Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1958 • Egypt
Starring Youssef Chahine, Farid Shawqi, Hind Rostom
Youssef Chahine established his international reputation with this masterpiece, which, though initially a commercial flop at home, would become one of the most influential and celebrated works in all of Arab cinema. The director himself stars as Qinawi, a simpleton newspaper hawker whose obsession with a sultry drink seller (Hind Rostom, the so-dubbed “Marilyn Monroe of Arabia”) leads to tragedy of operatic proportions on the streets of Cairo. Blending elements of neorealism (naturalistic dialogue, location shooting, and a vivid evocation of labor struggle in the postwar epoch) with provocative noir-melodrama (lust, jealousy, madness, and murder), CAIRO STATION is a work of raw populist poetry that explores the individual’s search for a place in Egypt’s new political order.
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The Land
Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1969 • Egypt
Starring Mahmoud el-Meliguy, Ezzat el-Alaili, Nagwa IbrahimAdapted from a classic novel by Abd al-Rahman Sharqawi, this howl of rage against social injustice is one of director Youssef Chahine’s most influential works, crowned by a career-best perform...
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The Blazing Sun
Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1954 • Egypt
Starring Omar Sharif, Faten Hamama, Zaki RostomOmar Sharif makes a striking film debut in this powerful working-class melodrama. He stars as the engineer son of a peasant who finds himself torn between love and land when he begins a romance with the d...
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The Emigrant
Directed by Youssef Chahine • 1994 • Egypt
Starring Youssra, Khaled el-Nabawy, Mahmoud HemidaOne of director Youssef Chahine’s most controversial works ignited a firestorm of criticism from both Islamic and Christian voices, who objected to its liberal reinterpretation of the biblical story of...
