The Braveheart of its time, this is a fictional retelling of the Crusades that doubles as an allegory for Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Saladin was the most expensive, most lavish Arab production of its time; so expensive in fact that it bankrupted its producer. Chahine’s only movie with a fusha (old Arabic) dialogue, this would become Chahine’s biggest, most elaborate action film; a rousing historical epic that remains unsurpassed in both its scope and ambitiously mad vision. It would also show Chahine’s love for period drama, a genre he would return to later on.