What I have for you below are two reviews of the film 'Nasser 56' and also a link to the move online in its entirety! [2hrs,25min]. The movie is in Arabic with English subtitles. I have also provided to you the link of what appears to be the only place to buy the movie from, the same place where I bought it from (I am hoping that mine will be arriving today).

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THURSDAY, AUGUST 29, 1996

Pride and Nostalgia in Cairo / '56 Suez Crisis Recalled

Egyptians Weep and Cheer Nasser Film

By John Lancaster

Washington Post Service

CAIRO - Its protagonist is a brooding loner whose main activity in the film consists of furrowing his brow behind clouds of cigarette smoke.

There is no sex and no violence, save occasional battle scenes from old newsreels.

Its plot comes straight from the history books.

And in Egypt, it is one of the most popular movies in years.

"Nasser 56" is an unabashedly patriotic ode to Gamal Abdel Nasser, the charismatic army officer who led an officers' conspiracy to overthrow King Farouk in 1952 and then ruled Egypt at first from behind the scenes, until he died of a heart attack in September 1970.

The film centers on the fateful summer and fall of 1956, when Colonel Nasser thumbed his nose at the West - and sparked a war with Britain, France and Israel - by nationalizing the Suez Canal in a defiant gesture that is widely considered to be the most glorious in Egypt's modern history.

Since opening last month - on the 40th anniversary of President Nasser's startling announcement that Egypt was taking control of the Suez Canal from the British and French - the film has played to full houses, stirring tears and shouts of "God is great!" from young people, too young to remember but made proud by the sense of patriotism the film evokes.

THE MOVIE has sparked a lively national debate, not only about Colonel Nasser's legacy but also about the dearth of modern-day Egyptian heroes in an era of political corruption and economic malaise.

"There was a big difference between then and now," said Mohammed Hassan, 22, a university student who attended a showing at Tahrir Cinema. "There were big events, there was an occupation, there were wars. Now, there's nothing but a lot of politics."

Saad Ibrahim, a sociology professor at the American University of Cairo, observed: "There is a lot of nostalgia for that period, and this was probably Nasser's greatest moment. There is hunger for the kind of forceful, proud leader that Nasser was. The ones who came after him did not fill his shoes."

Produced by Egypt's state television company on a shoestring budget, the movie avoids any mention of the less pleasant aspects of President Nasser's rule - such as the imprisonment of political opponents in desert concentration camps or his policies that led to Egypt's humiliating defeat by Israel in the sixday 1967 Middle East War.

Some critics have been put off by such mythologizing.

"People remember Abdel Nasser every time prices increase, or Israel is arrogant, or a small Arab country surpasses us on the map, or when the prices of education and private lessons increase, or when they have to sleep on the streets," wrote Adel Hammouda recently in the Egyptian news magazine Rose al Yusef. "This is the secret of the film."

"But Abdel Nasser will not return," Mr. Hammouda continued. "There is no trace of him in those who have followed. We must look forward and insist that life become better."

The movie is sure to enhance the legendary stature of Nasser, a postal clerk 's son who rose to lead the country. The role is played by Ahmed Zaki, an Egyptian heartthrob whose swarthy good looks and soulful demeanor are said to be eerily reminiscent of the late president.

The movie centers on the Suez crisis, precipitated by the decision of the United States and Britain to withdraw an offer to help finance construction of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile. The withdrawal followed an Egyptian arms deal with Communist Czechoslovakia, acting as a front for Moscow. Nasser feels betrayed, the film shows, by the loss of aid for the important Aswan Dam. Desperate for a way to pay for the dam, he mulls the risks of nationalizing the Suez Canal Co., which has operated the canal for its foreign owners since it was opened in 1869.

Nasser is depicted as a solitary figure who agonizes over his dilemma during lonely walks and allnight reveries in his private study. When he finally makes his decision, his closest adviser reacts with horror.

"You're putting your head in the lion's mouth," the aide warns.

NASSER'S reply: "The British lion, its teeth are falling out." But Nasser is nothing if not cautious: He dispatches spies to Cyprus to assess the risk of a British invasion. He issues strict orders to protect foreign workers and their families. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining ship traffic through the canal once the company has been seized.

On the personal side, he is portrayed as a man of humble tastes who always makes time for his children and wife. He berates aides for serving him smoked fish (too fancy) and for suggesting that he order soldiers to dig him a swimming pool. He even refuses to send his mail first class.

Perhaps the most electrifying moment recreates Nasser's nationalization speech of July 26, 1956. An Egyptian management team, assembled in great secrecy, huddles by a radio to listen for a code word in the text of the speech. Then they descend on the company headquarters en masse, announcing Nasser's move to stunned European managers and employees.

"I was sitting in the movie recalling every minute of what happened to me that day," said Mr. Ibrahim, the sociologist. "I was 17 and a half. I was sitting in a restaurant with my older brother. We were eating kebab. The news, the event, just electrified the whole restaurant. Everyone started shouting, 'God is great!' "

Although it was political disapproval by the United States and a veiled military threat by Russia - not Egyptian military prowess - that prevented the alliance of Britain, France and Israel from reversing the seizure of the canal, Egyptians celebrate the nationalization as a great moral victory that established their country's independence after centuries of subjugation by invading and occupying foreign powers.

As the credits rolled at the end of the movie, Sharif Arafa, 19, dabbed his eyes. "It is the history of my country," he said. "When I see it, I feel as if I lived it."

International Herald Tribune, 1996.

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Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, September 1998, pages 123-124

Video Reviews

Nasser 56

Directed by Mohamed Fadel, Arab Film Distribution, 1996, 140 mins., B&W. List: $44.95, AET: $39.95.

Reviewed by Michael S. Lee

During the summer of 1956, Egypt under President Gamal Abdul Nasser became embroiled in a conflict with Great Britain, France and Israel over the decision by the Egyptian leader to nationalize the Suez Canal in the wake of the refusal of the United States, and consequently the World Bank, to fund the construction of the Aswan High Dam.

This pivotal period in the modern history of Egypt has been intelligently recreated in docu-drama style in a critically acclaimed film, “Nasser 56,” by Egyptian director Mohamed Fadel and starring Egyptian actor Ahmad Zaki as Nasser.

Western audiences will have to adjust to the more subtle, less in-your-face style of Arab filmmaking. However, this is not to say that the film is in any sense boring. Zaki’s portrayal of Nasser as mild-mannered is because that is the way the charismatic Egyptian president was in real life.

The film presents not only Nasser the leader but also Nasser the family man, with the actors portraying his wife and children playing large roles in the movie.

A key scene takes place in Nasser’s study late at night after he has learned of the World Bank’s refusal to fund the Aswan High Dam. He takes the first of three calls from an old woman who is trying to reach her son in a rural village. Her calls instead have been misdirected to the presidential residence. When in the third call Nasser offers to contact her son himself she asks with whom she is speaking. Upon learning it is the president she says, “May God grant you victory, my son.” Suddenly, a light ignites in his eyes as he makes the fateful decision to nationalize the canal.

The Arab perspective from which this film was made is very much in evidence. To those whom he has picked to carry out the nationalization plan, Nasser explains his reasoning that the United States and the World Bank have denied funds for the dam in order to keep Egypt from increasing its electricity supply and to condemn the country to backwardness and continued colonialism.

In the most poignant scene of the movie, an old woman presents Nasser with the cloak which her grandfather was wearing when he died while digging the Suez Canal, saying that the Egyptian president is not only avenging the death of her grandfather, but also the deaths of the thousands of Egyptians who perished while building the canal.

There are also humorous touches. A specialist on the canal who is summoned by Nasser is on vacation. When he is found in his pajamas and bathrobe in his country house, he is not allowed to change before being rushed to the capital. Only upon arrival at the president’s office are his entreaties for clothing so as to present a dignified persona before Nasser finally heard, but he is given only five minutes to dress.

Later, the two men charged with planning the takeover of the canal are called before Nasser. Both are already short on sleep, but are forced to stay awake for several more days to formulate the plan, present it to Nasser, and then finally carry it out. One of the two constantly reminds his colleague of the accumulating sleepless hours, but it is the second who falls asleep instantly when their job is done.

In summation, the film is a revealing portrait of the historical backdrop to the nationalization, the views of the Arab world toward the West, and Western treatment of the indigenous people of the region. The final scene showing Nasser addressing his compatriots in a packed Cairo mosque as British and French bombs rain down on their country is extremely moving.

The film is in Arabic with English subtitles. These are sometimes obscured by the black-and-white format in which the movie was filmed in order to blend with the historical footage of actual events used in the film. This, however, will not deter contemporary English-speaking audiences from fully enjoying this accurate portrayal of events from both a different time and a different point of view.

Michael S. Lee is director of the AET Book Club.