The reign of the great pharaohs was the dawn of science and culture. The history of that time has not once inspired filmmakers to create large-scale historical screenplays, telling about dramatic conquests, love adventures and mythical fantasies.
We have prepared a list of interesting films about Ancient Egypt, which will help you better immerse yourself in the mysterious world of one of the most powerful civilizations of the past, as well as enjoy the beautiful views of the vast desert, the majesty of kings and gods.
The Mummy
- IMDB Rating – 7.1
- Genre: Fantasy, adventure, action movie
- Production: USA, UK, Morocco / 1999
- Budget: $80,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $415,933,406
- Director: Stephen Sommers
- Starring: Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, John Hannah, Arnold Voslu, Kevin J. O’Connor, Jonathan Hyde, Oded Fehr, Eric Avary, Stephen Dunham, Corey Johnson.
The story is about an intrepid American soldier, Rick, who accidentally finds the Egyptian sanctuary of Hamunaptra. After fighting off his squad, he is captured, from which he is rescued by the pretty librarian Evelyn and her brother Jonathan. They ask him to show them the entrance to the sanctuary so they can begin excavating the ancient city of the dead.
Rick helps the hapless archaeologists, and one day they accidentally resurrect the most powerful priest of Thebes, imprisoned in a crypt for worshipping black magic. Imhotep, who has returned from the netherworld, longs to resurrect his beloved Ank-su-namun and destroy mankind, and the heroes try to prevent the balance between the living and the dead from being upset.
During O’Brian’s hanging scene, actor Brendan Fraser stopped breathing. He was immediately given artificial respiration and first aid. A few hours later, the crew resumed work on the set.
Tutankhamun (TV show)
- IMDB Rating – 7.1
- Genre: Drama , melodrama , history
- Production: UK / 2016
- Director: Peter Webber
- Starring: Max Irons , Jonathan Aris, Sam Neil, Amy Wren, Leon Clingman, Susie Danford, Vere Tyndale, Nicolas Boker, Martin Hutson
Archaeologist Howard Carter is engaged in the excavation of ancient burials in Egypt. The man is completely passionate about his work, so he does not stop in front of any obstacles. After years of fruitless searches, a world war, unrest of the local population, clashes with the authorities and lack of funding – the archaeologist gets the support of Lord Carnarvon.
Together with the famous philanthropist and his daughter, he opens the tomb of Tutankhamun on the territory where, according to other scientists, nothing could be. To the surprise of all present, the tomb turns out to be untouched by robbers, which means that the excavation will have a great impact on the understanding of the history of the ancient Egyptians.
The real Howard Carter was 48 years old at the time of the tomb’s discovery. Historians do not support the theory that there was a romantic liaison between him and the young Lady Evelyn.
Cairo Time
- IMDB Rating – 6.6
- Genre: Drama, Melodrama
- Production: Canada, Ireland, Egypt / 2009
- Worldwide box office receipts: $1,995,012
- Director: Ruba Nadda
- Starring: Patricia Clarkson, Alexander Siddig, Elena Anaya, Amina Annabi, Tom McCamus, Mona Hala, Fadia Nadda, Hossam Abdullah, Nabil Shazli, Ahmed Ghareb.
Juliette is the editor of a popular Canadian women’s magazine. She comes to Cairo to take a break from work and visit her husband Mark. The man holds a position at the UN and is often busy with work, so he asks his friend Tarek to meet his wife at the airport and show her around. Juliette and Tarek spend a lot of time together, which gradually brings them closer.
At the Toronto Film Festival, the picture won the Best Canadian Film award.
Tut (TV show)
- IMDB Rating – 7.1
- Genre: Drama, Biography, History
- Production: Canada / 2015
- Director: David Von Anken
- Starring: Ben Kingsley, Evan Jogia, Sybille Dean, Alexander Siddig, Kylie Bunbury, Peter Gadiot, Iddo Goldberg, Nonso Anozie, Alistair Tuvey, Steve Toussaint
Biographical mini-series reveals the details of the life and death of one of the most mysterious young rulers of Egypt – Tutankhamun. The story begins with the youth of the future pharaoh, his marriage and rise to power. Then we are shown the years of rule, which were not given to the man easily because of health problems and the fragmentation of the state. The last episode reveals the speculation about the death of the ruler, which has remained one of the most interesting mysteries in history.
The movie aired in July on cable television on Spike.
The Mummy (2017)
- IMDB Rating – 5.4
- Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Action, Thriller, Adventure
- Production: USA, China, Japan, UK / 2017
- Budget: $125,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $409,231,607
- Director: Alex Kurtzman
- Starring: Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe, Annabelle Wallis, Sofia Boutella, Jake Johnson, Courtney B. Vance, Marwan Kenzari, Simon Atherton, Stephen Thompson, James Arama
A team building underground systems stumbles upon an ancient burial site of crusader knights. In one of the graves they find a large ruby and tablets with ancient Egyptian inscriptions that tell the life story of Princess Amonet.
Driven by her lust for power, the princess sold her soul to the god Set and killed her entire family. For this, she was buried alive in a sarcophagus so that the evil spirit would never seep into the human world. Unfortunately, soldiers Nick and his partner Chris accidentally unleash the ancient evil. Now a princess is after Nick to complete the deadly ritual.
The action-adventure movie was supposed to be the first of three remakes of the series of Ancient Egypt movies of the same name. But after the box office failure, the creators abandoned the sequel.
Asterix and Obelix, Mission Cleopatra
- IMDB Rating – 6.7
- Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure, Family
- Production: France, Germany / 2002
- Budget: €50,300,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $110,989,615
- Director: Alain Chaba
- Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Christian Clavier, Jamel Debbouze, Monica Bellucci, Alain Chaba, Claude Riche, Gerard Darmon, Edouard Baer, Dieudonné, Mousse Diouf.
Wishing to prove to Caesar the greatness of the Egyptian people, Cleopatra makes a bet with the emperor that her people will build the most beautiful palace in just 3 months. The chief architect is appointed as Nomnabis, and if he fails, he will be given to be eaten by crocodiles.
The man has no choice but to turn for help to his old acquaintance, the wizard druid Panoramix. The brave Gauls Asterix and Obelix volunteer to accompany their friend and make sure that the potion recipe does not fall into the wrong hands.
The meaning of some of the hieroglyphs shown in close-up can be translated as “If you can read this, you are an Egyptologist”.
After the filming, which took place in Malta, France and Morocco, all the costumes were auctioned off and the proceeds were donated to various child protection funds.
The Scorpion King
- IMDB Rating – 5.5
- Genre: Fantasy, action, adventure
- Production: USA, Germany, Belgium / 2002
- Budget: $60,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $164,996,077
- Director: Chuck Russell
- Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Stephen Brand, Michael Clarke Duncan, Kelly Hu, Bernard Hill, Grant Heslov, Peter Facinelli, Ralph Moeller, Branscomb Richmond, Roger Rees.
The powerful warrior Memnon decides to enslave all the nations of the earth. He is aided by a seer who predicts the future. The few remaining desert tribes hire Metaes to deprive the evil king of his main weapon.
Metaes sneaks into the ruler’s hideout and kidnaps the seer, who turns out to be the beautiful maiden Cassandra. With her help the hero expects to triumph, but Cassandra’s prophecy contains sad news.
The film’s soundtrack album was released shortly before the premiere and later went gold.
Dwan Johnson entered the Guinness Book of Records as the actor who received the largest fee for his debut role – more than 5 million dollars.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
- IMDB Rating – 6.0
- Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama, Adventure
- Production: UK, Spain, USA / 2014
- Budget: $140,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $268,175,631
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Starring: Christian Bale, Joel Edgerton, John Turturro, Aaron Paul, Ben Mendelsohn, Maria Valverde, Sigourney Weaver, Ben Kingsley, Isaac Andrews, Hiam Abbass
Ridley Scott’s historical movie about ancient Egypt, based on the life of the Israelite people. The plot centers on the prophet Moses, who was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter as her own son. Having become an adult, the man could not tolerate the oppression of the Jews by the Egyptians, so he began the struggle for the liberation of the nation.
Joel Edgerton, who played Ramses, learned of the role from congratulatory letters from fans who had been following the casting.
The movie was banned in the UAE, Egypt and Morocco because of its “misinterpretation” of religious history.
Gods of Egypt
- IMDB Rating – 5.4
- Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
- Production: USA, Australia, China, Hong Kong / 2016
- Budget: $140,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $150,680,864
- Director: Alex Proyas
- Starring: Brenton Thwaites, Gerard Butler, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Chadwick Boseman, Elodie Yung, Courtney Eaton, Rufus Sewell, Geoffrey Rush, Brian Brown, Rachel Blake
The world is populated by gods and humans, with the former ruling over the latter. Egypt is divided between two brothers, Seth and Osiris, who keep the balance. But the god of war and destruction is not interested in a quiet worldly life or the prosperity of the country, so he kills his brother and deprives his nephew Horus of his magic power. Beck, a young thief, grows tired of Seth’s tyrannical rule (like the rest of the people), so he and his lover rescue Horus to help him take his place on the throne.
The fantastic movie about ancient gods of Egypt is based on ancient mythology. It is interesting that the director of the movie Alexander Proyas was born in OAR, which was a union of Egypt and Syria until 1961.
The Extraordinary Adventures Of Adele Blanc-Sec
- IMDB Rating – 6.3
- Genre: Fantasy, action, detective, adventure
- Production: France, USA / 2010
- Budget: €25,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $33,567,829
- Director: Luc Besson
- Starring: Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Gilles Lellouche, Jean-Paul Rouve, Jacqui Nersessian, Philippe Naon, Nicolas Giraud, Laure de Clermont-Tonner, Gérard Shelloux, Serge Baghdassarian.
France, 1912. Young journalist Adele Blanc-Sec specializes in unusual reports, sometimes risking her own life. This time the girl goes to Egypt to resurrect the mummy of Ramses II, a physician, together with the talented Professor Esperandier.
She hopes that the ancient knowledge will help to cure her sister Agatha, who suffered through the fault of the heroine. At the most crucial moment, the journalist and the scientist revive one of the mummies, but soon realize that they have made a mistake.
The heroine’s assistant, who appears in the first scenes, is named Aziz, like the assistant in another Luc Besson film, The Fifth Element.
Agora
- IMDB Rating – 7.2
- Genre: Drama, Adventure, History
- Production: Spain, Malta, Bulgaria / 2009
- Budget: $73,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $39,041,505
- Director: Alejandro Amenabar
- Starring: Rachel Weisz, Max Minghella, Oscar Isaac, Ashraf Barhom, Mikael Lonsdal, Rupert Evans, Homayoun Ershadi, Sami Samir, Richard Durden, Omar Mustafa.
The movie takes place in Alexandria of Egypt, when the once great Roman Empire is falling apart. The Christians have turned from a bunch of dissenters into a large organization that dictates its terms to the weakened rulers of the country. In the center of political twists and turns out to be a talented woman scientist Hypatia, before whose eyes the world and science is destroyed.
The title of the film symbolizes the market square in ancient Greece and Rome, where various meetings and speeches were held.
Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb
- IMDB Rating – 6.2
- Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Adventure, Family
- Production: UK, USA / 2014
- Budget: $127,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $363,204,635
- Director: Shawn Levy
- Starring: Ben Stiller, Robin Williams, Owen Wilson, Steve Coogan, Ricky Gervais, Dan Stevens, Rebel Wilson, Skyler Gisondo, Rami Malek, Patrick Gallagher
Larry Daley, the night watchman at the Museum of Natural Science in New York City, begins to notice oddities in his fellow exhibits. As the sacred ancient Egyptian plate began to disintegrate, the figures began to come to life and behave differently.
And then there’s the Pharaoh of Akkhmenrah who opened a portal to the netherworld to resurrect his brother. As a result Larry has nothing left but to save his friends from disappearance. To do this he has to go to London, find the missing elements of the magic plate and return home before dawn.
The children of actor Ben Stiller (the museum caretaker) played cameo roles in the film.
OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies
- IMDB Rating – 7.1
- Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Adventure
- Production: France / 2006
- Budget: €14,000,000
- Worldwide box office: $17,101,265
- Director: Michel Hazanavicius
- Starring: Jean Dujardin, François Damiens, Khalid Maadour, Youssef Hamid, Arsène Mosca, Konstantin Alexandrov, Claude Brosse, Laurent Bateau, Saïd Amadi, Eric Prah
Egypt in the early 50’s of the last century is going through bad times: spies of different colors weave intrigues, organize conspiracies and frame each other. The family of the deposed ruler Faruqi dreams to be in power again, but they cross the road members of the religious organization “Eagles of Cheops”, who also do not mind to take the throne. In order to restore order in the country and reconcile the warring factions, the president of the French Republic sends his best employee, better known as Agent 117, to Cairo.
The movie was based on the novel by Jean Bruce, and became one of France’s most successful and profitable screen adaptations.
Cleopatra (TV show)
- IMDB Rating – 6.5
- Genre: Drama, Melodrama, Biography
- Production: Germany, USA / 1999
- Budget: $30,000,000
- Director: Frank Roddam
- Starring: Leonor Varela, Timothy Dalton, Billy Zane, Nadeem Sawalha, Owen Teale, Philip Quast, Dara O’Malley, Bruce Payne, Sean Pertuis, David Scofield.
The series tells the life story of the fateful queen of Egypt. After a heavy betrayal, young Cleopatra is on the run while her brother and sister sit on the throne. The desire to regain the throne and establish relations with the powerful Roman Empire leads the girl to Caesar. A night spent together changes the lives of both of them. They have no idea that their brief relationship can change the course of world history.
The movie was filmed in Morocco and Great Britain with life-size sets.
More than a thousand men and several hundred trained horses took part in the battle scenes.
The Seventh Scroll (TV show)
- IMDB Rating – 5.8
- Genre: Fantasy, Action, Drama, Adventure
- Production: USA, Italy, Germany / 1999
- Director: Kevin Connor
- Starring: Jeff Faye, Karina Lombard, Roy Scheider, Art Malick, Tony Musante, Jeffrey Licon, Katrina Gibson, Phillip Reese, Edmund Purdom, Wilfried Basner.
Egypt, thousands of years B.C., the dawn of the Mamosa dynasty. One of the richest pharaohs of his time left no heir. Even his young wife Lostris could not give the king the long-awaited son. Then Mamoza orders him to be buried with all his riches.
Many years later, archaeologists accidentally dig up the tomb of the last queen, where they find 10 scrolls. The seventh scroll points to Mamoza’s tomb with untold treasures. Now every man wants to find this place, but the mystical forces guarding the peace of the ruler, destroy anyone who dares to approach the pharaoh.
The series is based on the books The Seventh Scroll and The Deity of the River by W. Smith.
Stargate
- IMDB Rating – 7.1
- Genre: Fantastic, action, adventure
- Production: USA, France / 1994
- Budget: $55,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $196,567,262
- Director: Roland Emmerich
- Starring: Kurt Russell, James Spader, Jay Davidson, Viveca Lindfors, Alexis Cruz, Mili Avital, Leon Rippy, John Diehl, Carlos Lauchu, Djimon Hounsou.
The action unfolds during the Nazis’ rise to power. A talented archaeologist finds a strange arched structure in Egypt, the use of which he is unable to explain. Years later, his daughter brings in experts to finish her father’s work. Thus a group of scientists learns that the arch is a passage to another world inhabited by gods and higher beings who have learned the source of strength, power, health and long life.
Lead scientist Jackson and his team pass through the gateway and become embroiled in a tangled struggle between different worlds. Now they must not only survive, but also protect humanity from the danger that lurks in extraterrestrial technology.
The plot of the film combined two of the director’s passions: a passion for science fiction and movies about Ancient Egypt.
Mannequins were often used as extras, as they were much cheaper than live extras.
Jack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit
- IMDB Rating – 5.2
- Genre: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
- Production: USA / 2008
- Director: Terry Cunningham
- Starring: Ivan Sergei, Joanne Kelly, Toure Riefenstein, Susan Ward, Mario Naim Bassil, Birol Yildiz, Mehmet Polat, Elaina Huffman, Sean Lawlor, Mert Yavuzdjan.
The main character is an adventurer and archaeologist Jack Hunter. By the will of fate he finds himself in Syria, where luck favors him. Having found a scepter, which once belonged to the Egyptian king Ehnaton, Jack contacts the agent Liz Jones. The girl tells him that the previously found artifacts will lead him to the pharaoh’s tomb and the treasures of the ancient city of Ugarit. However, the way to the riches lies on a difficult and dangerous road, where it is easy to meet bandits and black diggers.
Filming took place in the summer of 2007 in Syria and Turkey.
Joseph
- IMDB Rating – 7.7
- Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography, History
- Production: Italy, Germany, USA / 1995
- Director: Roger Young
- Starring: Ben Kingsley, Paul Mercurio, Martin Landau, Lesley Ann Warren, Alice Krige, Dominic Sanda, Warren Clark, Stefano Dionisi, Gloria Carlin, Michael Angelis.
The envious brothers sell Joseph, their father’s favorite son, into slavery, where the young and talented young man is bought by Potiphar, an Egyptian official. At first his master is wary of him, but after a while he becomes imbued with his wisdom and gift of prophecy. Despite slander and humiliation, Joseph remains a decent man who helps his master, the Pharaoh and the whole of Egypt in times of need.
The film was commissioned by the large media concern Kirch-Gruppe as part of a series of adaptations of biblical stories.
In 1995, the film won the Emmy Award for Best Mini-Series.
Slave of Dreams
- IMDB Rating – 7.2
- Genre: Drama
- Production: USA / 1995
- Director: Robert M. Young
- Starring: Edward James Olmos, Sherilyn Fenn, Adrian Pasdar, Philip Newman, Nadia Savalia, Nabil Shaban, Orso Maria Guerrini, Kevork Malikian, Anthony Samuel Shelby, Emanuele Carucci Viterbi.
Young Joseph is his father Jacob’s favorite son. The old man intends to leave all his property to one heir, which makes the other brothers jealous. For this, they lure Joseph into a trap and sell him into slavery.
Even in a difficult situation, the young man is not discouraged and always finds a way to help others. Word of the unusual gift of one of the slaves reaches the Egyptian nobleman Potiphar, who buys the seer. After that Joseph’s life changes dramatically, but his righteous faith helps him find the meaning of life and survive even in the most desperate situations.
It was filmed in Morocco, and the events described take place in the 16th century BC.
Nefertiti, figlia del sole
- IMDB Rating – 5.4
- Genre: Melodrama
- Production: Italy, France, Russia / 1995
- Director: Guy Gil
- Starring: Michela Rocco Di Torrepadula, Ben Gazzara, Francois Negre, Antonella Lualdi, Giada Desideri, Paul Blain, Daniel Duval, Jacques Penaud, Cleonas Shannon, Marilyn Pater.
The story of Amenhotep’s wife, who was destined to become one of the most powerful women of her time, to carry the history of ancient Egypt through to the present day. We are told about the life of a Mitannian princess who, at the will of her parents, is given in marriage to the Egyptian Pharaoh Amenhotep.
The girl receives a new name Nefertiti, and after the death of her spouse becomes the wife of his son Ehnaton. However, love for an ordinary young man-sculptor, gives rise to one of the most recognizable artifacts of the time.
The lead role was played by an Italian actress and model who won the titles of Miss Italy and Miss Europe in 1987.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
- IMDB Rating – 8.4
- Genre: Adventure, Action, Comedy
- Production: USA / 1981
- Budget: $18,000,000
- Worldwide Box Office: $353,988,025
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliot, Alfred Molina, Wolf Kahler, Anthony Higgins, Vic Tablian.
Talented and fearless archaeologist Dr. Jones receives an important but dangerous assignment from his government. He has to find a sacred relic of many nations – the mysterious Ark, the exact location of which has long been lost. Indiana does not hesitate to set off on his journey. He does not even suspect that a similar task has already been given to Hitler’s best agents who want to use the relic for insidious purposes.
To shoot the scene in the Well of Showers, the creators bought up all the snakes in the area, but there were still not enough of them for a terrifying picture. So Steven Spielberg decided to add imitations made of hoses. If you look closely, you can easily distinguish the live reptiles from the props.
The tape is considered one of the best adventure films about Ancient Egypt and treasure hunters. It collected at the box office about 380 million dollars, with a budget of 20 million dollars.
Moses (TV show)
- IMDB Rating – 6.9
- Genre: Drama, Adventure, Biography, History
- Production: Czech Republic, Netherlands, Great Britain, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, USA / 1995
- Director: Roger Young
- Starring: Soumaya Akkabune, Ben Kingsley, Frank Langella, Christopher Lee, Anna Gallena, Enrico Lo Verso, David Souchette, Maurice Roeves, Anthony Higgins, Philippe Leroy.
After Pharaoh Ramses of Egypt brutally massacred newborn Jewish children, only one boy survived. Pharaoh’s daughter found him and raised him with her own son. As the years passed and the child grew up, the Lord called him to lead his people out from under Egyptian oppression to find new land to establish a free state.
Actor Ben Kingsley, who played the role of Moses, has also played other characters from ancient Egypt – Potiphar in the drama “Joseph” and the vizier Eya in the TV series “Tut.”
The Curse of King Tut’s Tomb
- IMDB Rating – 4.4
- Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Adventure
- Production: USA / 2006
- Budget: $14,000,000
- Director: Russell Mulcay
- Starring: Casper Van Dien, Jonathan Hyde, Leonor Varela, Stephen Waddington, Niko Nikotera, Tat Whalley, Brendan Patricks, Patrick Toomey, Malcolm McDowell, Simon Callow.
The young ruler of ancient Egypt, Tutankhamun, defeats Seth and returns him to the world of the dead. With the blessing of the god Ra, he seals the passage to the underworld with a green medallion, which he breaks into several pieces so that evil will never break free.
In 1922, archaeologist Danny Fremont finds the last of the shards of the magic tablet. With its help, he dreams of finding the legendary tomb of Tut. But he is overtaken by the occult scholar Morgan Sinclair, who intends to free Seth from his imprisonment in order to conquer the world.
Filming took place in Mumbai and Jaipuri, India.
Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered in 1922 in the Valley of the Kings. It was untouched by looters, so the inside remained pristine, with many artifacts and jewelry from the period. Despite the variety of theories, all the mystical stories surrounding this discovery are the fiction of screenwriters.
Other Movies About Ancient Egypt
- The Awakening (1980)
- Faraon (1966)
- Cleopatra (1963)
- Asiris Nuna (2006)
- Riddles of the Sphinx (2008)
- Sands of Oblivion (2007)
- The Egyptian (1954)
