During the 1950s, Hollywood produced a number of movies about the ancient world. Most of these films, called Biblical epics, were extremely expensive to make. Elaborate sets represented the cities of ancient Egypt, Judea, Greece, or Italy. In many cases the stories themselves were not very well written. A typical example was Cleopatra (1963), one of the most costly flops of all time, which Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever (Detroit: Visible Ink Press, 1999) describes as "a blimp-sized, multicolored sleeping tablet."
Director Cecil B. DeMille, who had made a version of Cleopatra in the 1930s, filmed the story of Moses as The Ten Commandments in 1 923. In 1956 he remade The Ten Commandments in a version which proved to be one of the few Biblical epics that succeeded both artistically and commercially. The Golden Movie Retriever notes its "exceptional cast," including Charlton Heston as Moses and Yul Brynner as Pharaoh, and commented that the scene showing the parting of the Red Sea "rivals any modern special effects." The costumes, architecture, and other features of the movie make it highly educational as well as entertaining, though it does present the false impression that slave labor built the pyramids. The story of Moses, as well as that of Joseph, has been interpreted for young viewers in movies such as Disney's The Prince of Egypt (1998).
Moviemakers have often used ancient Egypt as a backdrop for fantasy. From The Mummy in 1932, a film for which actor Boris Karloff modeled his appearance on the actual mummy of Ramses III, to The Mummy in 1999, there have been plenty of horror films that make use of the fright inspired by the Egyptians' fascination with death. Less chilling, but plenty suspenseful, is Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), which involves a brilliant plot concerning the whereabouts of the Israelite's Ark of the Covenant—in a tomb deep beneath the surface of the ancient Egyptian city of Tanis. Likewise Stargate (1994), a science-fiction movie that has little to do with the reality of ancient Egypt, provides an intriguing scenario regarding the identity of the sun god Ra. In the 1970s, there was even a popular Saturday morning children's show, Isis, about an archaeologist who could change into the ancient Egyptian goddess and perform superhero-like feats.
There have been at least seventy films that involve Egypt in some way or another. In addition, ancient Egypt has been celebrated in popular songs such as Steve Martin's comedy hit "King Tut" (1977) and the Bangles' "Walk Like an Egyptian" (1986).
The Washington Monument is an example of an obelisk.
Archive Photos. Reproduced by permission.
Want peace with Israel, and one of them assassinated Sadat in 1981. President Hosni Mubarak (HAWS-nee moo-BAR-ek, 1928- ) has continued Sadat's policy of better relations with Israel.
World History
