You won't find many Polish directors with a wilder career than Jerzy Kawalerowicz, who cemented his reputation in his country's classic canon with Night Train, confronted the Catholic Church in Mother Joan of the Angels, delivered a dreamy Biblical fantasia in Maddalena, threw a political cinematic bomb with Death of a President, and blew out the nation's budgetary record with his 2001 version of Quo Vadis. However, his most ambitious and visually overwhelming achievement has to be 1966's Faraon or Pharoah, adapted from an 1897 novel by Boleslaw Prus. Shot on multiple continents including as much Egyptian pyramid footage as they could wrangle, it's a sprawling and stylish achievement that easily gives big Hollywood productions a run for their money.

Ascending to power as a young man to rule Egypt, Ramses XIII (The Story of Sin's Zelnik) dreams of modernizing the empire but encounters extreme resistance from the ruling religious order. Chief among his adversaries is the high priest Herhor (The Deluge's Pawłowski), who uses natural phenomena as a method of population control and plays a part in an elaborate betrayal plot. Meanwhile Ramses is drawn into two romantic relationships that take his eye off the coalescing military and religious factions around him.

Far more carnal, surreal, and jolting than its North American contemporaries, Pharaoh is a prime example of how to use the template of the historical epic to tackle issues that normally wouldn't get by the censors. In this case it's the increasingly oppressive government in Poland, though really the subject matter could be applied to any number of other time periods and countries dealing with authoritarianism. If that sounds too heady, it's also a voluptuous feast for the senses with multiple scenes that will burn in your memory, including seamless stitching together of breathtaking Polish studio sets and location footage (a lot in the Soviet Union). The last 20 minutes along is a major cinematic tour de force, and while the ambiguous final note might be surprising on a first viewing, it's a clever way to wrap things up and point to the fate of Egypt we all know from our history books. Also noteworthy is the memorable opening shot of two scarabs struggling with a ball of dung, a symbolic gesture that could have made an impression on Sam Peckinpah given its similarity to the later (and much crueler) openers for The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs.

Nominated for a Foreign Language Film Oscar and acclaimed at Cannes, Pharaoh remains one of the most highly-attended Polish films of all time. However, it hasn't fared so well for much of its existence with a handful of scarce home video releases until recent years and bad presentations keeping it from reaching several generations of viewers. In 2015, the ambitious "Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema" series was unveiled featuring restorations of numerous key titles that were exhibited in various repertory venues including Los Angeles, New York City, and London. Among the many titles including favorites like The Saragossa Manuscript, Ashes and Diamonds, and The Promised Land, this was one that stood out thanks to its extremely wide Dyaliscope lensing, unusual color scheme (almost monochrome at times but bursting with rich golds and browns as well), and aggressive, sometimes terrifying soundtrack. The 2K restoration itself by WDFiF, Poland, was supervised by the film’s cinematographer, Jerzy Wójcik, and it's obviously far superior to what we had to deal with before with a rich, ornate appearance that suits the subject matter. However, it also looks a lot more processed and waxy than the other films in the Scorsese series, something readily apparent when it was shown on the big screen and also evident on its Blu-ray debut later that year in the first of three Polish boxed sets devoted to the collection. No detailed restoration notes were ever provided, but this is likely the best it's ever going to get. That Blu-ray featured optional English subtitles and no extras apart from a promo trailer for the series.

In 2024, Second Run bowed the film on U.K. Blu-ray with a much appreciated special edition; as expected, it comes from the same restoration and looks identical. Interestingly, the Polish release had DTS-HD and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio options, both of which were entirely front loaded with no channel separation; the Second Run has a DTS-HD MA 2.0 mono track and sounds the same. The optional English subtitles are also improved over the Polish release. Some tech listings for the film claim it was originally given a four-track mix for initial engagements, but if so, that doesn't appear to exist anymore. As for extras, "Faraon – Afterword" (71m18s) an expansive and in-depth discussion of the film by the University of Warsaw's Michał Oleszczyk untangling the many layers of the film, its ethnic depictions, its historical basis and creative liberties, and its relationship to its source novel. Hats off to him for sitting at a desk in front of a microphone uninterrupted for the length of a feature film without taking a break, and it's a great, illuminating chat that only makes sense if watch it after the film. "Kawalerowicz in the Desert" (2m8s) is a black-and-white 1964 archival newsreel excerpt on the making of the film on location in Uzbekistan and featuring some really swingin' music, followed by a (weirdly unsubtitled) new trailer. There's also an easily accessible Easter egg on the main menu screen pertaining to the film's U.S. release. Also included is a 24-page booklet with a thorough, excellent essay by film historian and producer Michael Brooke about the source novel, the film's place in the Polish "superprodukcja," the production history, and its reception around the world.

SECOND RUN (BLU-RAY)

DI FACTORY (BLU-RAY)

Reviewed on September 6, 2024.