Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt
by Michal Goldman
List Price:
Our Price: $19.95
You Save: $5.04 (20%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: DVD
See more DVD details
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD details
Director: Michal GoldmanDVD: Region Code 1
Audio: Arabic (Original Language); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 67 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-01-09
Audience Rating: Unrated
Studio: AFD
DVD Reviews of Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt
DVD Review: Umm Kulthulm rocks!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Raised by a Catholic-Italian mother, and a Russian-Jewish father, both born in the U.S., as was I, I was once the national marketing director for Arab Film Distribution, AFD, Seattle, WA, when the documentary, Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt, was first released in the U.S. Exclusively distributed by AFD, Yahya Sinno, president of AFD, was responsible for the home division or Internet orders. I was responsibile for the institutional division of AFD, first, watching the films and documentaries in our library, then marketing them, including Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt, to colleges and universities (and libraries) to professors who used them as their course curriculum, for example, for gender studies or religion. (Yahya and I designed the video/DVD cover of Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Eqypt.) It was one of dozens of outstanding independent documentaries - and films of all genres -representing the 20 Arab countries, Iran, and recently, the US, that AFD, distributed. Now, there are hundreds of titles. In fact, in 2006, I believe, the highly acclaimed documentary, IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS, garnered 3 Academy Award nominations for best documentary. Written and directed by an American filmmaker, John Langley, who arrived and began shooting in Iraq shortly after Bush declared war in 2003, where he stayed, I believe, for 2 years filming, the producer is Yahya Sinno, president of AFD. Congratulations!
You're probably wondering by now, what the hey - not much - does all that have to do with the review of Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt? Well, in a very round-a-bout way, smile, the point is that I loaned my coveted copy of Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt, to a friend, but forgot whom... So, recently, I bought a copy while shopping on Amazon.com for something else, hence, the following review:
Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt
Well, for starters, Umm Kulthum is without a doubt one of the most amazing, courageous, exciting and incredible singers not only of the Islamic world but world at large! Overall, the documentary is outstanding! Taking holy verses from the Koran and putting them to incredible Middle Eastern music, and singing it in a way nobody else can - many have since tried and miserably failed - Umm Kulthum is a true inspiration, a diva, in the highest, holiest and purest sense! As an Egyptian, Muslim girl, she traveled with her father, a strict Muslim holy man who dressed her as a boy, since it was unheard of for a Muslim girl (or woman) to appear in public singing, which she did to help support her family. Umm Kulthum eventually sang as a girl - and later as a woman - in public, and became the greatest and most beloved and revered singer the Arab and Muslim world has ever known! Treated as royalty by presidents, and beloved by millions and millions worldwide, millions took the streets not only in Cairo, Egypt, but in other Muslim countries as well, to mourn her passing, Umm Kulthum is an icon. This documentary chronicles her entire life, and includes jaw-dropping actual footage of her concert performances of her most popular songs. Today, as seen in the documentary, when adults were randomly stopped on the streets of Cairo, Egypt, and asked if they'd heard of Umm Kulthum, every face immediately lit up and smiled and typically, people sequed into singing a song or humming a refrain from a favorite Umm Kulthum song. Even the children, when ransomly asked if they'd heard of Umm Kulthum, they, too, lit up and smiled and sequed into singing a song or humming a refrain from a favorite song. And, today, Umm Kulthum still lives in the hearts and minds of millions and millions who still cherish her and sing her songs - men, women and children alike. Umm Kulthum is a role model not only for Muslim girls and women, but for women in general, for what she accomplished decades ago, and in a man's world, and in a conservative Muslim (man's) world, at that, with all due respect, is nothing short of remarkable! Although virtually unknown inside the U.S, which is a shame, since I, too, like most, didn't give much thought to films from the Middle East, (quite arrogant, I know), Europe and Japan, yes, the Middle East, no, that is, until I was hired by AFD and watched dozens of films by independent filmmakers from the 20 Arab countries and Iran, and discovered, much to my amazement, shock and utter delight, that some of the best (filmmakers and) films I'd ever seen were stories about and from the Middle East! And, that's coming from a filmmaker trained at - what is considered to be - the finest - American as apple pie - film school in the world, the USC School of Cinema Television! I gotta tell ya, folks, Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt, is one great documentary! Do yourself a favor... Take off your shades, open your heart and mind, sit back and relax and enjoy a truly remarkable film by an amazing woman filmmaker about an amazing woman singer whose "Voice Like Egypt" is like NO one else you've ever heard before. The one, and ONLY...Umm Kulthum!
Description of Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt
She had the musicality of Ella Fitzgerald, the public presence of Eleanor Roosevelt, and the audience of Elvis Presley Her name was Umm Kulthum, and she became a powerful symbol, first of the aspirations of her country, Egypt, and then of the entire Arab World. Narrated by Omar Sherif, Umm Kulthum, A Voice Like Egypt is the first documentary to bring the celebrated diva of the Arab world to an American audience. The film puts her life in the context of the epic story of 20th century Egypt as it shook off colonialism and confronted modernity.With its esoteric sounds and exotic melodies, Arabic music remains a mystery to much of the Western world. A gem of a documentary, Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt begins to unravel the music and intertwines the life of this tremendous Middle Eastern singer with the history and politics of Egypt, giving a fuller look at a tumultuous time in the changing country. Umm Kulthum was born to peasants and she began singing religious songs to help her family earn money. Her father would dress her in boy's clothing, because he didn't approve of her singing in front of men he didn't know. Despite her country ways, her full-ranged voice brought her to the attention of society and soon she was performing both onstage and onscreen. The lyrics of her songs were poems--one of her most famous is a rendition of "The Rubaiyat." During her later years, she became on outspoken supporter of Nasser and traveled the Arabic-speaking world in support of her government. When she died in 1975, 4 million mourners flooded the streets of Cairo to honor the beloved singer.
This beautifully styled documentary, narrated by Omar Sharif, carefully balances elements so that the video never drags. Long clips of Umm Kulthum singing are interspersed with a dramatized voice-over and shots of the Egyptian countryside. Interviews with writers, journalists, musicologists, folks on the street, a radio commentator, and even Nobel novelist Naguib Mahfouz emphasize the importance of her voice to the people who listened to her. Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt succeeds in making the singer and the music, and even to a certain extent the politics of the country, accessible to a whole new generation of music lovers. --Jenny Brown
Folk Music CDs
Bestsellers in Folk Music CDs
Margie Adam - Another PlaceRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Best price: $11.99
Price in other shops:
Ann Reed - Road of the HeartRelease date: 1994-06-29; Music CD
Best price: $29.99
Ann Reed - Back & ForthRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Best price: $2.00
Price in other shops:
Kay Gardner - Rainbow PathRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Best price: $12.77
Price in other shops:
Joanne Rand - Grant Me EyesRelease date: 2001-08-02; Music CD
Best price: $9.96
Price in other shops:
Betty - Hello Betty!Release date: 1994-03-21; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Kay Gardner - AmazonRelease date: 1994-07-26; Music CD
Price in other shops:
Stage 2: Human HeartRelease date: 1997-04-11; Music CD
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Cyntia Smith, Ruth Barrett - Heart Is the Only NationRelease date: 1996-07-17; Music CD
Best price: $96.66
Giants! A Colossal Collection of Tales and Tunesby Jim Weiss
Greathall Productions, Inc.; Greathall Productions; Published: 1996-11-01; Audio CD; Book
Best price: $8.68
Price in other shops:
Similar DVDs, VHS Video, Audio CDs
Oum Kalthoum - Oum KalthoumRelease date: 2007-09-04; Music CD
Best price: $9.55
Price in other shops:
PersepolisSony; Release date: 2008-06-24; DVD
Best price: $7.49
Price in other shops:
FatmaRelease date: 2003-12-01; DVD
Best price: $18.95
Price in other shops:
Everything Is FineRelease date: 2006-08-15; DVD
Best price: $19.99
Oum Kalthoum - Legend of Arab MusicRelease date: 2007-12-28; Music CD
Best price: $7.07
Price in other shops:
The Yacoubian BuildingRelease date: 2008-01-29; DVD
Best price: $18.24
Price in other shops:
AmreekaHart Sharp Video; Release date: 2010-01-12; DVD
Best price: $4.41
Price in other shops:
"The Voice of Egypt": Umm Kulthum, Arabic Song, and Egyptian Society in the Twentieth Century (Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology)by Virginia Danielson
University Of Chicago Press; Published: 1998-01-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $18.25
Price in other shops:
Omme Kolsoum - ClassicsRelease date: 2001-03-13; Music CD
Best price: $10.12
Price in other shops:
Oum Kalsoum - Mother of the ArabsRelease date: 2002-09-02; Music CD
Best price: $9.13
Price in other shops: