Summary
Sphinx is a 1981 American adventure film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and starring Lesley-Anne Down and Frank Langella. The screenplay by John Byrum is based on the 1979 novel of the same name by Robin Cook.
| Sphinx | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Franklin J. Schaffner |
| Screenplay by | John Byrum |
| Based on | Sphinx 1979 novel by Robin Cook |
| Produced by | Stanley O'Toole |
| Starring | Lesley-Anne Down Frank Langella |
| Cinematography | Ernest Day |
| Edited by | Robert Swink Michael F. Anderson |
| Music by | Michael J. Lewis |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
Release date | February 11, 1981 |
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $10.2 million[1][2] |
| Box office | $2 million |
Plot edit
Dedicated Egyptologist Erica Baron is researching a paper about the chief architect to Pharaoh Seti. Soon after her arrival in Cairo, she witnesses the brutal murder of unscrupulous art dealer Abdu-Hamdi, meets Yvon Mageot, a French journalist, and is befriended by Akmed Khazzan, who heads the antiquities division of the United Nations. When she journeys to the Valley of the Kings in Luxor to search a tomb reportedly filled with treasures, she finds herself the target of black marketeers determined to keep the riches for themselves.
Cast edit
- Lesley-Anne Down as Erica Baron
- Frank Langella as Akmed Khazzan
- Maurice Ronet as Yvon Mageot
- John Gielgud as Abdu-Hamdi
- Vic Tablian as Khalifa
- Martin Benson as Mohammed
- John Rhys-Davies as Stephanos Markoulis
- Nadim Sawalha as Gamal
- Tutte Lemkow as Tewfik
- Saeed Jaffrey as Selim
- Eileen Way as Aida
- William Hootkins as Don
- James Cossins as Lord Carnarvon
- Victoria Tennant as Lady Carnarvon
- Behrouz Vossoughi as Menephta, The Royal Architect
Production edit
Film rights were purchased by Orion Pictures for $1 million.[3]
Schaffner said in 1981, "I've never done this kind of film before, this mixture of mystery and adventure and romance. Two years ago, when I considered taking on the project, it seemed to me that audiences would look for this kind of escapist entertainment when it was released. I sincerely hope I'm right."[4]
Interiors were filmed in Budapest. Egypt locations include the Cairo bazaars, Giza, the Winter Palace Hotel in Luxor, and Thebes. The tomb set cost $1 million.[5]
Lesley-Anne Down got married during the filming.[6]
Critical reception edit
Vincent Canby of The New York Times said the film "never stops talking and never does it make a bit of sense. It's unhinged. If it were a person, and you were trying to be nice, you might say it wasn't itself." He continued, "Mr. Schaffner and Mr. Byrum have effectively demolished what could have possibly been a decently absurd archeological-adventure film. The locations . . . are so badly and tackily used that the movie could have been shot more economically in Queens . . . The performers are terrible, none more so than Mr. Langella, who is supposed to be mysterious and romantic but behaves with all of the charm of a room clerk at the Nile Hilton." In conclusion, he called the film "total, absolute, utter confusion."[7]
Variety described the film as a contemporary version of The Perils of Pauline and called it "an embarrassment," adding "Franklin J. Schaffner's steady and sober style is helpless in the face of the mounting implausibilities."[8]
Time Out New York thought the film made "striking use of locations" but criticized the "lousy script, uneasy heroine, and weak material." It called it a "clear case of a lame project that only a best selling (ie. heavily pre-sold) novel could have financed" and warned audiences to "avoid" it.[9]
References edit
- ^ "The Unstoppables". Spy. November 1988. p. 90.
- ^ MOVIES: LANGELLA SHEDS CLOAK FOR 'SPHINX' Mann, Roderick. Los Angeles Times 9 Mar 1980: l29.
- ^ Orion: A Humanistic Production Kilday, Gregg. Los Angeles Times 5 Jan 1979: f13.
- ^ New film, Sphinx, may depart from the spectacular Schaffner refuses to think small Godfrey, Stephen. The Globe and Mail5 Feb 1981: P.19.
- ^ FILM MAKING IN PHARAOH LAND: TUT, TUT: FILM MAKING IN PHARAOH LAND Hall, William. Los Angeles Times 11 May 1980: u6.
- ^ MOVIES: LESLEY-ANNE DOWN: WAITING FOR THE RIGHT ROLE... Mann, Roderick. Los Angeles Times 28 Dec 1980: o33.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (February 11, 1981). "SCHAFFNER'S SPHINX". The New York Times. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- ^ "Review: Sphinx". Variety. December 31, 1980. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
- ^ "Sphinx". Time Out London. Retrieved February 22, 2017.
External links edit
- Sphinx at IMDb
- Sphinx at the American Film Institute Catalog
- Sphinx at AllMovie
- Sphinx at the TCM Movie Database
- Sphinx at Box Office Mojo
- Sphinx at Rotten Tomatoes
