Taste

The Egyptian

When a sagging economy and the threat of TV had movie studios shaking in their boots in the early 1950′s, they spared no expense in bringing lavish productions to the big screen to remind the public just how awesome they were. That go-for-broke Hollywood spirit resulted in lots of movies like The Egyptian, filled with sumptuous costumes, gigantic sets and eye-popping cinematography. Despite its pedigree—direction by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), performances by Gene Tierney, Victor Mature and Peter Ustinov—The Egyptian was effectively a lost film until this year, released only on a pan-and-scan VHS, rarely seen on cable. Thankfully the newly-launched boutique label Twilight Time rescued it from the vaults with this beautifully restored limited edition Blu-ray. Though filmed as a look back in time to ancient Egypt, this new edition serves as a fascinating look into to the production values of 50′s Hollywood; while the magnificent palaces and pyramids in The Egyptian would be all CG today, they actually built these things 60 years ago, and every nook and cranny is captured in HD perfection. Fans of old fashioned spectacle a la The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur shouldn’t miss this one.

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