Ezzat El Alaily Movies
- 1987
In this tragedy, set in an Egyptian village beginning in the 1930s and ending in the 1950s, a woman married to an inadequate husband somehow gives birth to a daughter as well as a son, who, after her husband dies, serves as the family patriarch and the women's protector. However, to support the family the boy takes work in the Sudan, and during that time the daughter marries a blacksmith who happens to be impotent. In order to assure her daughter's future, the mother resorts to "magic" so that she can become pregnant. Unfortunately, the girl dies painfully during childbirth, as the primitive medical treatments for difficult childbirth she has endured weaken her too much. When the granddaughter grows up, she too becomes involved in a situation deriving from the sexual insecurities of her menfolk and comes to a tragic end. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ezzat El Alaily, Sherihan, (more)
- 1986
Both dramatic and humorous, this political tale is set in a small eastern Algerian town that has a mayor and a city council but not much else. One day, two government representatives arrive to announce that the nation's "Leader" is going to pay the sleepy village a visit. This sets off a furor and a big debate between the mayor and his friends on the one hand and the government representatives on the other. The local officials want to construct some new housing and make town improvements, but the government officials disagree. Their solution is to imprison the local officials, wall-off the slums from sight, and nationalize the local industry: a flour mill run by Mr. Fabre (Jacques Dufilho) which has one employee. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Dufilho, Ezzat El Alaily, (more)
- 1986
"The Gentleman" turns out to be a lady in this conventional sex-change comedy by Rafaat El Mihi. Fawzia (Mali Zayed) is a frustrated housewife and bank employee whose husband is less than appreciative and whose fellow workers give her a hard time. Thinking that being a man is better than just being mad, Fawzia walks into the local hospital as herself and comes out as Fawzi, a gentleman in a suit and tie. Her husband is not thrilled, but her friends are not interested in his nuptial setbacks and applaud Fawzi's new look and tough attitude. The question is, will Fawzi or Fawzia win out in the end? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Mahmoud Abdel-Aziz, Maali Uayed, (more)
Youssef Chahine directed this drama about lovers struggling to find happiness in Egypt during the chaos of World War II. Yehia (Mohsen Mohiedine) is a teenage boy who is fascinated with the glamour of Hollywood movies, and he escapes into a rich fantasy world to free himself from the horror around him. But as he learns more about the horrors of the Nazi occupation of Europe, it becomes harder for him to ignore life's grim realities, especially after he falls in love with a local girl. Meanwhile, a Jewish woman living nearby becomes involved with a man who is Muslim, and a gay soldier from England has an affair with a wealthy Arab. Iskanderija ... Lih? was followed by two sequels, Hadota Misreya and Iskindiriah Kaman Oue Kaman. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Nagla Fathi, Fareed Shawki, (more)
- 1977
Cairo is the real star of this movie, which explores everyday encounters in the rich life of a government water-carrier who is frequently accompanied on his rounds by his young son. Reputed never to have smiled since his wife died giving birth to his son 10 years before, in fact he is a warm and generous (but taciturn) man. In one scene, he agrees to serve as an official mourner at the funeral of a prankster friend. Amusingly, the friends actual job was as a paid mourner at large funerals. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fareed Shawki, Ezzat El Alaily, (more)
- 1970
The peasants of a small town dream of urban comforts as they struggle against the landowners. The love life of a girl about to become a young woman is the subplot in this drama about worker exploitation and their stance against the unfeeling oppressors. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ezzat El Alaily
- 1963
Following the same storyline as the more successful Asphalt Jungle but set in Cairo, this crime caper about a jewel heist is directed by Wolf Rilla. The focus of attention is Tutankhamen's jewels on display in the Cairo National Museum -- quite a topical topic since the treasures from King Tut's tomb were making the rounds of U.S. exhibition sites around the time this film was released. The lecherous Major Pickering (George Sanders) has been cooling his heels in a German prison, waiting to get out so he can go to Cairo and set the wheels of his big King Tut heist into motion. The jewels are on display, and he is certain he can get his hands on them. To that end he recruits Willy Roberts, Nicodemos, Al Hassan, and Kamel Kuchuk -- stereotypical characters whose talents are supposed to contribute to the success of the robbery. The Major soon discovers that even if a robbery is successful, getting hot property out of a country can be quite another ball game. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- George Sanders, Richard Johnson, (more)
