The Egyptian is an American 1954 epic film made in CinemaScope by 20th Century Fox, directed by Michael Curtiz and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It is based on Mika Waltari's novel of the same name and the screenplay was adapted by Philip Dunne and Casey Robinson. Leading roles were played by Edmund Purdom, Jean Simmons, Peter Ustinov and Michael Wilding. Cinematographer Leon Shamroy was nominated for an Oscar in 1955.

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Owing to the short time available in post-production, the composing duties on the film score were divided between two of the best-known composers at 20th Century-Fox: Alfred Newman and Bernard Herrmann.

Newman would later conduct the score in a re-recording for release on Decca Records. Musician John Morgan undertook a "restoration and reconstruction" of the score for a recording conducted by William T. Stromberg in 1998, on Marco Polo Records. The performance of the film score recorded for the film was released by Film Score Monthly in 2001.

source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Egyptian_%28film%29

Akhenaten ( /ˌɑːkəˈnɑːtən/;^[1] also spelled Echnaton,^[6] Akhenaton,^[7] Ikhnaton,^[8] and Khuenaten;^[9][10] meaning "living spirit of Aten") known before the fifth year of his reign as Amenhotep IV (sometimes given its Greek form, Amenophis IV, and meaning Amun is Satisfied), was a Pharaoh of the Eighteenth dynasty of Egypt who ruled for 17 years and died perhaps in 1336 BC or 1334 BC. He is especially noted for abandoning traditional Egyptian polytheism and introducing worship centered on the Aten, which is sometimes described as monotheistic or henotheistic. An early inscription likens the Aten to the sun as compared to stars, and later official language avoids calling the Aten a god, giving the solar deity a status above mere gods.

Akhenaten tried to bring about a departure from traditional religion, yet in the end it would not be accepted. After his death, traditional religious practice was gradually restored, and when some dozen years later rulers without clear rights of succession from the Eighteenth Dynasty founded a new dynasty, they discredited Akhenaten and his immediate successors, referring to Akhenaten himself as "the enemy" in archival records.^[11]

He was all but lost from history until the discovery, in the 19th century, of Amarna, the site of Akhetaten, the city he built for the Aten. Early excavations at Amarna by Flinders Petrie sparked interest in the enigmatic pharaoh, whose tomb was unearthed in 1907 in a dig led by Edward R. Ayrton. Interest in Akhenaten increased with the discovery in the Valley of the Kings, at Luxor, of the tomb of King Tutankhamun, who has been proved to be Akhenaten's son according to DNA testing in 2010.^[12] A mummy found in KV55 in 1907 has been identified as that of Akhenaten. This elder man and Tutankhamun are related without question,^[13] but the identification of the KV55 mummy as Akhenaten has been questioned.^{[14][unreliable source?]}

Modern interest in Akhenaten and his queen, Nefertiti, comes partly from his connection with Tutankhamun, partly from the unique style and high quality of the pictorial arts he patronized, and partly from ongoing interest in the religion he attempted to establish.

continued: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amenhotep_IV

Atenism, or the Amarna heresy, refers to the religious changes associated with the eighteenth dynasty Pharaoh Amenhotep IV, better known under his adopted name, Akhenaten. In the 14th century BC Atenism was Egypt's state religion for around 20 years, before subsequent rulers returned to the traditional gods and the Pharaohs associated with Atenism were erased from Egyptian records.

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Amenhotep IV initially introduced Atenism in Year 5 of his reign (1348/1346 BC), raising the Aten to the status of supreme god, after initially permitting the continued worship of the traditional gods.^[3] To emphasise the change, Aten's name was written in the cartouche form normally reserved for Pharaohs, an innovation of Atenism. This religious reformation appears to coincide with the proclamation of a Sed festival, a sort of royal jubilee intended to reinforce the Pharaoh's divine powers of kingship. Traditionally held in the thirtieth year of the Pharaoh's reign, this possibly was a festival in honour of Amenhotep III, whom some Egyptologists think had a coregency with his son Amenhotep IV of two to twelve years.

Year 5 is believed to mark the beginning of Amenhotep IV's construction of a new capital, Akhetaten (Horizon of the Aten), at the site known today as Amarna. Evidence of this appears on three of the boundary stelae used to mark the boundaries of this new capital. At this time, Amenhotep IV officially changed his name to Akhenaten (Agreeable to Aten) as evidence of his new worship. The date given for the event has been estimated to fall around January 2 of that year. In Year 7 of his reign (1346/1344 BC ) the capital was moved from Thebes to Akhetaten (near modern Amarna), though construction of the city seems to have continued for two more years. In shifting his court from the traditional ceremonial centres Akhenaten was signalling a dramatic transformation in the focus of religious and political power.

source:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atenism

One of my favorites Hollywood  "sand & sandal" epics. Whets interest in the particular historical period of 18th Dynasty Egypt.

Some of the most elegant & haunting music in film history. I prefer Alfred Newman's  to Bernard Hermann's contribution to the score but that's just me. The real question is: Where was Max Steiner...? Probably working on the soundtrack to The Caine Mutiny.

The Eighteenth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty XVIII)^[1] (c. 1550–c. 1292 BC) is perhaps the best known of all the dynasties of ancient Egypt. As well as boasting a number of Egypt's most famous pharaohs, it included Tutankhamun, the finding of whose tomb by Howard Carter in 1922 was a sensational archaeological discovery despite its having been twice disturbed by tomb robbers. The dynasty is sometimes known as the Thutmosid Dynasty because of the four pharaohs named Thutmosis (English: Thoth child).

As well as Tutankhamen, famous pharaohs of Dynasty XVIII include Hatshepsut (1479 BC–1458 BC), longest-reigning queen-pharaoh of an indigenous dynasty, and Akhenaten (1353–1336 BC/1351–1334 BC), the "heretic pharaoh", with his queen, Nefertiti.

Dynasty XVIII is often combined with Dynasties XIX and XX to form the New Kingdom period of ancient Egyptian history.

For more information on the subject see:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighteenth_Dynasty_of_Egypt

Moses and Monotheism (in German Der Mann Moses und die monotheistische Religion) is a 1937 book by Sigmund Freud, published in English translation in 1939. In it Freud hypothesizes that Moses was not Jewish, but actually born into Ancient Egyptian nobility and was perhaps a follower of Akhenaten, an ancient Egyptian monotheist, or perhaps Akhenaten himself. The book consists of three parts and is an extension of Freud's work on psychoanalytic theory as a means of generating hypotheses about historical events. Freud had similarly employed psychoanalytic theory to history in his much earlier work, Totem and Taboo. As well as in his ever-expanding library on the subject, Freud's interest in Egypt manifested itself in an impressive collection of ancient Egyptian artefacts. A selection of the smaller bronzes was permanently on display on his desk both in Vienna and London.

In Moses and Monotheism, Freud contradicts the Biblical story of Moses with his own retelling of events claiming that Moses only led his close followers into freedom during an unstable period in Egyptian history after Akhenaten and that they subsequently killed Moses in rebellion and later combined with another monotheistic tribe in Midian based on a volcanic God. Freud explains that years after the murder of Moses, the rebels regretted their action thus forming the concept of the Messiah as a hope for the return of Moses as the Savior of the Israelites. Freud said that the guilt from the murder of Moses is inherited through the generations; this guilt then drives the Jews to religion to make them feel better.

See also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_and_Monotheism

Then there's the great similarity between the  Hymn to the Aton purportedly written by the monotheistic Pharaoh Akhenaten himself during the Amarna Period & biblical Psalm 104. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Hymn_to_the_Aten ; Also: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psalm_104

A very big subject indeed. As you can well see. With important  implications for an accurate rendering of ancient middle eastern history & for the future of religion.

Sorry to bring it up again but the Love of Akhenaten for his Queen Nefertiti is evident in all the archeological evidence. He venerated his wife as much as The Aten. Same thing...?  In the end & after the end, that's all there is. At least that's the way I look at it...