The “Land of Pharaohs” Film by Howard Hawks Essay

Introduction

Cinematic movies can be created in various settings – some of the depicted stories occur in fictional worlds, and some have particular historical backgrounds, demonstrating real people and events. However, films of the latter group often confront the problem of historical accuracy as it can be challenging to depict everything precisely as it happened. An exemplifying work is the movie Land of Pharaohs, directed by Howard Hawks and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures in 1955. The film tells the story of Khufu, or Cheops, – a famous Egyptian pharaoh who is known nowadays for building the Great Pyramid of Giza, the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. Land of Pharaohs contains many historical inaccuracies related to the characters’ appearances, decorations, and historical events, but the movie creators probably did not aim to make the film accurate as it was a fictional story.

Historical Inaccuracies in the Film

The first aspect of the film which seems historically inaccurate is the appearance of the characters, decorations, and the locations where the movie was filmed. The central character, Khufu, the pharaoh himself, is played by an English actor named Jack Hawkins.¹ Due to his origins, he has a British appearance and does not look like an Egyptian. Furthermore, there are many other characters in the movie played by actors with European and American appearances that are not even close to the way Arabian people looked in the times of the Egyptian empire. Some cast members, however, have appropriate appearances, but their characters are mostly secondary. Pharaoh and his wife, in turn, are the central heroes of the film, which is why their non-Arabian appearance draws much of viewers’ attention and makes them doubt the movie’s historical accuracy.

The decorations in the film do not seem historically accurate, as well, as they do not reflect the actual greatness of Egypt and the pharaoh. As it is known, the Egyptian empire was one of the mightiest and wealthiest countries in the world in former times, and the rooms of the pharaoh’s palace were full of gold and valuables. That richness can even be traced within the movie: after the pharaoh returns from another war, he and one of his servants discuss the loot. The servant says he has heard about the obtained treasures – four hundred men have carried them to the pharaoh’s palace.² However, although the richness of Egypt can be traced in the film, it is not actually demonstrated. The throne chamber is almost empty, the pharaoh and the nobility roaming the palace do not wear much jewelry, and the only decoration of the hallways is a strange tiger’s hide that does not even look real. Overall, the Land of Pharaoh‘s decorations do not make viewers feel like they have come to ancient Egypt.

Furthermore, the character of Khufu depicted in the movie does not seem to match the descriptions of the pharaoh. As it is known, the Great Pyramid of Giza is a magnificent construction and the only surviving wonder of the ancient world. Cheops was fixated on building that pyramid: he made hundreds of thousands of people work simultaneously to finish it, and they could hardly get any rest and sleep. In the movie, however, all that suffering and tyranny are not depicted: building the Great Pyramid of Giza seems like an ordinary construction process.³ In fact, Khufu was greedy, did everything to get as much money as possible, and even sent his daughter to the brothel. If he could treat someone of his kin like that, one can imagine how he treated people working on the pyramid, aiming to achieve the triumph of his greatness.

In addition, Khufu’s marital status in the movie is not historically accurate. In the film, princess Nellifer, played by Joan Collins, comes to Cheops from Cyprus to tell him that her people cannot pay their annual tribute because of poverty. She stays in the palace and eventually becomes the pharaoh’s favorite, and, after a short time, Khufu marries her. Then she engages in an affair with the guard captain and plots her husband’s downfall.⁴ These events are entirely fictional: the pharaoh, indeed, had many wives, but none of them was princess Nellifer. In fact, his primary and closest wives were his half-sisters, Meritetes and Henutsen.

The Problem of Historical Accuracy in the Movie

Although Land of Pharaohs does not appear historically accurate, the setting and circumstances in which it was filmed should be considered. First, it is a 1955 movie with an approximate budget of three million dollars.⁵ The cheapness of the decorations and nobility’s clothes was mentioned previously. However, the cinematographic technology of those times did not allow the movie makers to create an artificial copy of Egypt for screens, and three million dollars was obviously not enough to rebuild the great Egyptian empire. Cinematograph in those times was significantly limited in resources, and the primary goal of movies with historical backgrounds was to share the atmosphere of the depicted places and events, not the minor details. Thereby, if one considers the time when Land of Pharaohs was filmed, some of the historical inaccuracies described previously can probably be ignored.

Furthermore, it appears that the film creators did not aim to reach appropriate historical accuracy. Land of Pharaohs is only a fictional story based on the events of former times, not a cinematic documentary reel.⁶ Like every other fictional movie, the film under discussion is an artistic work, which means insignificant contradictions and even misinterpretations can be allowed to a certain extent. Most likely, the goal of Land of Pharaohs was to tell a story, not to depict history on the screen, which is why reaching historical accuracy was probably not among the movie creators’ primary objectives.

Conclusion

Overall, there are many inaccuracies in Land of Pharaohs, including appearances of characters, decorations, and historical events, but making the film historically accurate was not its creators’ primary goal. Firstly, in terms of appearance and clothes, Khufu and his courtiers do not look like the inhabitants of the pharaoh’s palace in the movie. The decorations used in Land of Pharaohs do not reflect the greatness and richness of the Egyptian empire, as well. Finally, some historical events depicted, such as the married of Khufu and princess Nellifer, do not correspond to reality. The film, however, was created almost seventy years ago, and the resources and budget did not allow the creators to demonstrate ancient Egypt accurately. Furthermore, Land of Pharaohs is a fictional story with a historical background rather than a documentary reel based on actual events. These facts make the movie’s historical inaccuracy reasonable and justifiable.

Work Cited

Land of Pharaohs. Directed by Howard Hawks, Warner Bros. Pictures, 1955.

Footnotes

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