I suppose it depends on how you define "pharaoh" but whichever way you cut it Taharqa doesn't seem to come out as the last of the pharaohs!
Will Smith is a natural for the role of Taharqa the Nubian king. Little has been explored about Africa's Nubia and its kings who played a role thousands of years ago in ruling Egypt. They're almost forgotten now, especially after Nasser's government in Egypt relocated them from their villages after building the Aswan Dam. Their unique language and culture is feared to be extinct.
Will Smith's upcoming movie sheds light on that long forgotten history. Usually Hollywood tackles other pages of Egyptian history already known to people, such as The Ten Commandments, and Cleopatra by Liz Taylor. Cleopatra, the Greek queen, was reduced by Hollywood to a mere vixen who seduced Roman leaders Julius Caesar and Mark Anthony.
Hollywood movies sometimes present untrue fictitious characters of archetypal villains with sinister heavy accents drabbed in ancient Egyptian costumes. The Last Pharaoh is an exception. Will Smith deserves a great deal of credit for tackling that long forgotten history.
2 comments:
I've been following the news on this movie for a little while, hoping for any extra tidbit of information. I think Will Smith will do justice to the part (as he did in Ali), but I am concerned about how much of the history will be cast aside for action and excitement. I imagine that this will be put forward as a macho-man action movie rather than the historical epics of old. There is also the possibility of (gods forbid) Smith does the soundtrack to the movie.
I rigged up a poster for the movie for my Third Intermediate Period class, it's on DeviantArt:
http://jnmgibbs.deviantart.com/art/The-Last-Pharaoh-Movie-Poster-157552257
Dear lord I hope Will Smith does not do a soundtrack. Historical epics of any kind should use more traditional orchestral instrumentation. Otherwise, it will be reduced to the campiness of The Scorpion King.
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