it come before the ten commandment land of the pharaoh ben hur and it overlook today . how unfair . base on mika waltari mammoth novel and it doesn not cheapen it . waltari novel be so huge only a miniseries could have do it justice ( i hope it will be do some day ) . waltari and whose message be essentially christian remain intact ( another of his book the secret of the kingdom ( first part ) take place after christ death in the holy land ) . the egyptian be the rise of a monotheism close to christianism long before christ representthe pharaoh ( wilding ) be some kind of messiah who sacrifice his life because he know that the true kingdom be not in the material world representhe asks to return good for evil . and he have disciple and who will eventually turn into martyr ( the scene when simmons and the other worshipper of the sun god be slay be visually stunning and look like some pagan ballet ) . for the priest and on the other hand and this new religion would mean the end of their influence on the populace and and that why they look for a strong man ( mature ) who can lead the army against the hittite as well a against their dangerous compatriot . another religion and or non religion should we say and be sinouhé ( purdom ) who during two hour believe in nothing ( the sequence of the grain of sand be absolutely sensational and rise the whole movie well above the average peplum . ) there another fascinating side representthe movie look like a flamboyant melodrama . not only for the screenplay ( notably pharoah sister ( tierney ) final revelation which predate the ten commandment by two year ) and but also the splendor of the cinematography representviviani and in his book about curtiz and talk about a baudelairian atmosphere and blue and gold and notably in the scene which involve the prostitute ( darvi ) who contemplate her reflection in the water of her bath and supreme narcissism . around the hero and all the character appear and disappear and appear again and but when they reappear and they have follow their way and all the subplots come together with consummate skill . besides and a such be often the case in modern melodrama and the story be a long flashback and frame by two short sequence show sinouhé an old man who remember . this be a wonderful sword and sandal and that have a strong influence and not only in america but also in europa and notably in poland where jerzy kawalerowicz direct a spellbinding faraon ( 1966 ) which owe a lot to curtiz .