Land of the Pharaohs
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Movie Reviews of Land of the Pharaohs
Movie Review: Ancient Technique
Summary: 4 Stars
There has been a long time since I saw another film which uses greed, technical prowess, human labor and slavery as its centerpiece. Peter Bogdanovich tells in the commentary that the French referred to it as the most intelligent spectacle film ever made. And probably (sorry mister Lang) they were right. The Pharaoh is a master with total power that believed the promises of future richness himself. Those with special qualifications which are necessary to him are rewarded with earthly goods (good food and women are the coveted prizes); the masses of laborers are convinced of a posterior second life where they can received the rewards of their work in this one. Socially the film is a child of 1950s sensibilities: the good women are the good wives, who can cook well and attend to the children; instead, the bad ones are gold-diggers, which abuse of their beauty and are capable of murder in their search of power. The strange conclusion is that a murderous despot is preferable to the devious woman that wants what he has. Esthetically is a very static piece, exploiting the recently adopted Cinemascope screen ratio for spectacular shots of the masses in movement (that and a venomous cobra give credence to the contemporary adagio of the "widescreen" ratio as only useful to film snakes). But what you see in the screen is mostly real. The shots are cleanly executed and the climax is perfectly done and satisfying. The script is fairly good, and having William Faulkner as one of the screenwriters doesn't hurt; the music by Dimitri Tiomkin appropriately reflects grandeur and imperial power.Movie Review: "A Structure To Last For All Time"
Summary: 4 Stars
If you're at least fifty years old you probably have some recollection of the epic film 'Land of the Pharaohs' released in '55. If you're a male fifty or over like me you most certainly have the image of the luscious and scantily clad Joan Collins playing the role of the evil Princess Nellifer forever emblazioned in your mind. Clearly the signature role of her career, she played the part to perfection. Her performance alone makes the film worth purchasing if only to gaze upon her once more.
Forgive my adolescent walk down memory lane and let me continue. In the wake of such blockbusters as 'Ben-Hur' this earlier masterpiece has been all but forgotten by the populace at large. 'Land of the Pharaohs' tells the fictionalized account of the building of the Great Pyramid to house Pharaoh Khufu (Jack Hawkins) in the Afterlife. The method of building the edifice and process of sealing the labyrinth afterwards is extremely well done and fascinating to watch.
Other than Joan's memorable performance the rest of the acting is a little stiff and over choreographed, but the cimematography is excellent and the soundtrack by the legendary Dimitri Tiomkin rivals anything the more well known epics of the time had to offer. Wait til you see the ending. Ahh..., sweet revenge!
My Rating: -4 1/2 Stars-.
Movie Review: A lot of Sand
Summary: 4 Stars
If you never thought sand could be interesting then you should watch this movie.
Of course it's not about sand, that would be boring. It's about a pharaoh who's decided to build a pyramid, and he wants it to be robber proof. He finds one of his captives, who was the best architect in his land, and instructs him to build the tomb. The architect does and in a most ingenius way provides the solution to the robber problem. That's where the sand comes in and it really is pretty cool.
Along the way the drama comes in with Princess Nellifer. She's gorgeous, firey, smart and dangerous. Pharaoh falls for her, marries her and pretty much seals his fate. She schemes to own all he has. Unknowingly she also seals her fate in the process.
The whole movie is pretty fun to watch. It's a 50's movie, so the dialogue and action are pretty cheesy. The costumes are over the top and it's not 100% historically accurate, but this is a really fun movie to watch with the family.
Movie Review: One of few
Summary: 4 Stars
Ancient Egypt represents such an important part of human History and yet, there are very few films made that are set in that particular background. "Land of Pharaohs" is of these few and for that reason alone it deserves a place in your shelf. The wardrobe, in view of what we know today, is all wrong and very much "hollywoodean", corny might even be a better description, the supposedly Nubian dances are far fetched, the architecture is lacking in reality (all the bas reliefs we see today in temples were originally colour-filled), the pyramid's sealing scheme is really far fetched, it was a commercial flop in its time, but still, it's a 1950s classic and a film on Ancient Egypt. See it with a grain of salt and enjoy. I saw it many years ago on TV and recently looked for it as it's one of those films that I wanted to have. More interesting are "The Egyptian" and the Polish production "Pharaoh", but both seem unavailable.Movie Review: At Last!
Summary: 4 Stars
Well, I thought it would never come out on DVD. Perhaps it's my passion for all things ancient Egyptian, but I have always loved this wonderfully enjoyable epic. Howard Hawks was a director who steadfastly refused to be pigeon-holed, making everything from Bogey's "The Big Sleep" to sci-fi classic "The Thing" (although he credited editor Christian Nyby instead of himself) to stock car racing "Red Line 7000." Here he takes a shot at "historical" epic and does a damned entertaining job of it. Pharaoh Jack Hawkins plays straightman to Joan Collins' campy concubine while James Robertson Justice does a terrific job of keeping a straight face as a tomb architect. Amidst all the stone monuments, the only thing wooden is Dewey Martin as Justice's son. All this may not sound like a **** movie, but it's a guilty pleasure I've watched so many times on VHS that it's embarrassing. That's gotta be worth extra credit.