Hours after the release of the movie "Friends.. and my dearest", Netflix's first production of Arab films, the reactions of viewers of the work varied between supporters of the film's Arabized idea from the Italian movie Perfect Stranger and others who opposed the idea of ​​cloning a foreigner, especially because of his troubled social relations And he raised the issue of homosexuality among his heroes, by presenting a homosexual character who hides the matter from his friends.

Criticisms also targeted some scenes of the film, especially its words, which were considered by many to be out of date, which is consistent with the age rating of the movie set by "Netflix", where it classified it in the "+16" category.

Unprecedented phenomenon

“Friends.. and my dearest” is the Arabic version of the Italian “completely strangers” Perfetti sconosciuti, issued in 2016, as 19 copies were produced in 19 languages ​​in just 5 years, and the twentieth version is expected to be issued during the current 2022, with Norwegian production, provided that it bears the same The name, and the same script, to become the most quoted film in the history of world cinema.

Of course, this is not strange for international and Arab cinema, as the original film is referred to in the sequences of cloned films, but the strangeness or theft lies in the films quoted without reference to the original script, which is what has happened in many Arab films since their inception.

"Friends.. and my dearest" is the Arabic version of the Italian movie "Complete Strangers" (communication sites)

Steal or quote?

The makers of "Owners.. and my dearest" are presented as the Arabized version of the movie with the largest number of global copies, with reference to the original name as a subtitle of the Arabic version, which is a clear recognition that preserves the property rights of the original text quoted from it, in which case the charge of theft is denied.

This accusation has been chasing the movie “For Zico” since its release on January 5, written by Mostafa Hamdi and directed by Peter Mimi, whose work is accompanied by a lot of controversy, but not about the film, but about “theft” or rather the quote. Without reference to the original work adapted from it despite being a famous American movie, "Little miss Sunshine" in 2006.

Theft in the time of Ismail Yassin

“For Zico” is not the first Egyptian movie to commit cinematic theft. Throughout its history, Arab cinema screens have shown many films based on international films, including the movie “Ismail Yassin Tarzan” in 1958, a completely similar version of the Italian movie “Toto Tarzan.” Which was produced about 8 years before the Egyptian movie, as the events of the movie were completely similar, and Ismail's life was similar to the Italian artist Antonio Grifo Focus, known as (Toto), who starred in a series of multiple films in his name, as happened with the Egyptian star Ismail Yassin.

The following year, "A Journey to the Moon" was released in 1959, another movie starring Ismail Yassin and Rushdi Abaza, and the script and directed by Hamada Abdel Wahab, and taken from the American movie "Abbott and Costello Go to Mars", produced in 1953.

Throughout the history of Egyptian cinema, thefts that some like to consider and call it a "Egyptianization" of world cinema continued. In 1960, the movie "The Lovers' Call" was shown, one of Youssef Chahine's rare films, a script and dialogue by Abdel Hai Adeeb and Wajih Naguib, but it is similar in its main story and scenario of its events. American "Struggle under the Sun," Duel in the Sun, 1946, by author and director King Fedor.

Leader thefts

The Egyptian star, Adel Imam, adopted the quotation of several successful international films, and re-presented them to the Arab audience, most notably “Shams Al-Zanati” adapted from the movie “The Magnificent Seven” in 1960, as stated in the beginning sequence, but no similar mention was made to the movie “Hanafi Al-Abha” in 1990 directed by Mohamed Abdel Aziz, which was adapted from the 1982 movie 48 Hours by Walter Hill, starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte.

Both films revolve around the story of a thief who breaks out of prison for 48 hours and escorts a police officer to help arrest a criminal gang.

One by One in 1984, another movie starring Adel Imam and a script adapted from one of the smartest American comedic scenarios.

His story revolves around a comic conflict between the director of one advertising company with his competitor in another advertising company.

There is no doubt that the Egyptianization of the film was clever with the trick and the name of the movie “Al Fankoush”, which has remained immortal until today, but the makers of this Egyptian movie did not mention that it was adapted from the movie “The Lover Come Back”, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1961.

"The Hamada and Toto Gang" in 1982 starring Adel Imam and Lebleba. It was written on the beginning of the film that it was a script and dialogue by Ahmed Saleh, and also directed by Mohamed Abdel Aziz, but the latter preferred for the second time to ignore writing that the film was copied from the American "Fun with Dick and Jane" Fun with Dick and Jan in 1977.

The events of the two films take place in a comic format, after the hero is fired from his job following a dispute with the owner of the company.

With the help of his wife, he begins to steal, defraud, and deceive, eventually transforming into a major businessman.

In 2005, the old movie was re-produced in a new American version of the same name, but starring Jim Carrey and Tia Leoni.

In "Prince of Darkness" in 2002, adapted from the American movie "Scent of a Woman" in 1992, their events are almost identical around a retired military hero who is blind, loves life and tries to live it as if he were sighted to the point that one of them tries to drive a car, and the other tries to drive A plane, and despite this match, the Egyptian movie did not refer to the original in any way.

The previous films are a small part of the thefts of films starring Adel Imam, as the films of the so-called “leader” need a longer report to mention his quoted films, including: “Five Door” in 1983 copied from “Irma La Douce” in 1956 and "A Warm Winter's Night" in 1981, adapted from "It Happened One Night" in 1935 and "Letter to the Governor" in 1998, based on the French film "Les Visiteurs" in 1993.

Millennium based movies

Filmmakers may have been able to quote and steal art during the last century, without reviewing anyone, but in the current century, where the world is a small village, as was common in the beginning of the century, art thefts will inevitably be subject to review and control by the public who owns new communication tools, but this does not seem to deter many From filmmakers about their successful original scripts being adapted, Egyptianised, or stolen.

Among these films, we remember the movie “Al-Turbini” in 2007, adapted from the movie “Rain Man” in 1998, starring the American actor Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise. on acquaintance.

In 2009, the movie "1000 Congratulations" was released, adapted from the movie "Groundhog Day" in 1993, which revolves around a repeated siege within the same day about a hero who is trapped within one day that repeats himself, dies and wakes up on the same day with only some details different.

Despite the quality and freshness of the comedy in the 2001 movie “The Next Statement,” the story and script are adapted from the 1994 movie “I Love Trouble. The two films revolve around a journalist and a female journalist who compete, but they are forced to cooperate together to try to uncover the details of a plot, and they fall in love at the end. the story.

In the movie "Enchanted" Bedazzled in 2000, young employee Elliot Richards suffers from his shyness and his inability to deal with women, nor to express his love for his co-worker, until he meets a demon who offers him to fulfill 7 wishes he asks for his soul, to live 7 adventures trying to reach his lover .

It is the same story that was presented by the movie “Tair Int” 9 years after the release of the American movie, produced in 2009, but “Mared Al-Kidwani” from the good jinn only offers help and does not ask for the soul of the young “Bahij” in exchange for the fulfillment of the seven wishes.

In the movie "Halwat Rouh" produced in 2014, the filmmakers not only quoted "Malina" in 2000, but also stole the design of the film's poster. All that changed in the film was changing the names and filming in an Egyptian lane instead of the Sicilian alleys and alleys in the original film.

The trio: Chico, Hisham and Fahmy

The trio, Hisham Maged, Ahmed Fahmy and Chico, have participated in many films, since their first movie "Paper Blade" in 2008, which was a simulation of the worlds of the movie "The Da Vinci Code" in 2006, but it was Egyptianized reasonably, without reference to the original movie, which he repeated The trio in other films they starred together, in 2010 the trio presented the movie "Samir, Shahir and Bahir".

It was a great success, but the filmmakers did not mention that his idea was based on the foreign movie "Back to the Future" in 1985. In the movie "Cousins" in 2012, the trio adapted the movie "The Hot Chick" in 2002, and it seems that the experience The successful movie adaptation encouraged them to quote 2006 Night at the Museum to present World War III.