Soad Muhammad Kamal Hosny was an Egyptian actress born in Cairo. She was known as the "Cinderella of Egyptian cinema" and one of the most influential actresses in the Middle East and the Arab world. She rose to stardom at the end of the 1950s, performing in more than 83 films between 1959 and 1991 with nine films in the greatest 100 films in the history of Egyptian cinema. A majority of her films were shot in the 1960s and 1970s. Her final screen appearance was in the 1991 film,The Shepherd and the Women, directed by her ex-husband Ali Badrakhan.
Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as Vice President twice and whom he succeeded as president in 1970. In 1978, Sadat and Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, signed a peace treaty in cooperation with United States President Jimmy Carter, for which they were recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg from a screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, a globetrotting archaeologist vying with Nazi German forces to recover the long-lost Ark of the Covenant which is said to make an army invincible. Teaming up with his tough former romantic interest Marion Ravenwood, Jones races to stop rival archaeologist René Belloq from guiding the Nazis to the Ark and its power.
The following is an overview of events in 1981 in film, including the highest-grossing films, award ceremonies and festivals, a list of films released and notable deaths.
Omar Sharif was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the 1950s. He is best known for his appearances in American, British, French, and Italian productions. His career encompassed over 100 films spanning 50 years, and brought him many accolades including three Golden Globe Awards and a César Award for Best Actor.
The President of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointee of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the president is also the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government. The current president is Field Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who has been in office since 8 June 2014.
The Prince of Egypt is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The second feature film from DreamWorks and the first to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the Book of Exodus and follows the life of Moses from being a prince of Egypt to a prophet chosen by God to carry out his ultimate destiny of leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. The film was directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and produced by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Penney Finkelman Cox, and Sandra Rabins, from a screenplay written by Philip LaZebnik. It features songs written by Stephen Schwartz and a score composed by Hans Zimmer. The film stars the voices of Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Goldblum, Danny Glover, Patrick Stewart, Helen Mirren, Steve Martin, and Martin Short.
Adel Emam is an Egyptian film, television, and stage actor. He is primarily a comedian, but he has starred in more serious works and, combined comedy with romance especially in his earlier secondary roles in films such as My Wife, the Director General, My Wife's Dignity, My Wife's Goblin and Virgo, all films starring Salah Zulfikar.
Ahmed Zaki Metwally Abdelrahman Badawi, usually known as Ahmed Zaki, was an Egyptian film actor. He was characterized by his talent, skill, and ability in impersonating. He was also famous for his on-screen intensity. Though he first appeared in a small role in a comedy play, he is widely regarded as one of the most talented male actors, especially in dramatic and tragic roles. Zaki has worked in six films that have been listed in the Top 100 Egyptian films.
Land of the Pharaohs is a 1955 American epic historical drama film in CinemaScope and WarnerColor from Warner Brothers, produced and directed by Howard Hawks. The cast was headed by Jack Hawkins as Pharaoh Khufu and Joan Collins as one of his wives, Nellifer. The film is a fictional account of the building of the Great Pyramid. Nobel Prize-winning novelist William Faulkner was one of the film's three credited screenwriters.
Rockshow is a 1980 concert film released by Paul McCartney and Wings, filmed during the band's 1976 North American tour. The film features 30 songs from segments of four concerts of the tour: New York, on 25 May ; Seattle, Washington, 10 June ; and Los Angeles, California, 22 June and 23 June. However, both the cover of the home video release and McCartney, in his intro to The McCartney Years DVD, acknowledge only the Seattle concert. These concerts were part of the 1975–76 Wings Over the World tour, which also produced the triple live album Wings over America (1976) and the Wings Over the World television documentary (1979). This is also the first film released by Miramax.
Salah Abu Seif was one of the most famous Egyptian film directors, and is considered to be the godfather of Neorealist cinema in Egyptian cinema. Many of the 41 films he directed are considered Egyptian classics with 11 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list. His film The Beginning and the End (1960) was the first adaptation of a novel by Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz. In 1977 he was a member of the jury at the 10th Moscow International Film Festival.
The following is a list of Egyptian films. The year order is split by decade. For an alphabetical list of films currently on Wikipedia, see Category:Egyptian films.
Salah El-Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a police officer in the Egyptian National Police, before becoming an actor in 1956. He is regarded as one of the most influential actors in the history of the Egyptian film industry. Zulfikar had roles in more than a hundred feature films in multiple genres during a 37-year career, mostly as the leading actor. He was one of the most dominant leading men in Egyptian cinema.
Mohamed Hamed Hassan Khan was an Egyptian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He was a pivotal member of the "1980s generation" in Egyptian cinema, along with directors such as Khairy Beshara, Daoud Abd El-Sayed, Atef El-Tayeb, and Yousry Nasrallah. His main aesthetic credo, in line with directors from his generation, was a reinvigorated realism seeking direct documentation of everyday life in Cairo, beyond the walls of the studio. Khan has 4 films in the Top 100 Egyptian films list.
The Monster is a 1903 French short silent trick film directed by Georges Méliès.
Gods of Egypt is a 2016 fantasy action film directed by Alex Proyas based on a fantastical version of ancient Egyptian deities. It stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Brenton Thwaites, Chadwick Boseman, Élodie Yung, Courtney Eaton, Rufus Sewell, Gerard Butler, and Geoffrey Rush. The film follows the Egyptian god Horus, who partners with a mortal Egyptian thief, on a quest to rescue his love and to save the world from Set.
