ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

The Egyptian (1954)

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Movies in Other Genres
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 4:18 pm    Post subject: The Egyptian (1954) Reply with quote

_______


What does The Egyptian have do with science fiction?

Well, on the face of it, nothing at all.

But then again, maybe it does. It was produced by the studio that made The Day the Earth Stood Still, and the magnificent music is by both Bernard Herrmann and Elmer Bernstein, two men with sci-fi connections.






Too weak? Okay, let's find other connections.

Fox released Journey to the Center of the Earth, also with Bernard Herrman music. Film fans can't watch a film with a Bernard Herrmann score without remember the master's contributions to science fiction and fantasy films.

Still not enough? All right, consider the connection between the mysterious Egyptian civilization and the claims made by ufologists, who say that ancient civilizations received there technology from alien visitors.

With that in mind, this movie presents a version of the Egyptian culture which does indeed look like somebody dropped down out of the sky and rained Christmas gifts onto humanity, 3,000 years ago. We see brain surgery, advanced metallurgy, and some astounding architecture that accomplished engineering feats which modern science still can't explain today!








The opulent sets and lavish costumes certainly give the movie the look of an alien world. Battlestar Galactica even styled their pilots' helmets after Egyptian headgear. And you could stick a visor onto Victor Mature's golden helmet and send him out to degrease the antennae on the Luna!





The throne room in this gorgeous movies would make Ming the Merciless green with envy! Shocked







This was another big favorite of mine in the 1960s when it aired on NBC Saturday Night at the Movies on October 6th, 1962. I'd love to go back in time and kidnap myself so I could show me this movie on my HD television from the ridiculously expensive Blu-ray. ($179.00, although, I actually got a copy of it as a gift from Randy Everett. Very Happy )

Bear in mind that all the movies I saw on NBC Saturday Night at the Movies were viewed on a huge 25' black-and-white TV with nice rounded corners and all the gorgeous shades of gray you could pack into that CTV tube. Very Happy

It's entirely possible that showing scenes like those below to a 14-year-old me would cause serious emotional problems requiring expensive therapy which my parents couldn't afford.








But I did make one of my beloved reel-to-reel tapes of the movie back in 1962 so I could listen to it in my room while I pretended to do my homework, or after bedtime before going to sleep.

Yes, indeed . . . great memories from a happy childhood. Very Happy

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jul 20, 2023 7:15 pm; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Krel
Guest





PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 4:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

No one did eerie, creepy not of this world music like Bernard Herrmann.

David.
Back to top
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Mon Sep 26, 2016 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Ah, someone finally brought up one of my favorite movies! The book by Mika Waltari is also awesome, so look for it at your local library!

The story is based on a real ancient Egyptian book called "Tales of Sinhuhe". The novel and movie picked up the essentials of the ancient story but moved it up from a fifth dynasty story to combine it with eighteenth dynasty characters (Possibly to play on the King Tut connection and the Armana Heresy era.). Still a grand film!

Bernard Herrmann was the BEST! From Citizen Kane to Vertigo he was the master of movie music to evoke mood and feeling.

As an aside, I saw the recent version of Ben Hur. The absence of music highlighting just added to the dismal rendering of the classic story. It really pointed out the importance of music to storytelling!


Last edited by Gord Green on Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:04 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 9:58 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From the Wikipedia description-

The script was based on the Waltari novel of the same name. It is elaborated in the book, but not the film, that Sinuhe was named by his mother from The Story of Sinuhe, which does include references to Aten but was written many centuries before the 18th dynasty.

The use of the "Cross of Life" ankh to represent Akhnaton's "new" religion reflects a popular and esoteric belief in the 1950s that monotheistic Atenism was a sort of proto-Christianity. While the ankh has no known connection to the modern cross, the principal symbol of Aten was not an ankh but a solar disk emitting rays, though the rays usually ended with a hand holding out an ankh to the worshipers.

The sun-disk is seen only twice; when we first meet Akhnaton in the desert, he has painted it on a rock, and Sinuhe says "Look! He worships the face of the sun." It appears again as part of the wall painting above Akhnaton's throne. With that said, the ankh was used in the original novel.

Likewise, Akhnaton's dying revelation that God is much more than the face of the sun is actually found among Waltari's best-known writings.

Some of the sets, costumes, and props from this film were bought and re-used by Cecil B. DeMille for The Ten Commandments. As the events in that story take place seventy years after those in The Egyptian, this re-use creates an unintended sense of continuity.

The commentary track on the Ten Commandments DVD points out many of these re-uses. Only three actors, Mimi Gibson, Michael Ansara and John Carradine, and a handful of extras, appeared in both pictures. The Prince Aly Khan was a consultant during filming, he was engaged to Gene Tierney.

The original male stars were Victor Mature, Marlon Brando and Kirk Douglas. Marlon Brando was to star as Sinuhe, but did not like the script and dropped out at the last minute.

Farley Granger was the next choice and considered the role, but then decided he was not interested after having just moved to New York. Dirk Bogarde was then offered the role but also turned it down. Finally it was awarded to the up-and-coming young actor Edmund Purdom who was under contract to MGM.

Marilyn Monroe coveted the role of Nefer, only to discover that it was earmarked for Bella Darvi, the protegee and mistress of producer Darryl F. Zanuck. This would be the second of only three American films featuring Darvi.

The Egyptian tells the story of Sinuhe (Edmund Purdom), a struggling physician in 18th dynasty Egypt (14th Century BC.) who is thrown by chance into contact with the pharaoh Akhnaton (Michael Wilding).

He rises to and falls from great prosperity, wanders the world, and becomes increasingly drawn towards a new religion spreading throughout Egypt. His companions throughout are his lover, a shy tavern maid named Merit (Jean Simmons), and his corrupt but likable servant, Kaptah (Peter Ustinov).

While out lion hunting with his sturdy friend Horemheb (Victor Mature), Sinuhe discovers Egypt's newly ascendant pharaoh Akhnaton, who has sought the solitude of the desert in the midst of a religious epiphany. While praying, the ruler is stricken with an epileptic seizure, with which Sinuhe is able to help him. The grateful Akhnaton makes his savior court physician and gives Horemheb a post in the Royal Guard, a career previously denied to him by low birth. His new eminence gives Sinuhe an inside look at Akhnaton's reign, which is made extraordinary by the ruler's devotion to a new religion that he feels has been divinely revealed to him.

This faith rejects Egypt's traditional gods in favor of monotheistic worship of the sun, referred to as Aten. Akhnaton intends to promote Atenism throughout Egypt, which earns him the hatred of the country's corrupt and politically active traditional priesthood.

Life in court does not prove to be good for Sinuhe; it drags him away from his previous ambition of helping the poor while falling obsessively in love with a Babylonian courtesan named Nefer (Bella Darvi). He squanders all of his and his parents' property in order to buy her gifts, only to have her reject him nonetheless. Returning dejectedly home, Sinuhe learns that his parents have committed suicide over his shameful behavior. He has their bodies embalmed so that they can pass on to the afterlife, and, having no way to pay for the service, works off his debts in the embalming house.

Lacking a tomb in which to put his parents' mummies, Sinuhe buries them in the sand amid the lavish funerary complexes of the Valley of the Kings. Merit finds him there and warns him that Akhnaton has condemned him to death; one of the pharaoh's daughters fell ill and died while Sinuhe was working as an embalmer, and the tragedy is being blamed on his desertion of the court. Merit urges Sinuhe to flee Egypt and rebuild his career elsewhere, and the two of them share one night of passion before he takes ship out of the country.

For the next ten years Sinuhe and Kaptah wander the known world, where Sinuhe's superior Egyptian medical training gives him an excellent reputation as healer. Sinuhe finally saves enough money from his fees to return home; he buys his way back into the favor of the court with a precious piece of military intelligence he learned abroad, informing Horemheb (now commander of the Egyptian army) that the barbarian Hittites plan to attack the country with superior iron weapons.

Akhnaton is in any case ready to forgive Sinuhe, according to his religion's doctrine of mercy and pacifism. These qualities have made Aten-worship extremely popular amid the common people, including Merit, with whom Sinuhe is reunited. He finds that she bore him a son named Thoth (Tommy Rettig, who latter stared in LASSIE on TV.) (a result of their night together many years ago), who shares his father's interest in medicine.

Meanwhile the priests of the old gods have been fomenting hate crimes against the Aten's devotees, and now urge Sinuhe to help them kill Akhnaton and put Horemheb on the throne instead. The physician is privately given extra inducement by the princess Baketamun (Gene Tierney); she reveals that he is actually the son of the previous pharaoh by a concubine, discarded at birth because of the jealousy of the old queen and raised by foster parents. The princess now suggests that Sinuhe could poison both Akhnaton and Horemheb and rule Egypt himself (with her at his side).

Sinuhe is still reluctant to perform this evil deed until the Egyptian army mounts a full attack on worshipers of the Aten. Kaptah manages to smuggle Thoth out the country, but Merit is killed while seeking refuge at the new god's altar. In his grief Sinuhe blames Akhnaton for the whole mess and administers poison to him at their next meeting.

The pharaoh realizes what has been done, but accepts his fate. He still believes his faith was true, but that he has understood it imperfectly; future generations will be able to spread the same faith better than he.

Enlightened by Akhnaton's dying words, Sinuhe warns Horemheb that his wine is also poisoned, thus allowing him to marry the Princess and become Pharaoh.

Later, Sinuhe is brought before his old friend for preaching the same ideals Akhnaton believed in, and is sentenced to be exiled to the shores of the Red Sea, where he spends his remaining days writing down his life story, in the hope that it may be found by Thoth or his descendants.

The film concludes with a caption reading, "These things happened thirteen centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ".


Last edited by Gord Green on Thu Sep 29, 2016 11:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Tue Sep 27, 2016 10:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Just to add to your wonderful screen grabs, here are a few from my files.











Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Wed Sep 28, 2016 7:33 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Gord, the amazing summary of plot for this movie which you discovered on Wikipedia is the best description of any film's plot I have ever read.

Reading it brought back all the great scenes I love from this movie — as opposed to other summaries I've read on Wikipedia which seemed to bear little resemblance to the movies they were supposedly describing! Shocked

Thanks for adding the plot summary to this thread, along with the great jpegs you contributed. Very Happy

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Thu Jul 20, 2023 7:17 pm; edited 2 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 3:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

A few more-----







Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Eadie
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 1695

PostPosted: Thu Sep 29, 2016 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I recently saw this on the Fox Movie Channel.

The solar-disk-emitting-rays is also seen in the temple when Merit goes with her son to worship.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Sun Dec 30, 2018 6:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not exactly a "sequel", and not quite a "remake", but another film starring Purdom in a familiar role and in a familiar setting.....

Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile) is a 1961 Italian Sword-and-sandal historical drama written and directed by Fernando Cerchio and produced for MAX Film by Ottavio Poggi.

The film stars Jeanne Crain, Edmund Purdom, and Vincent Price. Purdom had previously starred in The Egyptian (1954), which has a similar plot and characters.

Plot summary : From Wikipedia -



In ancient Egypt, Tumos (Edmund Purdom), an apprentice sculptor, is in love with Tenet (Jeanne Crain), a beautiful girl who is to be dedicated to the gods as a priestess.





Tumos and Tenet intend to elope, but the high priest Benakon (Vincent Price) learns of their plans. He has Tenet taken into custody and Tumos is condemned for violating religious laws.





Tumos flees to the desert to join his friend prince Amenophis (Amedeo Nazzari), the heir to the throne. Amenophis is an effective warrior who has just defeated the Chaldeans. Among the Chaldean prisoners is Seper (Carlo D'Angelo), the priest of a new God Aten, who he claims to be the one true god.

Seper proclaims a religion of love, and prophesies the imminent death of the old Pharaoh and the coming reign of Amenophis. The prophecy comes true. Before he returns to Thebes to become pharaoh Amenophis agrees to the marriage of Tenet and Tumos, and makes Seper one of his advisers.

In Thebes, Benakon reveals to Tenet that he is her father. He also tells her that she is not to be a priestess; the old pharaoh had agreed that she should marry Amenophis on his death. He gives her the new name Nefertiti and says she is to be the Queen of the Nile.



Amenophis accepts her as his wife, unaware that Nefertiti is the same person as the "Tenet" he had given to Tumos. Tumos, an obstacle in the whole plan, has been arrested by Benakon. He eventually escapes from prison, but is attacked and mauled by a lion. He survives and is nursed by Merith (Liana Orfei), an artist's model who is in love with him. Nefertiti is told he is dead.



Tumos soon learns that Tenet is now called Nefertiti and is married to the pharaoh. He gets drunk and sleeps with Merith.



When Nefertiti learns that Tumos is alive, she asks Amenophis to make him the court sculptor and order him to sculpt a bust of Nefertiti. While he works on it, the couple renew their love.

Meanwhile Benakon is disturbed by the growing influence of Seper's god. His men burst into the Atenist church, killing Seper and many of the worshipers. Nefertiti is among them, but escapes with Tumos' help.

Amenophis is disgusted by the killing. He proclaims that all idols are to be destroyed and the old priesthood abolished. However, he forgives Benakon, to emphasise his devotion to the values of the new faith.

Benakon and his followers plan a rising against the new religion, but Nefertiti learns of their plans. Tumos leaves to collect an army to defend the city. Benakon's followers surround the royal palace, and paralysed by his new pacifist ideals, Amenophis has a mental breakdown.

Nefertiti assumes command of the defence of the palace while waiting for Tumos to bring reinforcements. Horrified by the violence the religious conflict has unleashed, Amenophis kills himself.

Nefertiti and her guards make a last stand around the sculpture of the queen, but are overwhelmed.

Tumos and Merith arrive just in time with the army, but Benakon nearly stabs Tumos before Merith kills him with an arrow shot.

The army restore Nefertiti to the throne. The famous bust of Nefertiti survives the centuries to prove the queen's magnificent beauty and Tumos' love for her.

A decent copy in English (With Italian subtitles.) can be seen on YouTube :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r32WdcqP80o


_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2023 7:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

What a wonderful post, Gord! I love it. Your masterful inclusion of jpegs really jazzes it up. Very Happy

I've never heard of this movie and I'm delighted by the fact that Youtube has a version I can download and watch.

Jeanne Crain was a gorgeous woman and a worthy choice for Nefertiti, with a face and figure that continued to dazzle the guys from the 1940s to the 1960s.








Apparently the real Nefertiti was a cutie, too! Wink


_____________________


I wonder if the photographer who made this picture of Natalie Wood was a reincarnated Egyptian sculptor! Shocked


_________________


The version in Italian has an even better picture, and I was able to turn on the English subtitles. Just for fun, I also tried running the two versions at the same time for about ten minutes with them synchronized while I listened to the English version and watched the Italian version with the better picture. Cool


English version

Nefertiti, Queen of the Nile - Full Movie by Film&Clips


__________


Spanish-dubbed version

________________ Nefertiti Reina Del Nilo 1961


__________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Jul 30, 2023 11:35 am; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Gord Green
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 06 Oct 2014
Posts: 2940
Location: Buffalo, NY

PostPosted: Thu Jul 20, 2023 9:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For some reason they BOTH are in Italian!
_________________
There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Send e-mail
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Fri Jul 21, 2023 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

______________________________________________

Thanks, Gord. I found the English version and fixed the post above.

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Movies in Other Genres All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group