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The Loves of Pharaoh: Ernst Lubitsch early historical epic (photo: Emil Jannings [center] in The Loves of Pharaoh) Ernst Lubitsch’s The Loves of Pharaoh (1922) exists only in a truncated version, with some stills and title cards inserted into the lost footage. Lubitsch’s early epic was screened at the 2012 San Francisco Silent Film Festival. The film tells the familiar story of the lustful, evil King Amenes (Emil Jannings), Pharaoh of Egypt, and his unrequited love for the Greek slave girl Theonis (Dagny Servaes), who loves the gallant Ramphis (Harry Liedtke), who, for his part, is being kept prisoner in a rock quarry. Pharaoh Amenes makes Theonis his Queen, but she manages to avoid getting in bed with him. Then those pesky Ethiopians want their Queen / Slave for their own and invade Egypt. Needless to say, Ramphis escapes to claim Theonis. The Loves of Pharaoh‘s tale of treachery and...

Thought lost for eighty years Ernst Lubitsch’s silent epic The Loves of Pharaoh, originally released in 1922, is now playing as part of the wonderful ‘Treasures’ strand in this year’s London Film Festival. Compiled from multiple prints the film has undergone an impressive restoration by the Bundesarchiv, The Munich Film Museum and George Eastman House, including the addition of stills and text to fill in for scenes that are still missing. These do not, thankfully, detract too much from a fluid viewing experience and are certainly essential in fully appreciating the story on screen. Work has also been done to restore the film’s original tints, which for the most part follow a stylistic logic, and the original score by Eduard Kunneke has been re-recorded and provides a rousing accompaniment to this rather bombastic affair.

It is obvious when watching The Loves of the Pharaoh that a lot of...