On Fire

The Kingdom

August 2007 •English

A team of U.S. government agents is sent to investigate the bombing of an American facility in the Middle East.

Man Bites Dog

August 1992 •French

The activities of rampaging, indiscriminate serial killer Ben are recorded by a willingly complicit documentary team, who eventually become his accomplices and active participants. Ben provides casual commentary on the nature of his work and arbitrary musings on topics of interest to him, such as music or the conditions of low-income housing, and even goes so far as to introduce the documentary crew to his family. But their reckless indulgences soon get the better of them.

Aladdin

November 1992 •English

In the boorish city of Agrabah, kind-hearted street urchin Aladdin and Princess Jasmine fall in love, although she can only marry a prince. He and power-hungry Grand Vizier Jafar vie for a magic lamp that can fulfill their wishes.

Carry On Follow That Camel

August 1967 •English

Bertram Oliphant 'Bo' West wants to clear his unjustly smeared reputation, so he joins the Foreign Legion—with Simpson his manservant in tow. But the fort they get posted to is full of eccentric legionnaires, and there's trouble brewing with the locals too. Unbeknown to Bo, his lady love has followed him in disguise.

Things Are Tough All Over

August 1982 •English

Everybody has problems these days, and Cheech and Chong are no exceptions. They're hired by Slyman and Habib to drive a limousine to Las Vegas with $5 million secretly stashed in the front seat. In order to get there, the pair sells off the car piece by piece, including the seven-figure front seat. Cheech and Chong then have a much bigger problem - Slyman and Habib are after them, swearing to kill them after the appropriate torture.

Rollover

October 1981 •English

An Arab oil organization devises a plan to wreck the world economy in order to cause anarchy and chaos.

A Yank in Libya

July 1942 •English

American correspondent Mike Malone uncovers a Nazi plot for an uprising of the Arab tribes in Lybia. Pursued by Sheik David and his men, Mike takes refuge in the suite of Nancy Brooks, who is in the British Intelligence. He asks her to hide a gun and escapes through a window. Reporting the affair to British Consul Herbert Forbes, the latter tries to discourage him from further investigation, as the British are aware of the plot and are planning on staging a coup. He goes with Mike to Nancy's apartment, and she denies having ever seen him before. Sheik Ibrahim, next in command of the Arab tribe to Sheik David, is plotting with Nazi agent Yussof Streyer to kill David who is friendly with the British. Mike and Nancy have gone to David's camp, escape from Ibrahim's henchmen, and get back to El Moktar before the Arabs attack the garrison.

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

March 2012 •English

A fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheik's vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert and embarks on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible possible.

The Message

March 1976 •English

In sixth-century Mecca, Prophet Muhammad receives his first revelation from God as a messenger. Three years later, he's not alone in his quest and publicly declares his prophecy. Muhammad is fought by Abu Sufian and his wife Hind, rulers of Mecca. Muhammad's followers are hunted and tortured but he continues his calling.

Two Arabian Knights

September 1927 •English

During World War I, two American soldiers fight to escape the Germans while squabbling over a beautiful harem girl. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with University of Nevada, Las Vegas Foundation in 2016.

Tahia Ya Didou !

January 1971 •Arabic

Originally commissioned by the city of Algiers to promote tourism, Mohamed Zinet’s Tahia ya Didou blends documentary with fiction to create a poetic, acerbic and rapturous portrait of the director’s native city. The camera travels freely, through the port, market, streets and cafés, capturing everyday people, some of whom recur frequently enough to seem like protagonists. The nominal plotline follows a French tourist couple’s leisurely visit to the city, the man having previously served in the army during the Algerian war. As they walk around, his comments betray his mindset’s racist colonial prejudices, while his wife reiterates asinine clichés. Their unhurried wandering is interrupted when he comes across a blind man and realises that he tortured him during his army service. The film is punctuated with punchy sequences that show a poet named Momo delivering verse as an elegy for Algiers.

The Barbarian

May 1933 •English

An Arab prince masquerades as a tour guide for rich women in order to enrich himself.

Escape from Zahrain

May 1962 •English

Yul Brynner plays political leader Sharif who is sprung from a police van on his way to a firing squad by young loyalists led by Sal Mineo. Yul and the other prisoners kidnap an ambulance and head into the Arabian desert with the police in hot pursuit. All the performances are magnificent: Sal Mineo showing his acting talents, Jack Warden in a wiseguy performance as an employee of Zahrain oil who was involved in embezzlement, Anthony Caruso as a slimy psychotic and the underrated Madlyn Rhue as a nurse who becomes emotionally involved in the proceedings.

Fazil

June 1928 •English

An Arab prince born and raised in the desert and a beautiful Frenchwoman from Paris fall in love and marry, but the tremendous differences in their backgrounds and the cultural differences between their two different societies put strains on their marriage that may well prove irreparable.

Killing Cars

February 1986 •German

In a complex story of automotive intrigue, oil barons, corporate finance, and international villainy, the inventor of an environmentally friendly car powered by energy cells becomes the target of killers. After Ralph Korda has given his patented worldcar to a German automaker for testing, he is confronted by ominous men, eager to get their hands on his patent. Evil Arab petroleum lords also want to stop this threat to the gasoline market any way they can.

The Garden of Allah

October 1936 •English

The star-crossed desert romance of a cloistered woman and a renegade monk.

All My Life

June 2008 •Arabic

For Rami, all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds, as long as he keeps to himself. But when his longtime lover leaves him to marry a woman and his best friends drift away, he comes face to face with the harsh realities of life as a gay man in Egypt. Against the backdrop of the choreographed crackdown on gay men and the notorious Queen Boat arrests of 2001, he plunges into a world of loveless friendships and spirals downwards to his ultimate downfall.

Une Prof De Ouf

July 2017 •French

Beirut

April 2018 •English

In 1980s Beirut, Mason Skiles is a former U.S. diplomat who is called back into service to save a colleague from the group that is possibly responsible for his own family's death. Meanwhile, a CIA field agent who is working under cover at the American embassy is tasked with keeping Mason alive and ensuring that the mission is a success.

The Desert Song

May 1953 •English

Shiek Yousseff, poses as a friend of the French while secretly plotting to overthrow them. Apposing Yousseff are the Riffs, whose secret leader, The Red Shadow, is Paul Bonnard, a professor who is studying the desert, and whose attacks on the supply trains intended for Yousseff keep the Riff villages in food. Foreign Legion General Birabeau arrives to conduct an investigation, accompanied by his daughter, Margot. Birabeau hires Bonnard to tutor her, and she is attracted to a Legionaire captain, Claud Fontaine. While the general, Bonnard and Fontaine pay a visit to Yousseff, an American newspaper man, Benji Kidd, discovers a secret way in and out of Yousseff's palace, with the aid of Azuri, a dancing girl in love with Bonnard. The latter is forced to resume his role as the Riffs leader, and kidnap Margot until he can convince her of Yousseff's treachery. But Yousseff's men attack the Riff camp and take Margot prisoner.