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Jesus of Nazareth (1977)
A genuine masterpiece
Its very strange indeed that we don't see this film among the greatest movies of all time, is it because of the story of the film that glorify religion, that this film is like a taboo on the critics best films lists. every thing in this film screams with greatness, from the majestic music by Maurice Jarre to the poetic direction of Franco Zeffirelli to the great cast which includes some of greatest names in film and theater like: Laurence Olivier, Anthony Quinn, James Mason, Ralph Richardson, Peter Ustinov, Donald Pleasence, James Earl Jones, Ian Holm, Rod Steiger and many many more, but the crown jewel of the film is certainly Jesus him self, I mean (Robert Powell), in this film he gives one of the most powerful and finest performances in the history of film. This work being categorized as TV Mini-Series is not an excuse at all to underrate its artistic status in the history of cinema.
Prometheus (2012)
Magic Lost
Ridley Scott committed a crime by going back to a masterpiece film of his own to kill its magic, there is absolutely no need to explain Alien, ambiguity is an essential part of the magic of Alien. I was shocked when i saw the reference to David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia in the film, i imagined what could happen to a magnificent classic like that if they tried to make a sequel depending on modern visual effects. Peter Weyland character is also a reference of a great classic, 2001: A Space Odyssey. except for David (Michael Fassbender) casting is a major weakens in the film. one thing i wanted to say about CGI, the modern SCI films feels like a video game, you cant differentiate between the two, compare the feeling between the 1979 Alien and Prometheus and you will get the idea.
Clash of the Titans (1981)
Mythical
I know one thing for sure, you do not need CGI to create a great Movie, this idea was confirmed to me after seeing a very bad remake of this film in 2010.
Clash of the Titans strength lies mainly in the story telling and the great actors in it and the magical creations of the master artist Ray Harryhausen. the ability to create a mythical atmosphere in a fantasy film, which this film succeed to achieve is something rare in these days. another great element is the Musical score, its beautiful and haunting. the powerful cast team of the film is second to none. many critics in the past did not evaluate this film fairly but now after 30 years, the film shows its superiority in comparison to the CGI lifeless films of now days.
Halloween (1978)
A Good Film
This is my first time to see the movie after 3 decades since its release, I always thought that Halloween would be no different film than the other slasher films like the Friday 13th series, which i saw during the 80s, so I had never been interested to see Halloween. Last night this impression was proofed to be wrong, the first thing I liked about this film unlike the other films, that the film takes its time to prepare the viewer for the story, good film making is always about putting the viewer in the right mood and atmosphere, John Carpenter managed to let us feel the peaceful neighborhood atmosphere, watching Laurie walking to the school through the neighborhood and again with her girlfriends back from the school and showing the beautiful surroundings and seeing the gentle wind blowing through the window in her room with its calm colors, all of that prepare the audience well to the coming shock, the shock is achieved from the contrast between the peaceful neighborhood settings and the evil that is represented by Michael Myers, Myers character is not represented here as a supernatural monster like the other slasher films, he is a deeply troubled person since childhood, and just like PSYCHO the source of horror is generated because we come face to face with the dark side of the human mind and behavior and not because of gore and violence. The transition between the daylight and the night was done beautifully in a Hitchcockian style, Laurie and her friend Annie drove in the evening to reach the houses where they will babysit the kids. This transition sets the mood for the shock coming with advent of night. This style of filmmaking is rare commodity these days where everything on screen happens very fast and doesn't give the viewer the proper time to indulge himself in the story. I rate this film 4 out of 5.
The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
Aramco
The film depicts the story of western oil workers in a North African oil company named Arabco crashing in the Sahara desert and their conflict to survive. I think the name Arabco alludes to Aramco. I remember watching this movie on Aramco's TV "Chanel 3" they use to air it from time to time in the 80s and the early 90s.
Aramco is the largest oil corporation in the world, it operates in Saudi Arabia., when we were kids we used to hear my father telling us stories about his work in Aramco and the oil explorations and the oil wells digging and stories about big fires and explosions. He worked with Aramco for 40 years since 1951. We have heard stories from him about the Americans who lived in the big compounds in Dhahran and Ras Tanura in the 50s and 60s. We have seen glimpses of what that era looked like in the pictures published by Aramco in their magazines and books and the films produces by the company. For me this 1965 film is very nostalgic it reminds me of the experience my father had in the oil industry. And the Sahara desert is a clear allude to The Empty Quarter desert where Aramco use to explore and operate. James Stewart in the leading role adds to the magic, at that time those old Hollywood stars contributed a lot to the bright and lovely image that people had in their minds about America and the American people. When we were kids Aramco was that image. It was America. I saw a remake of this film in 2004 and it was dull.
Public Enemies (2009)
miserable
this is how miserable movie making is, first it feel like you are watching TV program it was shot with a video camera, the acting is flat and unconvincing, poor story telling with long conversations and boring dialogues, the actors expressions dose not relate to the 30s times, allot of indoor and night scenes make it slow. ones expect a film about 1930s gangsters to be more energetic and exciting than this dull movie which even Johnny Depp can't save, I cannot understand how can anyone call this video cam movie a film, the art of cinema is all about the magic of the images, and shooting films with digital cameras takes that magic out of the films.
Goya's Ghosts (2006)
Great film
This can easily stand the test of time, which is the greatest critic for art. I don't really understand people who can't admire art; we don't need to know a conical some found it bleak film just like those on Goya's time who found his painting to be grotesque. I f you don't feel this film you will never appreciate it, may be some lost their senses in the course of our material world, that they can not feel any more the beauty and the sadness of this film. The last cine in the film is one of the greatest endings in cinema combined with the song by the children its make your eyes flow with tears. I can tell for sure, this film is a rare commodity these days.
Born Free (1966)
innocence lost
It's really hard now days to get the same feelings that this film brings to your soul, innocence, love, devotion, honesty. It's all rare commodities in the today's life in general. It's really hard now days to get the same feelings that this film brings to your soul, innocence, love, devotion, honesty. It's all rare commodities in the today's life in general. Virginia McKenna & Bill Travers are the perfect couples.
The film brings you the atmosphere of the great African wildlife on its last glorious days; I and my family enjoyed this film very much. It was a wonderful experience for my kids its represent the animal in a realistic and compassionate way not like the cg cartoons or other comic animal films of todays.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The essence of cinema
One sure thing about this masterpiece it was done with great love for the subject, characters, place & the people of Arabia.
David lean spent nearly 2 years in filming this picture, and the result = the greatest masterpiece in film history.
The majestic landscape of the Arabian Peninsula combined with the majestic music by the genius Maurice jarred with a director vision, the combination of these three elements is a rare commodity through out the history of movie making.
I believe that David Lean actually fell in love with the Arab and became another T.E. Lawrence. Practically, you can not do such marvelous work without great love and devotion.
You probably saw a lot of the desert flicks, and I am sure most of them are stinkers. Because they lack a major value, respect to the natives and their way of life, I cant say that Lawrence of Arabia praised the Arabs, but he gave more than any film I can remember a wide range of characters that covers the whole human spectrum in any society, it do not have that cheap attitude towards the Arab as human beings as most of Hollywood films does.
The 2 years spent in the desert played a major role in realistically studying the natural Bedouins in their natural environment and to learn their customs, manners and even their body language, this was obvious in the acting, also using real Bedouins as extras gave the film its distinguished flavor. The costumes was something I always admire in this move, the way they show the Arabic dress is dignifying, its not like those fantasy costumes that Hollywood uses frequently even in modern cinema (hidalgo for example).
I think modern cinema lost its magic, although they are trying very hard not to, but they couldn't figure it out. its very simple the human factor is lost. Its not any more important like before, I can go further in saying actors became shallow, their real life is shallow and artificial and this is the human dilemma, the more technologically advanced and materially we become the less humans we became.
Life is soul, and you can not pump life in a dead body.
Cinema as an art form is losing its soul, I think the cinema will be revived but it needs another people that still did not lose their innocence and souls.
Zulu (1964)
disappointed ####' contains spoiler ######
I was very disappointed with this film; I purchased the DVD based on the high rating on IMDb. The film cinematography is excellent; the music is powerful (john Barry). But the action is disappointing, it show how fake is the killing and stabbing and the shooting. I never felt a moment of thrill except for one thing which I think it is the reason why this movie is over rated. It seems most of the viewers were thrilled by the majestic sounds of the Zulu fighters and their war songs which gave the movie its only thrills.
In my view, at the end it was the Zulu ethical stand and respect for courage who won.
Lion of the Desert (1980)
True Epic
I was only an 11 years old boy when I first watched this movie back in 1981 on a VHS tape. I still remember my tears falling in the last scene, when the Italians hanged Omar Al Mukhtar and the young boy (Ali) ran to the hanging stage and took the Omar's eye glasses in one of the most poetic scenes of the film. Unfortunately not so many people in the USA & Europe have seen this film, although it's a classic here in the Middle East. Anthony Quinn have portrait his role so accurate we could be easily mistaken him for an Arab. His role in this film rivals his role in Lawrence of Arabia, and we must give the director a credit for guiding Quinn to the true essence of this character. Lion of the Desert is a great epic film which deserves to be listed among the best films ever.
The Mummy (1999)
Insulting
Yes, great visual effects but in the other hand, a very racy and insulting film to the whole Arab nation which is always shown in the cinema as stupid, barbaric and cruel nation. The film try in some of its parts to imitate from the masterpiece (Lawrence of Arabia) but it fails to catch the mood and the atmosphere of the east. Hollywood in its modern age of technology falls to grasp the essence of the cinema, this film could be a great one only if the viewer intelligence and the dignity of the other nations was a point of consideration.