The only great national resource of Egypt is death. Egypt is a narrow strip of greenery on both banks of the Nile. The birthplace of the greatest human civilization, a land that attracted scientists, adventurers, hunters to knowledge, fame and money. It is now said that the world has changed. Civilization and science give a slight touch of decency to the plunder of Egyptian treasures. But Egyptologist Erica Baron, like any idealistic young scientist, goes there for the truth. Her research on the tomb of Seti I makes her visit the small streets of Cairo and the Ministry of Antiquities of the Republic of Egypt. But where the thousand-year-old sands buried the treasures of more than one generation of pharaohs, one should beware not of ancient curses, but of a modern revolver.
Despite the title, the film itself has nothing to do with the Sphinx. Of course, it will appear on the screen more than once, but, in fact, gives only charm and color. The story seems both too simple for a two-hour picture and too confusing for half-eye viewing. Perhaps one should not consider the Sphinx from a scientific point of view - what is the one cry of the main character, a doctor of Egyptology, when looking at the pyramids: "They are so big!" But all that happens unwittingly draws the interested viewer into the pool of mysteries and intrigues of the court architect Pharaoh Seti. It is worth noting that the book by Robin Cook has little in common with the film, which turned a short uncomplicated novel into an action adventure: dialogue is replaced by chases, fights and murders, and all this against the background of the pyramids of Giza. Therefore, the heroine of Leslie-Anne Down rushes between everything that happens, and not having time to decide whether she is a feminist, or a scientist, or Indiana Jones. Dr. Ahmed Hassan, played by Frank Langella, serves in this context more as a balancing act, providing an exotic and romantic flair for the story. His albeit rare, but very spectacular appearances dilute the general fuss, and the calm sonorous voice and thoughtful look of dark eyes reminds of Egypt itself, subjugated, explored, but unknown. If there is anything to blame director Frankin Schaffner and screenwriter John Bayram, it is for the fact that Ahmed Hassan, as well as the heroes of Maurice Ronet and Sir John Gilgud, remain an exotic backdrop for Erica’s attempts to get to the truth.
“Do not expect anything and you will not be deceived,” they say in the East. So follow this advice and let the Sphinx reveal its secrets.
8 out of 10