La Bestia Magnifica (Lucha Libre) (1953) (Miroslava) directed by Chano Urueta
This is an Egyptian poster designed by Abdou Mohamed and Wahib Fahmy for the Chano Urueta Mexican wrestling film. It was printed by Nasr Printers of Cairo and distributed by the United Arabic Films Company [sherket al-aflam al-arabia al-motaheda] on Kasr al-Nil Street in Cairo. A series of clips from the film was posted to YouTube by user jarrett421, the first of which is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=645t6Aqe3kA
The yellow title in Arabic translates as "The Beautiful Beast." I have not seen the original Mexican poster but it is very probable that it looks very similar and even more beautiful than this one, with brighter colors and clearer definition. The Mexicans were making gorgeous poster in those years.
Lipstick [ahmar shafayef] (1946) - (Naguib Al Riyhani) directed by Walli Eddine Sameh
This rare Egyptian poster is very important historically because it was the first one designed by Egypt's legendary poster designer Hassan Mazhar Gasour, whose studio and printing business domitnated the world of Egyptian film posters for over 30 years. Gasour was the only poster designer ever to receive the equivalent of an Egyptian academy award for poster design. The poster is a stone lithograph measuring 24.25" x 35".
This is a Warner Brothers poster printed in Egypt for the 1950 Hitchock film Stage Fright. It is printed in three pieces and measures 79.5" x 39.5". This is a common Egyptian size. The three sheets used to make the design are each roughly the standard 27" x 39" size for an Egyptian one-sheet. It was printed by Raghaeb printers, an old company that was active in Egypt mostly in the 1940s. It is signed by the artist Wahib Fahmy, who made the designs for many Egyptian posters for foreign films. Fahmy sometimes did original designs but for foreign films he usually relied almost entirely on elements of the design used in some poster issued by the film's foreign studio, and that is what he did for this poster. The Arabic title translation at the top is "Crime on the Stage" with the name Hitchcock in the red script.
On 10 September 1957 Natalie Wood appeared on the back cover of the Egyptian arts and entertainment journal Al-Kawakeb. In 1957 she had not yet appeared in All the Fine Young Cannibals, Splendor in the Grass or West Side Story. The woman on the front cover is Zubaidah Tharwat, a musician and actress who later appeared with Omar Sharif in the 1961 Henry Barakat Egyptian classic There is a Man in Our House [fi baitina ragol]
The Stoning of Soraya M 2008, with Mozhan Marno as Soraya
This film is a moving, culturally accurate presentation, with a great contribution by Parviz Sayyad in an unexpected variant of his old Samad persona from his long prerevolutionary career as an actor in Iran. This film is based on a true story, so I can't quarrel with the plot, but I do hate the implication that this is the story of an "unjust" stoning, since the woman who was stoned did not really do what she was accused of doing and for which she was brutally tortured to death. What I hate is the insidious implication that there might be a "just" stoning somewhere.
Land of Plenty 2004 directed by Wim Wenders, German poster
Mr. Wenders made this film in a 16-day period on a very low budget while he was in a period of limbo during the making of Don't Come Knocking. His skill expressing his emotions with such a powerful work on such short notice is remarkable. Like a lot of other people though, the thrust of his initial emotions was anger--not at the Muslims who attacked America, but at Americans for their "exaggerated patriotism."
However, there is a gaping hole in the very quick treatment of 911 in this film. That hole is the point of view of the attackers. What were the Muslim religious motivations for the 911 attack? Lana, as a complete outsider, simply reports the celebrating Palestinians with a poignant "they hate us." For a lot of self-loathing Americans, this might be enough, but I felt cheated.
In his DVD commentary Wenders notes his Christian sensibilities. For me, the sprit of Christian forgiveness, love for mankind and turning the other cheek has a lot more meaning if it can be convincingly expressed with a full awareness of the driving force behind an evil act. Wenders shows no awareness of that. The word Muslim is not used in the film, although the story is obviously about American hostility to Muslims and about a journey John Diehl's character Paul makes from initial hostility to greatly improved awareness catalyzed by his dealings with his well-traveled neice Lana (Michelle Williams) and the Pakistani Hassan (Shaun Toub).
A Wenders film that explores this material more thoughtfully--with the courage to use accurate language--would be welcome should Mr. Wenders ever find himself moved to go in that direction. I doubt if he would tell a story that would match my views, but it would be nice to see more directness and honesty from a man who is too great for this kind of timid innuendo.
Al-Saman wal-Kharif [The Quail and the Autumn] Egyptian film directed by Houssam El-Din Mustafa; the people depicted on the poster (artist unknown) are Mahmoud Moursy as Esa and Nadia Lutfi as Riri.
Cast: Adel Adham, Abdallan Gheith, Nadia Lutfi, Mahmoud Moursy, Ihsan El-Kalawy, Leila Sheir, Naima Wasfy, Mimi Shakeeb, Ehsan Sherif; cinematography Klelio, screenplay and dialogue Ahmad Abbas Salah.
This black-and-white film is based on a story by Naguib Mahfouz.
Plot summary: With the revolution hopes ended for Esa the tanner (Mahmoud Moursy), a political party youth who had promised himself to be a man of the future, especially since he had failed to adapt to it on a personal or a general level and his marriage to Salwa (Leila Sheir) had failed. Esa fled to Alexandria and while carousing in a nightclub there he met Riri (Nadia Lutfi), a girl of the night who came to love him almost immediately. However he dispensed with her when he discovered she was pregnant. Riri married an older man to give her daughter a name and protect herself from ruin. Esa returned after six years to confirm that the girl was his daughter and to try to persuade Riri to marry him, but she refused. In the end there was a reconciliation between them, just as there had been a reconciliation with the political system of the revolution, through one of his best friends who had stood on the side of the July revolution. According to film critic Sa'ad al-Din Tawfiq this is one of the top 100 Egyptian films.
