The best 15 Egyptian films in 100 years

from http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com

here are they the best 15 Egyptian films in 100 years chosen by 20 critics

1. The Mummy "المومياء" by Shady Abd El-Salam in year 1975 starring Nadia Lotfy and Mohamed Marr'i "Well it is not like the American Mummy for sure , it is much more serious ,to put it in simple words its story happens in the 19th century about the tomb raiding in Luxor , it was highly received inside and outside Egypt , this is the only long film for Abd El-Salam before his death , Abd El-Salam was mad about ancient Egypt , already if you watch Cleopatra then you must know that the man who designed the entrance of Cleopatra in Rome was him , he had another fantastic short movie called "The wise peasant" based upon the famous ancient Egyptian story with the same name , he died while preparing for his long film about the life of king Akhenaton"

2. The sin "الحرام" by Henry Barkat in year 1965 starring Fatan Hamma and Abdullah Guith "Not cheerful at all , I think it was based upon Youssef Idris short story , I am not quite sure , it is about the tough life of the peasants who work from one field to another , it is very sad and I don't usual complete it till the end"

3. The Land "الارض"by Youssef Chahin in year 1960 starring Mahmoud El-Maligy and Nagwa Ibrahim "This is from the very few films I like for Youssef Chahin , also about the struggle of the Egyptian peasants in early 20th century , Mahmoud El-Maligy proved to be a diamond in the mud ,his unforgettable performance deserved an Oscar, the soundtrack was a historical especially the ending music by Ali Ismail"

4. A Beginning and an Ending "بداية و نهاية"by Salah Abu Seif in year 1960 starring Omar El-Sherif and Farid Shawaky "Big drama with black comedy from Farid , great performance of Sana'a Gamil and it is enough to know that it was based upon a novel with the same name written by Naguib Mahfouz , Shawaky proved to be a great comedian in that dull film"

5. The Bus driver by Atef El-Taib "سواق الاتوبيس" ,in year 1983 starring Nour El-Sherif "Unfortunately among all late El-Taib films ,I didn't see this one but I heard and read it was great , late El-Taib was famous for his realistic political films”

6. The Collar and the bracelet "الطوق و الاسورة" by Khairy Beshara in year 1986 starring Sherihan ,Ezzat El-Alali and Fardos Abd El-Hamid “drama and family tragedy in upper Egypt ,so dull”

7. The Well "العزيمة"by Kamal Salim in year 1939 starring Hussein Sadaky and Fatima Rushidy “this film is a remark in the history of Egyptian cinema , a classical realistic piece of Art with giants in it , it wasn’t funny at all a romantic drama , Rushidy told Sadaky in it {I love you Mohamed} , by the way Angelina Jolie Arabic tattoo means the well”

8. Cairo Station “Bad El-Hadid” "باب الحديد" by Youssef Chahin in year 1958 starring Youssef Chahin ,Hend Rostom and Farid Shawaky “This film when it was first shown back in 1958 made the fans of Farid Shawaky destroy the cinemas , the psychological drama and also the acting of Chahin were not respected by many back then, a piece of trivia one of the leading men in the Egyptian Cinema ,shokary Sarhan was casted for the leading role presented later by Chahin , Sarhan was chosen by then the produced turned him down when he asked for 50 Egyptian Pounds more of his salary “

9. The Wife of an important man"زوجة رجل مهم" by Mohamed Khan in 1988 starring Ahmed Zaky and Marvet Amin “This film as far as I know is shown in the police academy in Egypt to make the students beware of their police influence in their life , but with no use , Zaki was one hell of a bad ass police officer who should be killed , the end was dramatic”

10. The Flirtation of girls "غزل البنات" by Anwar Wagdy in year 1949 starring Naguib El-Rahany ,Laila Murad and Anwar Wagdi “ A romantic comedy , a little bit of black comedy , great fantastic music where Laila Murad Sang one of its most romantic songs ,the best Arabic Tango with music of Mohamed Abd El-Wahab who appeared in the film and also sang in it and the lyrics of Hussien El-Sayed”

11. Death or Life "حياة اوموت" by Kamal El-Sheikh in year 1954 starring Emad Hamdy and Madiha Youssry “I don’t know how this silly film made to the list ,it isnot the best films for El-Sheikh nor for Youssry or for Hamdy , for God sake it is the movie of {in the medicine there a deadly poison} already a piece of trivia this film was made to make people understand the importance of the Egyptian 911 police alike when the service entered Egypt , it was very silly , in fact it was a comedy of itself when I remember it”

12. The Nightingale prayer "دعاء الكروان" by Henry Barkat in year 1959 starring Fatan Hamma and Ahmed Mazhar based upon a novel by Taha Hussein “What can I say a sad love story ,the old story of vengeance that turns to love and guilt , in the heart of the upper Egypt , the film is magical despite its sadness ,it is very sad and ends very sad , this film was one piece of art that could have reached to the Oscars but it did not because Ahmed Mazhar was a close friend to President Nasser “

13. The innocent "البرىء" by Atef El-Tayeb in year 1986 starring Ahmed Zaki “One of the most important political films in Egypt , it is said that it is the favorite for the MB”

14. The Kitkat "الكيت الكات" by Dawood Abd El-Sayed in year 1991 starring Mahmoud Abd El-Aziz “It reminds me with the scent of a woman , seriously I don’t find it that great or special ,yes it is good but come on there are other important films than this by the way the Kitkat is a populated area in Giza not the chocolate”

15. Terrorism and Kebab "الارهاب و الكباب"by Sherif Aref in year 1992 , starring Adel Emam and Youssra ,story by Wahid Hammed “ at last a real political comedy , despite all what you think about Emam and Hammed , this film is great and what is great about it was about this era , the era of President Mubarak “

Ok here is the list now if we read it again we will find that Henry Barkat, Youssef Chahin and Atef El-Tayeb made to the list twice more than any director, good for them

Yet the big surprise that there are other great films for great directors that was included like the great film “Something from Fear” by Hussein Kamal and starring Shadia who presented a great performance

Also there are other directors in the lists who should have mentioned more than one time like Salah Abu Seif as I hinted before this man got a very important list like “Between Heaven and earth” ,”Raya and Skina”, “The Start” and “Cairo ‘30”

Another two films I remember should have been included are “Song on the pass” by Ali Abd El-Khalk about the 1967 six days war and “The Karnak” by Ali Badrakhan and starring Soad Hosni

Anyhow this is a critics’ list not the people list

in Wikipedia

• A Beginning and an Ending
• The Flirtation of Girls

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