User Reviews

One of the better James A. FitzPatrick travelogue shorts, this is the sort of short subject we were subjected to view many times in our high school auditorium. And at least this one is worth it.

The color is brilliant, the contrast between new and old, rich and poor, all photographed skillfully to demonstrate both sides of a city rich in culture and history where the camel (at least in 1938) still dominated even city traffic across main roads and bridges.

Definitely worth viewing for historical interest with many views of mosques blended with glimpses of the new Cairo with its luxurious hotels and apartment complexes.

Because Egypt is one of the oldest civilizations in the world, I was excited to see this episode of TravelTalks. Fitzpatrick himself describes its capital, Cairo as the "city of contrast" and the reasons why become apparent the longer you watch this. We see how the ancient heritage of the country appears alongside modern marketplaces, hotels, and methods of transportation, such as cars. It's a strange sight seeing the famous pyramids and Sphinx in the same frame as a 1930s city, but the monuments aren't far from the urban centers at all. We also learn that egypt is much different from how it was several millennia ago, mainly because arabs never used to be a majority in the country. Contrary to popular belief, camels are not native to egypt, since no hieroglyphics exist depicting one. Of course, you can't talk about egypt without mentioning the Nile, the river that has allowed the country to become one of the most important ancient civilizations in the first place. Even though ancient ships are long gone, the concept of trade remains the same, and the nile is an integral part of egypt's ability to trade. Fitzpatrick doesn't mention this, but it's worth noting that egypt is also the world's only "eurafrasian" country, as egypt is the only nation to simultaneously occupy space in Africa, the Mediterranean, and technically the Middle East via its Sinai Peninsula. Moving on with the short, we get to see members of the egyptian military and their uniforms, as well as the king's personal guard stationed at one of his mosques. Finally, we hear about how egypt has been subjugated by Europe for a long time, but is (as of 1938) finally independent, but only on paper because the UK still has control over its military and relations with other countries. This is an interesting short because it gives us a look into a country that can in many ways be considered the origin of humanity. There are only a few nations with an older history than egypt, two of which are Iraq and Iran. Speaking of the latter, I recently discovered by complete accident that the sister of the egyptian king Farouk I (who was leader at the time of this short) later married Reza Pahlavi. I think events like this are why history is so appealing to me, since all countries on earth seem connected in some way.

This Traveltalks episode goes to Cairo. I love the exoticism of Egypt and its people. The 'modern' buildings are old by now although the street life is probably very similar still. There would be fewer animals but the people haven't changed that much. The color film is well used. The military processions have great colors. It has the pyramids. The only issue is that Cairo hasn't changed enough for this to be a time capsule. Some of this is from another era but much more remains unchanged. So a lot of this could be filmed today and done visually better.

Donkeys, automobile and camels patiently plod the roads and bridges of Cairo, amidst the mosques The contrast in the city begins with its architecture. London has its chimney pots, Paris its Mansard roofs, New York its water tanks to lend them an architectural unity. Cairo is too old, with some buildings hovels of bricks, others Arte Moderne. Three thousand years of building where it seems like a good idea at the moment, under two hundred different rulers means a random collection, beginning with the Pyramids and ending with modern mosques.

James A. Fitzpatrick shouts his random facts loud enough to wake a dozing theater audience, but I think he's trying to get the attention of the Sphinx. Meanwhile, the brown Nile river rolls along.

Cairo 'City of Contrast' (1938)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Good entry in James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series takes us to Cairo where we start off with a view of the Nile River and many of the bridges that go over it. From here we learn about the two parts of Egypt and how the place is actually more Arabian than Egyptian. We also learn how camels didn't come from Egypt and we see a small parade, which shows how the land has become free over the years. We also get to see the old style of the city as well as the new style, which was influenced by France. The short ends as we visit the pyramids in Giza. CAIRO 'CITY OF CONTRAST' will make fans of the series happy as it contains the typical great information that you've come to expect as well as the terrific visuals in beautiful Technicolor. I think the highlights of the film happen early on when we get to see the beautiful Nile River in all its glory. Another highlight was clearly the closing shots of the pyramids, which really jump off the screen in color.