Sharif means Noble in Arabic, but around the world means Magic to give life to Characters

The Peace of God to all that belong to the LIght,
Dear Readers,

He was not an ordinary man, but a Legend, the Pharaoh of the Movies world although he never allow fame tempt him to fall in arrogance, to the contrary his personality was always sympathetic and relaxed.

His characterizations are all iconic each one represent a Standard for the Film History. As an Actor was a Giant, The Egyptian Omar Sharif who died today July 10th 2015 was a unique figure.

His magic talent to go into any character and live it with an intensity never seen before in the screen made him possible to give life to so different figures like:

Dr Zhivago, Genghis Khan, Archduke Rudolf at Mayerling, Sherif Ali in Laurence of Arabia, Che Guevara,
Koda Dad in the far Pavillons, Prince Feodor Romodanovsky in Peter the Great, Czar Nicholas II in Anastasia, Razumovsky in Catherine the Great, Khalil Gibran, Monsieur Ibrahim , Saint Peter, Sheikh Riyadh in Hidalgo, among many others.

www.dailymail.co.uk...

Eternal peace to this noble man, that is the meaning of his surname in Arabic, that showed to the world that there is no bad Characters for a talented Actor.

www.bbc.com...

He taught us, in the master work he did to resurrect interesting leading characters of the past, that any leader has a human side and that beyond all the dark legends or negative political propaganda all share the gift of Charisma and were great interpreters of their time and cultural context.

www.theguardian.com...

Sharif showed with his characterizations that all cultures has a valid side , as part of the diversity of this world, that civilization has not only one path or way to be
expressed.

www.nbcnews.com...

Sharif is an archetype of the Stanislavsky golden rule of acting: to live the role until the most intimate fibers of the soul, the actor must compromise himself with all his feelings and emotions with the character he is giving life.

www.npr.org...

I am sure Omar Sharif suffered a lot along the last years to see his Fatherland challenged by the political turmoil and the menace of a possible civil war. I think he was also pretty sensible with respect to the confrontation between Russia , Europe and US for Ukraine, he was strongly attached to all those three cultures, that he genuinely tried to understand along his professional career, from his perspective of a middle east man.

www.aljazeera.com...

No body more than him was perhaps able to understand better the complexity of the soul of Egypt, thanks to his fine skill to go deep into the power and wisdom that exist on tradition, and his great ability to feel the human condition.

I hope his death serve to many to remember the values of mutual respect and love for peace that Sharif expressed along his work, and help to heal the great tensions that right now exist in between different cultures that he respected all a lot, and portrayed with immense love and devotion as no body else before.

His career plus his domain of different languages allow him to experience a unique perspective of humanity, he was one of the few that were able to cross easily the barriers in between civilizations, there were no borders for his talent, he was actually a citizen of the world although he never forgot his Egyptian roots.

time.com...

Of course the thread is open to whoever feels compelled to express also a respect for this Legend of the film Arts and a great Man and remember his many outstanding roles in the Movie History, as well as his human virtues and personality.

Thanks

The Angel of Lightness

I always enjoyed reading his column about the card game bridge in the newspaper. Sharif was a man of many talents.

a reply to: The angel of light

It's sad in so many ways-actors like Omar Sharif and Christopher Lee are the reason why people still flock to the cinema, and time is slowly creeping up on the old guard.

We will never see these pioneers again, and there are no more legends in the making as far as I can see.

a reply to: Pillywiggin

Yes Dear Pillywiggin, Mr Omar Sharif was not great for the roles he interpreted in the screen, the roles became great due to the human that was in behind them, he was a man of a very rich personality.

Thanks for your comment,

The Angel of Lightness

a reply to: Thecakeisalie

Well Dear Thecakeisalie,

I understand what you are feeling, right now technology is trying to displace the acting work in almost everywhere in the film industry, there is also an abuse of the action.

In the golden age of Hollywood acting and script writing were even more important that special effects, now it is the contrary, and violence or sex were just the correct amount to give context to the story, now violence and sex are the story. We have gradually fell in an addictive concept of entertainment, there is no more space for joy of feelings but just for strong emotions.

Nevertheless, there is something I don't agree with you, people like Christopher Lee or Omar Sharif will remain alive as far as civilization continue in this planet, they can be physical dead but they continue living thorough their work that will continue being appreciated for future generations.

Thanks,

The Angel of Lightness

RIP Omar Sharif. I first saw the films Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago as a kid in the 1990's. IMO in the film Doctor Zhivago he is the difference between disliking the character of Zhivago and embracing him. The film would have flopped if movie goers didn't embrace his portrayal of Zhivago.

I first saw Lawrence of Arabia on Video or TV because of my keen interest in WW1. From the first time I saw the film I was enchanted. Sure the film isn't historically inaccurate. Yet in a rare case for me I have always forgiven the inaccuracy's because of the high quality of the cast and film making.

Before I depart from my own personal thoughts I must mention David Lean. Lean directed the films Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago among other noteworthy films. Lean's film making does belong in another era. Epic wide screen shots of scenery are outstanding to watch while adding on to the length of his films. No CGI was around Doctor Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia were filmed. Anybody who has seen Lawrence of Arabia will come appreciate this point.

originally posted by: Thecakeisalie
We will never see these pioneers again, and there are no more legends in the making as far as I can see.

I agree. CGI and the Hollywood marketing machine has replaced good film making. I dread to think the kind of terrible and formulaic .movie ideas a would be Omar Sharif would be handed in the present day.