An early film from Youssef Chahine, featuring the debut of Omar Sharif (el Cherif), the talented and gorgeous Faten Hamama, and on location footage in several ancient historical sites, so visually it's sensational. The story includes a romance across class lines between Sharif and Hamama's characters, one that's kindled when they meet each other for the first time since childhood, back when he was calling her "potatoes." What made this a great film for me was that the romance soon became secondary to a web of deceit her father and his henchman engage in, at first to keep the peasants from cutting in on his wealth, and escalating from there. Zaki Rostom and Farid Shawqi play these characters and they're fantastic.
There is a critique of many aspects of Egyptian culture here, most notably the caste system, but also the "honor killing" of women and the justice system when we see how grossly unfair these things are. The setting is slightly before the revolution of 1952, but it made post-revolution, and while its story suggests a level of optimism, it also shows progress to only come with great struggle, because those in power never relinquish it without a fight. Tellingly, the pasha says to his daughter that his crimes have been committed because he wants her and future descendants to be "masters forever."
The film is a little rough around the edges at times in its editing, but I thought the cinematography and soaring music more than made up for it. Plus you have the Valley of the Kings, Luxor Temple, and Karnak. This one's a gem.