Mahmoud Abdel Aziz
(b. 1946)
Mahmoud Abdel Aziz in Execution of A Dead Man
Mahmoud Abdel Aziz is one of those Alexandrians who keep returning to their native city, whether in the summer for visits, or in films. His Why is the Sea Laughing? (el bahr biyidhak leih?) is testimony to that sense of belonging, for it is shot in Alexandria and echoes – or recalls – one of the oldest Alexandrian films The Sea is Laughing (el bahr biyidhak) which was a collaboration between the Alexandrian Amin Attalah, Stéphane Rosti and Alvise Orfanelli.
Mahmoud Abdel Aziz was born in el Wardian district in Alexandria. He studied Agriculture as a major in the University of Alexandria and got a BA in 1966 then later an MA in the same field. During his university years he was interested in acting and took part in some plays there. Luck came his way when director Nour el Demerdash met him and decided to give him a part in the television series The Eddy (el Dawâmah). He caught attention then and producer Ramsis Naguib chose him for a role in the film Until the End of My Lifetime (Hatâ âkher el ‘omr) in 1975. By then, he was then well on his way to a glorious career in cinema.
At the beginning his good looks opened doors for him and qualified him to be a star, so he was always cast in the role of the handsome young man. In 1982 he moved in a different direction with Shame (el ‘âr) which brought out his latent potential by allowing him to show different emotions while slowly moving from good to evil. He then deliberately gave up the parts of handsome young men to attempt more challenging roles. He played the part of a father when he was still relatively young in The Virgin and White Hair (el ‘adhrâ’ wa-l-sha’r el abyad) in 1983, and Forgery of Official Documents (Tazwîr fî awraq rasmiyah) in 1984.
From the eighties onwards he turned to movies that were comic and lighthearted, but with tragic undertones, showing the suffering of the underdog. In this sense he was portraying the typical Egyptian character that transforms a tragedy into a joke, so that life can go on. El Kitkat (1991) is a good example of this kind of film, where he played the part of a blind old man who lost his eyesight but not his vision.
His television series Raafat el Haggan (Ra’fat el Hagân) won Mahmoud Abdel Aziz immense fame and popularity which still reverberate till now. His success in TV serials was capped with another series, Mahmoud el Masri, which recounts the fortunes of an Alexandrian businessman.
He received the Best Actor Award from the Alexandria International Film Festival for his film The Gentleman (el Gentel) in 1996, and from the Arab Cinema Festival in Paris for his latest film The Magician (el Sâhir) in 2002.
Filmography:
1974: The Grandchild (el Hafîd)
1975: Until the End of My Lifetime (Hatâ âkher el ‘omr)
1975: Bloody SunJour (Yaum el ahad el dâmî)
1976: Face to Face (Waghan le wagh)
1976: Love in Miami Beach (el Houbb ‘la châti’ Miâmî)
1977: The Sins of Love (Khatâyah el houbb)
1977: With Love (Ma’a houbbî wa ashwâqî)
1977: My Daughter and the Wolf (Ibnatî wa el dhi’b)
1977: Demons (el Shayâtîn)
1977: The Pretty Liar (el Bint el helwah el kadhâbah)
1977: The Sad Bird of the Night (Ta’ir el layl el hazing)
1977: Enough my Heart (Kafânî ya qalb)
1978: A Woman with no Heart (Imra’a bila qalb)
1978: A Woman in my Blood (Imra’a fî damî)
1978: The Reckoning of Years (Hisâb el sinîn)
1978: Youth Dancing on Fire (Shabâb yarqous fawq el nâr)
1978: Shafiqa and Metwalli (Shafîqah we Metwalî)
1978: That’s Wrong Lolo (‘Aib ya Loulou ya Loulou ‘aib)
1978: Hearts in a Sea of Tears (Qoloub fî bahr el domou’)
1978: Life is Lost, My Son (Wa dâ’ el ‘omr ya waladî)
1979: Stronger than the Jours (Aqwa min el ayâm)
1979: Lovers Under 20 (‘Oushaq taht el ‘ishrîn)
1979: The Savage (el motawahishah)
1979: Under Investigation (wala yazâl el tahqîq mostamer)
1980: Demons (el Abâlsah)
1980: (X) A Sign that Means Wrong (X ‘alâmah ma’nahah el khata’)
1980: A Love that does not see the Sun (Houb la yara el shams)
1981: I in his Eyes (Anâ fî ‘aynihih)
1981: Demon of the Island (Shaytan el gizîrah)
1981: Shore of Memories (Shati’ el dhikrayât)
1981: Farewell to Suffering (Wada’an lil ‘adhâb)
1982: The Execution of a High School Student (I’dâm tâlib thânawî)
1982: Shame (el ‘âr)
1982: The Fool (el Ma’touh)
1982: Lial (Liali)
1982: Wekalit el Balah (Wekâlit el balah)
1982: Bitter Bread (el Khobz el morr)
1983: Love Alley (Drab el hawâ)
1983: Those who Accept Bribes (el Sâdah el mortashoun)
1983: The Virgin and White Hair (el ‘adhrâ’ wa-l-sha’r el abyad)
1983: Kingdom of Hallucination (Mamlakit el halwasah)
1983: Half a Million Pounds (Nos arnab)
1984: Please Give Me this Medicine (Argouk ‘atinî hadha el dawâ’)
1984: Our Girls Abroad (Banâtonah fî-l-kharig)
1984: House of Delinquents (Bayt el qâsirât)
1984: Forgery of Official Documents (Tazwîr fî awraq rasmiyah)
1984: The Poor do not go to Paradise (Fouqarâ’ la yadkholoun el ganah)
1984: Your Jour will come, Mister (Lak youm ya Bîh)
1984: But Something Remains (Lakn shay’ ma yabqâ)
1985: Execution of a Dead Man (I’dâm mayit)
1985: El Darb el Ahmar (el Darb el ahmar)
1985: The Flat is the Wife’s Right (el Shaqah min haq el zawgah)
1985: Tramps (el Sa’âlîk)
1985: The Deluge (el Toufân)
1985: Mind You Law (‘Afwan ayohâ el qanoun)
1985: High (el Kîf)
1985: The Mad Woman (el Magnounah)
1986: The Innocent (el Barî’)
1986: Hunger (el Gou’)
1986: Get it, Smart Alec (Hidiq yefham)
1987: Sons and Murderers (Abnâ’ wa qatalah)
1987: Beast Race (Gary el wohoush)
1987: Khalil after Amendments (Khalîl ba’d el ta’dîl)
1987: Gentlemen (el Sâdah el rigâl)
1987: Road to Remorse (Sikat el nadâmah)
1988: Mess (Samk labn tamr hindî)
1988: River of Fear (Nahr el khowf)
1989: We are all Thieves, Dear (Ya ‘azîzî kolona lisous)
1989: The World on the Wings of a Dove (el Donia ‘la ginah yamâmah)
1990: Ladies and Gentlemen (Sayidâtî ânisâtî)
1991: Abou Kartonah (Abou Kartonah)
1991: Ika’s Law (Qanoun îkâ)
1991: El Kitkat (el Kitkât)
1992: Abdel Gabar’s World (Doniâ ‘Abdel Gabâr)
1992: Spy Trap (Fakh el gawâsîs)
1993: Three on the Road (Thalathah ‘la el tarîq)
1994: Hodgepodge (Khaltabîtah)
1994: The Visit of Mr. President (Ziyârat el sayid el ra’îs)
1995: Why is the Sea Laughing? (el Bahr biyidhak leh)
1996: The Gentleman (el Gentel)
1997: The Captain (el Qobtân)
1998: Harmonica (Hârmonîkâ)
2000: El Nims (el Nims)
2000: Desire Market (Souq el mot’ah)
2002: A Fishy Trip (Rihlah mashbouhah)
2002: The Magician (el Sâhir)
