''Pharaoh'' ( pl, Faraon) is a 1966

Polish film The history of cinema in Poland is almost as long as the history of cinematography, and it has universally recognized achievements, even though Polish films tend to be less commercially available than films from several other European nations. Af ...

directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz and adapted from the eponymous novel by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus. In 1967, it was nominated for an

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. It was also entered into the

1966 Cannes Film Festival The 19th Cannes Film Festival was held from 5 to 20 May 1966. To honour the festival's 20th anniversary, a special prize was given. The Grand Prix du Festival International du Film went to the '' Signore & Signori'' by Pietro Germi, in tie with ...

. It sold more than tickets in Poland, becoming one of the highest-grossing Polish films of all time. ''Pharaoh'' is among 21 digitally restored classic Polish films chosen for ''

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema''.

Novel

Pharaoh (Prus novel) ''Pharaoh'' ( pl, Faraon) is the fourth and last major novel by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus (1847–1912). Composed over a year's time in 1894–95, serialized in 1895–96, and published in book form in 1897, it was the sole historica ...

( pl, Faraon) is the fourth and last major

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itself ...

by the Polish writer Bolesław Prus (1847–1912). Composed over a year's time in 1894–95, serialized in 1895–96, and published in book form in 1897. It was the sole

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

by the author. Jerzy Kawalerowicz, who had previously directed such films as ''Cellulose'' (1953), ''Under the

Phrygia In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empir ...

n Star'' (1954), '' The Shade'' (1956), ''

The Real End of the Great War ''The Real End of the Great War'' is the English title for ''Prawdziwy koniec wielkiej wojny'', a film released in 1957, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz. Plot Roza (Lucyna Winnicka) marries a promising young architect, Juliusz ( Roland Glowacki). ...

'' (1957), '' Night Train'' (1959) and ''

Mother Joan of the Angels ''Mother Joan of the Angels'' ( pl, Matka Joanna od Aniołów, also known as ''The Devil and the Nun'') is a 1961 Polish art film on demonic possession, directed by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, based on a novella of the same title by Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz ...

'' (1961), turned in the 1960s to Bolesław Prus' novel ''

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

'' because, he said, "There are brilliant things in it.... The drama of power in ''Pharaoh'' is incredibly topical and contemporary. The mechanics don't change all that much." Kawalerowicz's co-author of the scenario, Tadeusz Konwicki, commented: "It's not a

in the full sense of the word, it's above all a penetrating analysis of a system of power.... The story of Ramses XIII is a typical example of the actions of a young person who enters upon life with a faith and need for renewal. He does not yet know anything about higher reasons of state, he has no interest in the laws governing the complex apparatus of power. It seems to him that he is the person to change the existing order of things." Leon Schiller State School, "''Faraon''."

Film

''Pharaoh''s production took three years, beginning in the fall of 1962 with the setting up of a studio in

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of ca ...

which did in-depth studies of the costumes and realia of life in ancient Egypt. Filming took place in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

and

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. Most of the indoor scenes of the pharaoh's palace, the temples and the

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by ...

were shot at the

studio. The Warsaw River Shipyard built an Egyptian ship according to drawings from 4,000 years ago. An artificial island was created on Lake Kirsajty, near Giżycko, Poland, and planted with

palm Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

s and lotus for the scene involving Ramses' row on the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

with Sara. Mass scenes were filmed mainly in

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked co ...

's part of the

Kyzyl Kum The Kyzylkum Desert ( uz, Qizilqum, Қизилқум, قىزىلقۇم; kk, Қызылқұм, Qyzylqūm, قىزىلقۇم) is the 15th largest desert in the world. Its name means ''Red Sand'' in Turkic languages. It is located in Central Asia, i ...

Desert. The crew spent nearly five months there, working in very difficult conditions—at the height of summer, the noon temperature exceeded 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit); the temperature of the sand, 80 degrees Celsius (176 Fahrenheit). Film stock had to be kept in cold storage. A very vexatious thing was the ubiquitous dust. Every day, 10,000 bottles of mineral water were delivered to the shooting location. Hazards included sand vipers and

venom Venom or zootoxin is a type of toxin produced by an animal that is actively delivered through a wound by means of a bite, sting, or similar action. The toxin is delivered through a specially evolved ''venom apparatus'', such as fangs or a st ...

ous

spider Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s that launched themselves at people from a couple of

yard The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...

s' distance. Some scenes were filmed at authentic Egyptian locales. For example, the scene in which Prince Ramses learns that his father Pharaoh Ramses XII has died and that he has now become Pharaoh Ramses XIII, takes place against the backdrop of the

pyramids of Giza The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

; but the crowds of tourists and the present-day appearance of the area made it near-impossible to find good takes. One of the many consultants on the film was Poland's Professor

Kazimierz Michałowski Kazimierz Józef Marian Michałowski (born December 14, 1901 in Tarnopol – January 1, 1981 in Warsaw) was a Polish archaeologist and Egyptologist, art historian, member of the Polish Academy of Sciences, professor ordinarius of the Univer ...

, a world authority in

Egyptology Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , '' -logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native relig ...

. Another was Shadi Abdel Salam, an Egyptian film director and costume designer, who had consulted on the 1963 ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

''. Abdel Salam was the costume designer for Pharaoh. In adapting Bolesław Prus' novel to the screen, the film's producers made a number of notable decisions. One was to keep the film in a predominantly golden-yellowish register and to almost eliminate bright colors; bright foliage appears only once—in the scene with Ramses and Sara on the Nile. During the military maneuvers that open the film, an incident has been introduced that does not appear in the novel, involving the wrangling down of a horse. Near the movie's end, High Priest Mefres is dispatched by the Keepers of the

not with a

chloroform Chloroform, or trichloromethane, is an organic compound with formula C H Cl3 and a common organic solvent. It is a colorless, strong-smelling, dense liquid produced on a large scale as a precursor to PTFE. It is also a precursor to various ...

-like substance, but with a rope looped around his neck and pulled tight by its ends, several yards apart. Pharaoh is among 21 digitally restored classic Polish films chosen for ''Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema''.

Plot

The young pharaoh, Ramesses XIII, intends to reform Ancient Egypt. Herhor the priest opposes him. The power struggle between them is the focus of the film. Other themes include the friendship with Pentuer the priest, the love for Sara the beautiful Jewess and Kama the priestess. It is also the story of the secret pact with

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

, the

Solar eclipse A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby obscuring the view of the Sun from a small part of the Earth, totally or partially. Such an alignment occurs during an eclipse season, approximately every six mon ...

and how the priests used it to subdue the crowds, and the assassination of Ramses XIII at the hands of his look-alike. A historical fresco of universal meaning, revealing the mechanisms of power and the influence of religion on social life.

Cast

*Ramses XIII; and his

look-alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right ...

, Lykon: Jerzy Zelnik *Herhor (High Priest of Amon): Piotr Pawłowski *Pentuer (priest, Herhor's assistant): Leszek Herdegen *Thutmose (Ramses XIII's cousin): Emir Buczacki *Ennana ( Egyptian army officer): Ryszard Ronczewski * Fellah: Jerzy Block *Sara (Ramses XIII's mistress, mother of his son Seti):

Krystyna Mikołajewska Krystyna Mikołajewska (born 6 September 1939, Pabianice, Poland) is a Polish actress who appeared in several productions by the East German film company DEFA, and other notable movies. Career Mikołajewska trained at the State College of Ludw ...

*Ramses XII (father of Ramses XIII): Andrzej Girtler *Nitager (Egyptian general): Wiktor Grotowicz *Queen Nikotris (mother of Ramses XIII): Wiesława Mazurkiewicz *Berossus (

Chaldea Chaldea () was a small country that existed between the late 10th or early 9th and mid-6th centuries BCE, after which the country and its people were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia. Semitic-speaking, it was ...

n priest): Kazimierz Opaliński *Mefres (

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

ian high priest): Stanisław Milski *Mentezufis (Egyptian priest): Józef Czerniawski *Dagon (

Phoenicia Phoenicia () was an ancient thalassocratic civilization originating in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily located in modern Lebanon. The territory of the Phoenician city-states extended and shrank throughout their his ...

n merchant): Edward Rączkowski *Rabsun (Phoenician merchant): Marian Nosek *Hiram ( Tyrian prince): Alfred Łodziński *Kama (Phoenician priestess):

Barbara Brylska Barbara Brylska (born 5 June 1941) is a Polish actress who gained critical acclaim in 1960s and was featured in numerous films throughout the countries of the Warsaw Pact including the Soviet Union. She is noted especially for her role as ''Nadya ...

*Sargon (

n envoy): Jarosław Skulski *Tehenna (

Libyan Demographics of Libya is the demography of Libya, specifically covering population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations, as well as other aspects of the Libyan population. The ...

commander): Leonard Andrzejewski *Priestess at

mummification A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay furt ...

of Ramses XII: Lucyna Winnicka *Keeper of the

: Bohdan Janiszewski *Samentu (High Priest of

Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

): Mieczysław Voit *Hebron (Ramses XIII's last mistress): Ewa Krzyżewska *Other principal actors: Bronisław Dardziński, Jerzy Fidler, Jerzy KozłowskiFaraon (Polish)
Leon Schiller State School of Film, Television and Theater, "''Faraon''."

References

External links