impossible to recreate everything from the past. This movie is not about history 101A class, it is about Sinhue the physician who lost his way over the desire of a woman, which results in his bankruptcy of money and his soul, including his parents' afterlife. It is a cautionary tale of loving the wrong person and realizing only too late of the fatal mistake. This is like Somerset Maugham's "Human Bondage" in ancient Egypt.
Suggest enjoying this flick for its beautiful story, acting, scenery and music score, and maybe some day its decent release on DVD.

The film is an excellent one and as everyone has already stated it should be offically released with high quality. That being said this particular foreign transfer of this film is watchable and decent but certainly no where near the original spectatular print that could be released and that's why I only gave two stars. I've got a new Sony 500 BluRay player and trust me as another poster already stated there is NO WAY to turn of the extremely distracting Korean subtitles either via the Sony remote or via the softwhere menu on the disc itself. If someone has figured a way to do it please post it! Meanwhile, having this is better than nothing I guess. I just wish that a lot of excellent epics like this would be hitting BluRay especially now that the format war is over. Most films today are junk in my opinion but we've got a wealth of older titles that could and should be hitting the shelves in BluRay like this one . . . but they're not so far. Hopefully things will pick up.

When this film gets it right it really gets it right. And when it goes wrong... I'd say that a full 3/4s of the film is great. I can even isolate the bad bit. It's everything that has to do with the romance. Everything that you need to know about it is said in the first five minutes but it drags on for about 30. I'd recommend skipping that section if you can. It does nothing except explain his exile. It should have been a minor plot point quickly thrust aside. Fortunately, the period from about 0-30 and 1:00-2:19 (The End) is excellent.

There are a number of excellent performances in this film, and an equal number of terrible ones. Just like everything else in this movie the acting is either perfect or terrible. Peter Ustinov as the slimy one-eyed slave Kaptah is perfect. It is one of his best performances, up there with his role in Spartacus. Victor Mature as the ambitious Horemheb is also perfect. Again, one of his best roles. Jean Simmons is wasted as Merit, the perfect girl in love with our hero John Carradine gives a nice supporting role as a philosophical grave robber; and Michael Wilding is excellent as Akhnaton, the idealistic pharaoh who tries to bring peace and monotheism to Egypt only to see it fall apart due to his unwillingness to fight. Now for the bad. Edmund Purdom as Sinuhe is sadly miscast. This is doubly unfortunate as he is the main character. The entire film revolves around him. He actually does rather good as the disillusioned exile and the wise old man. This is because of his sorely limited range. He doesn't seem able to put any passion into his words. This is especially apparent during the love scenes which are beyond awkward. He spends the last half of the film as an old man, a performance at which he is decent enough at. He does have the perfect voice for the character. The less said about Bella Darvi as Nefer, the treacherous Babylonian woman, the better.

The costuming and sets are magnificent. This is the only film that I know of that attempts to depict life in Egypt that isn't overshadowed by Jews or Romans. The film takes place in the 14th Century B.C. which is before even Exodus. The only monotheists are the pharaoh Akhenaten and his followers. There is the same strong element of religious zeal that can be found in most epics, but it is done differently and it only shows up at the very end. An interesting note: by having Akhenaten followed by Horemheb as pharaoh, the film completely skips over the most famous pharaoh of all: Tutankhamen. Seems kind of a strange thing to do when using that name could increase awareness of the film.

The DVD of this film is really crummy. It's a region free Asian release and the film quality is terrible. It is widescreen although it's not anamorphic. There are no Special Features and the DVD menu is just a series of clips with options in English and Chinese. At least I think it's Chinese. This film really needs an official release.

Be warned: this is a 1950s epic film. If you don't like that type of thing then don't expect this one to be different. It is different, but it is still an epic. I appreciate this film, and I appreciate what it did and what it tried to do. This is a film that should be better remembered than it is.

I saw this film as a child and loved it. Such emotion. It has always been hard to explain to my friends why this is such a great film.

Only recently did I discover that its music was composed by the man that composed the music for "Citizen Kane", "Taxi Driver" (yes, the one with De Niro), "Psycho", "North by North West" and my favourite film "The Ghost and Mrs Muir", neverlost Bernard Herrmann (also as a Google-inspired-madman, I must add "Marnie", "Vertigo", "The Day the Earth Stood Still" ... he even did the music for the Orson Welles' "War of the Worlds" radio show that had the US in a panic).

Now I know ... I must have been a child genius.

(;-D)

By the way, this review will have been worth it if you see any of these wonderful films.

When Mika Waltari wrote his bestseller THE EGYPTIAN, he created on paper a colossal overview of a period in Egyptian history that in a strange way prefigured the lives of Moses and Jesus. Before the ascension of Akhnaton to the throne, Egypt had been ruled by a series of rulers who worshipped a pantheon of gods ranging from those in heaven to those in hell. Akhnaton began the first of a series of monotheistic religions that not only subscribed to the belief in a single god but also imbued that god with humanistic attributes like justice and mercy that would not resound anywhere in the world until the rise of Christianity. Director Mike Curtiz made a gripping if occasionally ponderous transferral of legend from print to screen. Sinuhe (Edmund Purdom) and his best friend Herenheb (Victor Mature) catapult themselves from lowly physician and bodyguard to rise high in the ranks of the sun god Akhnaton (Michael Wilder), a benevolent but seriously naive ruler of imperial Egypt. The film is mostly melodrama but the real star of the film is the subtext of how religion and politics intermix to present the drama of a great nation whose fate curiously resembles that of the current United States. Worship of a sun god is presented in such a manner as to bring to mind the advantage of having a religion around which a proud people can unite and its concommitant disadvantage of a message of peace that other and more aggressive empires will deduce as a weakness. There are numerous allusions to a far distant Christianity: the very symbol of the sun god with its horizontal edges closely resembles the Cross of Christ. Further, the mention of the phrase "worship of the sun" brings to mind a STAR TREK episode in which Kirk and Spock participate in a parallel evolution of a Roman empire that included worship of a sun-son. Lying underneath the religious motife is a political one. Those nation states that refuse to defend themselves by seeking "accomodation" with aggressors are doomed to extinction. As I watched Akhnaton reach out to feel and understand the pain of the Hittites who sought only Egypt's destruction, I half expected him to ask the United Nations for permission to do the obvious. Back in 1954 when this film was released no one could have foreseen that the United States of 2007 might travel down the same road of leftist defeatism and multiculturalism that caused Akhnaton's Egypt to have to resort to a fascism embodied by the warrior king ethos as embodied by the new king (Mature), but repeated viewings of THE EGYPTIAN warn us that when the worst of a benevolent religion is combined with the worst of a pacifistic mode of thought, the end is predictable. Either that country will drift toward fascism or will collapse under invading hordes who care little about either. THE EGYPTIAN is a well-crafted film that entertains even as it edifies.

I still hold this as one of my best copies of this movie in wide screen. But the captions do not clear and I have seen sharper presentations broadcasted over Direct tv. A good digital copy in widescreen is still something that I hunt for.

The Egyptian is one of those great old 20th Century-Fox classics that is for some reason forgotten about. It had a great cast; good story - loosely based on the rare novel by Mika Waltari - and one of the most lovely film scores by two great composers - namely Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann.

This DVD version (Korean import) is not the best and gets a small thumbs down for presentation and DVD quality. A film - especially in Cinemascope - such as this requires, perfect picture and sound.

However, if you love this film, it is still worth having if no other version is currently available. The subtitles can be removed. Once you get in to the movie you will soon forget it is an import version.

Many people dismiss this story because of the historical inaccuracies regarding the subject matter and period it is set... but all in all, I believe it is a heartwarming and moving story and should be viewed that way. It has a totally beautiful film score - get the soundtrack if you can still find it.

A welcome edition to the FOX classic film library until FOX themselves get around to releasing their own.

The Egyptian is an epic work of beauty, not only in its cinematography and sets, but in direction and acting, too. This very much underappreciated film brings us to a turning point in history: an early attempt by some to enlighten their leadership to the futility of empire based on violence and conquest, and the consequences it brings.

Based on real events, this film reminds us of how much modern technology, culture and religion (and dilemmas) has origins in ancient Egypt. The dialogue is simple yet highly effective, and delivered by actors who really seemed committed to their roles. No film I have seen concerning this subject ever moved me so much with its message. I felt a deep love for Pharaoh Akhnaton, Michael Wilding, as he tried to change the hearts of a people not quite ready for it. Edmund Purdom as Sinuhe, the thread of sanity throughout it all, is simply fabulous as one of the few, who struck by the new truth, lives to exemplify it. The film has some notable Hollywood talent, but none of that slick Tinsel Town feel. I felt the devotion, kindness and love that went into making it.

Now to end on a sour note, the quality of the images leaves a little to be desired; although this did not bother me very much. The Chinese subtitles cannot be turned off contrary to belief; that is the way older classic films in English are redistributed in Asia. They figure why bother to add the language feature since most of their audience is supposed to be locals. I was disappointed with the quality of the case, because it splintered too easily. Anyway, I love this film, and am willing to overlook its flaws which are the responsibility of the distributors, not the film makers.

A heart-felt story on the early century religious experience. The acting , especially Victor Matures was absolutely entertaining. Hope to purchase more of this genre at a later time.