Shadi Abdel Salam - The Night of Counting the Years (1969)

المومياء THE NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS (1969) dir. SHADI ABDEL SALAM

I made my top ten list for 2022

1 Amadeus (Forman, 1984) Recommended for: Interview With the Vampire fans

2 Chungking Express (Kar-Wai, 1994) Recommended for: Cowboy Bebop fans

3 Dog Day Afternoon (Lumet, 1975) Recommended for: poor little meow meow fans

4 The Night of Counting the Years (Abdel Salam, 1969) Recommended for: Piranesi fans

5 The Long Day Closes (Davies, 1992) Recommended for: Yann Tiersen fans

6 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Lee, 2000) Recommended for: Lawrence of Arabia fans

7 California Split (Altman, 1974) Recommended for: 'friendships are romances' posts fans

8 The Long Goodbye (Altman, 1973) Recommended for: actually, David Lynch fans

9 All That Heaven Allows (Sirk, 1955) Recommended for: Carol fans

10 All That Jazz (Fosse, 1979) Recommended for: Velvet Goldmine fans

Let me know how you like the single, askance reference approach, I'm experimenting with succinct weird ways to pitch things to the people I think will like them. Links go to my original Letterboxd "review" (comment), and if you click the poster or title there you'll be taken to the short synopsis, cast & crew, wide header image for some vibes, etc.

The Night of Counting the Years (1969)

NW - no, this doesn't star a walking mummy played by Voris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Arnold Vosloo, or even Sofia Boutella. Indeed, there are a distinct lack of walking corpses of any kind. In fact, this isn't even a horror film; this is a 1969 Egyptian historical drama that is one of the most iconic and beloved films of African cinema but is still pretty unknown in the English speaking world - in fact so unknown its Letterboxd summary is even written in slightly broken English so they couldn't even a find a guy whose first language was English to write the Letterboxd blurb! But THIS English speaker IS watching it, because I'm so special and unique and all that and... you know what, I'm rambling I'll just get on with the movie now.

The Night of Counting the Years ( Shadi Abdel Salam, 1969)

The Night of Counting the Years ~ Al-Mummia المومياء (Shadi Abdel Salam, 1969)

Abdel Salam wished to invoke an identity that he felt had dissipated from his nation’s consciousness in order to ameliorate the issue of his people not knowing “their history as well as they should.”

Just you and me and me and you just us and our mutual very close friend Steve

Shadi Abdel Salam - The Night of Counting the Years (1969)

المومياء THE NIGHT OF COUNTING THE YEARS (1969) dir. SHADI ABDEL SALAM

door replied to your post "I made my top ten list for 2022"

for piranesi fans you say

I sure do. For monumental carved figures, lyricism, and a vague sense that you are being manipulated, though you can't figure out which direction it's coming from, and your own heart was made for friendship. The Night of Counting the Years, original Arabic Al-Mummia, a rather medium-low resolution but at least we have it copy available public domain all over; I watched it through YouTube. I cannot teeellll you how much I want to see Martin Scorsese's restored version from his World Cinema Project.

Christopher Abbott, Interview Magazine

Fun times with Freddy (and the gang)

Do you ever get sad knowing that you'll never know all the languages and so since translators make choices (they have to) and things sometimes don't fully translate you can never experience every book exactly as it was originally intended to be read?

I absolutely LOVE the Squirtle/Wartortle illustrations by kantaro in Pokemon 151!

The Squirtle jumping so joyfully from the rock into the ocean, the colors are STUNNING! I love the contrast of the Squirtle's aqua blue framed in the vivid orange sky, the soft bit of blue reflecting in its shell and its tail just catching the sun, how little and squishy its body looks as it launches itself towards the water with such tremendous excitement!

The lineless style of the background gives me the feel of a travel poster and I sense the tropical environment around it from the rocks and trees framing the corners, the waterfall splashing with as much energy as the Squirtle!

The layered blues on the surface of the water and the bubbles rising at the corner make me FEEL the liquid rising to meet the Squirtle--I can just feel how the next moment it's going to break through and be immersed in a cool island swim!

And the Wartortle running along the sunset beach, this is somehow everything I always imagined for Wartortle! I adore the way the rich purple melts into the warm red/orange sky, the matching purple clouds and shadows in the foreground, and how the dimming sunlight glows red on Wartortle's deep blues!

I love how the yellow and orange of the sky illuminate the lapping waves, I can just feel the gentle motion of the sea at dusk. The aqua color of the ocean matches Wartortle's ears and tail and sets off the red-orange sand, I just love how the colors are here!

Wartortle looks so round and squishy, I love its happiness as it goes frolicking through the shallows, chasing the bubbles caught in the setting sun! The shine and deep shadow on its shell give it an almost jewel texture like real tortoise shell; I love the silhouetted splash Wartortle leaves as it goes running across the shore. It's so full of energy and delight at the end of a gorgeous day! The colors in these are SO vivid and harmonized and the style is so cute and bursting with energy and joy. I just LOVE it (also Squirtle is my starter)