The Middle East

Duration: 30

Year Published: 1959

Creator: International Film Foundation; Julien Bryan

Format: 16mm

Color: Color

Sound: sound

Description: This color documentary film "The Middle East" by the International Film Foundation dates to 1959. The film focuses on the region of the Middle East as a whole and looks closely at topics related to Pan Arabism, economic development, oil, and the intellectuals and revolutionaries of the emerging middle classes. Official description: A film showing the Middle East today with its background of religions, poverty and struggle with agriculture, mixed with the awakening middle class who have been educated to become the leaders of tomorrow. Main titles missing. Opening series of quotes by famous authors. Map of Middle East and illustration of Crusaders (0:11-2:03). Great Sphinx of Giza; Hieroglyphics engraved in stone (2:04). Perhaps Baalbek Roman Ruins (2:18). Hittite relief depicting a chariot, warriors, orthostat stone panel of Long Wall, Basalt, Karkamıs, (Kargamıs), Carchemish (Karkemish), 900 - 700 BC (2:37). Social protest movement perhaps streets of Iran (2:41). Pan Arabism (2:57). Perhaps Anwar Al-Sadat (3:08). Aerial view oil reserves, montage of oil refineries (3:13). Illustrated globe highlighting "gateways" to Arabian Peninsula: Dardanelles Strait and Bosphorus Strait Turkey; Caspian Sea and Hindu Kush Mountains off Afghanistan; Nile Valley Egypt; Red Sea and Persian Gulf (3:32). Muezzin recites "Adhan" standing on minaret of Ottoman-style mosque in Turkey; montage worshippers praying in mosques, on streets; mullahs sit in mosque with young students reciting Quran (4:45). Tapestry depicting Mecca, the Kaaba (5:50). Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem (5:57). Bedouin men guide pack of camels across desert; group of Bedouin men drink traditional coffee, tea in tents wearing thobe and keffiyeh (6:23). Importance of finding water, farming and agriculture, farmer uses ox-pulled wooden plow, cultivating grain (8:02). Locust swarm tree trunk (10:13). Egyptian peasant farmers, sharecroppers weigh bounty and wait for payout (10:24). Rural Egyptian Village (11:05). Women washing laundry wearing black abayas dot coastline of Nile River (11:18). Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan Cairo (11:48). Khan Al-Khalili Market: Various artisan crafts hang from stalls while vendors with juice, bread walk through crowded allies (11:52-14:00). Afternoon light hitting vendors walking carts on street, striking enlarged shadows stretch across road (14:00). Man paints large-scale movie poster advert on scaffolding for Warner Bros "Land of the Pharaohs" (14:10). Upper middle-class neighborhood of Cairo, residential apartment buildings; 1950s automobiles fill lot across street from cinema (14:18). Growing middle class: Men in suits, thobes sitting side-by-side at European-style curbside cafes (14:38). Universities across region: American University of Cairo, American University of Beirut, Robert College in Istanbul, Aleppo College in Syria (15:07). Teacher stands with abacus, clock board in front of young boys at village school in poor part of rural Iran (16:54). Young girls at government school line up in courtyard for medical check up; preventative treatment for trachoma (17:28). Lives of Palestinian children in refugee camps: UN-sponsored nurses administer vaccinations to women, children at field clinic in refugee camp; Young children line up with make-shift vessels to get food to eat (17:50). Soldiers of The Arab Legion stand guard on old walls of city of Jerusalem (19:11). Traffic sign indicating route to Ramallah, Nablus at Mandelbaum Gate; only legal passageway between Israel and Jordan (19:25). Creation of State of Israel: streets of perhaps Tel Aviv, dock hands unload cargo from freight ships, men work hard on construction site, others work on planting/ cultivating crops on kibbutz (19:57). View of Bosphorus (21:03). Map of Turkey (21:08). American military advisors meet with Turkish soldiers to discuss defense strategy against USSR (21:19). Large mosques and their minarets dot skyline, passenger ferry prepares for departure, people and buses pass over perhaps Galata Bridge in heart of Istanbul (21:34). Flag with portrait of Ataturk (21:48). American-funded road building and irrigation projects (22:31). Aerial view of Egypt; oil ship pulls into Suez Canal (22:52). Lower Aswan Dam, aerial view of dam (23:36). Inside iron frame of oil well, scenes across oil reserves (23:54). Closing words (24:43).

Complete Record: Traces the history and internal and external influences on the countries of the Middle East. Uses animation and overprinted titles to develop the ancient historical heritage of the area. Briefly surveys the countries of Israel, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and Egypt. Points out that Jerusalem is a holy city to Christians, Jews, and Moslems. Highlights the traditional roles of the Bedouin and farmer class and their relationship to the land-holding aristocracy; however, the newly developing middle class of professional and industrial workers is pointed to as the force causing changes in Middle Eastern government and society. Natural resources of oil, water, and strategic location are indicated as significant factors shaping the area's future history.

Metadata Source:Educational film guide. Supplements (1959-62)