Original subtitles

(dramatic music)

- I beseech the many gods.

Oh, help us.

Protect the one I love

and stay the evil forces who would keep us apart.

(gentle instrumental music)

- [Narrator] It was told in the time of the pharaohs

that Egypt was to be ruled by a great queen

and the image of her exquisite youth and beauty

would remain forever on earth.

The night began in deceptive quiet in Thebes

and along the banks of the river Nile.

On this night, two lovers planned to meet.

A meeting that would affect their destiny

and the destiny of Egypt.

(insects chirping)

(water splashing)

- You might have been born an owl, Tenet.

Will you go to your bed?

It's so late.

- I am not sleepy.

- Your night wanderings will be your undoing.

These walls have eyes and ears.

Suppose the high priest hears of what you're doing?

Suppose the guards or your tutor report to him?

- Priests, guards, tutors, high walls.

Days and nights marked out with frightful precision.

I'm sick of it all, Penaba.

- Quiet! - I wanna be free.

Free to come and go like any other girl.

- But you are not like any other girl.

I do understand, child,

but please, please be careful.

(moving instrumental music)

- Oh, you're drowned.

If the guards don't kill you, the night cold will.

- This is the last time.

I have the boat.

We can reach the sea and be out of Egypt.

- Oh Tumos, I've dreamed of this moment

and now that it's at hand I'm sick with fear.

If you're caught you'll surely be killed, Tumos.

- If I were to be separated from you.

I should prefer to die.

- There are powerful forces set against any plan of ours.

- Then we must get away while we can.

(dramatic music)

I'll get the boat.

(Tenet screaming)

- Run, Tumos, they will not harm me!

(guards shouting)

- [Guard] There he is!

After him!

(spear bangs)

(guards shouting)

(water splashing)

- [Guard] Stop him!

- He's beyond our range

but not beyond the range of the crocodiles.

Leave him to them.

(somber music)

(singing in foreign language)

(gong clangs)

- Child, do you know why you have been brought here?

- I suspect the reason, Excellency,

but I intended no sacrilege.

- You met in secret with a young man.

You proclaimed your love for him.

The gods demand punishment.

However your youth and special position

command a degree of mercy.

- But he is young, too.

What of him?

- The boy, oh yes.

The sacred laws are clear.

The penalty for heresy, sacrilege, willful disobedience

is the same, death.

(chisels scraping)

- When will you let me pose for you?

- Dancers are not my specialty.

- But I would never tire.

I could stand for you by the hour, by the day.

- It would take more than a day to capture you

in stone, my little desert gypsy. (chuckles)

- It's plain you know your subject well.

- Well I should.

My father was the prince's fencing master

when we were both old enough to lift a hilt.

- Yes, yes.

But familiarity with the subject may not always be an asset.

It's possible you portray Amenophis too accurately.

- Accurately?

- The eyes.

You know what the gossips say.

The prince is cursed with madness.

- The prince is my friend.

I depict him as I find him.

- There is a restlessness in every line of that work.

- There's a restlessness in the whole of Egypt.

- And it's dangerous.

- Oh that's nothing, Master, just a scratch.

- I want to talk to you.

Come to my rooms.

I'm sure she's beautiful. - Hmm?

- And no doubt, she's worth a hundred such wounds as that.

(chuckles)

Who is she?

- Well, all I know about her is that she called Tenet

and since she was a child

she's been groomed for the temple.

- Then isn't it obvious that powerful

influences control her?

Far too powerful for a young man like you.

- I love her and she loves me.

- Well, if you must pit yourself against a high priest

there is only one man that can help you.

The Pharaoh.

Go to his son, Prince Amenophis, he's your friend.

He can speak to his father.

- But Amenophis is, Amenophis is in the desert.

He's leading his army against the Chaldeans.

- Find him.

You don't seem to realize that your life is in danger.

And if your Tenet is ordained, no power on earth

not even the Pharaoh himself

can set aside the sacred rites.

- No, Merith, no, I go alone.

- It would be better if you took me with you.

The desert is my home, I know the way.

- You stay here.

- A thousand trickeries lie before you.

- I must face them alone.

- Tumos.

There is a well half a night's ride from the old gate.

(doors banging)

- Stop, what do you want?

You've no right to break into this house.

- We've come for the sculptor named Tumos.

- He's not here, we haven't seen the man.

- The crocodiles in the river may have got him.

- Search the house.

(door banging)

- He's gone.

(dramatic music)

- Leave him.

The night will pass, have faith.

(whip snapping)

No, have pity, he's not an animal.

He's a human being as you are.

- Look here old man, you must have great faith

in that one god you preach about.

What's his name?

- Aten. - Why not appeal to him?

He'll care for their wounds.

- He succors our souls.

I pray he'll have mercy on yours.

- Mercy on me?

Am I in the need of the mercy of a mythical one god?

And has one god the power to deflect the point of my dagger

from your scrawny old neck?

(dramatic music) (men shouting)

- Attention all of you!

What sort of control do you exercise

that causes such a tempest here?

- My prince, these captives have become unbearable.

They're a burden to our army.

- What would you do with them?

- Stake them here when we march.

Let the sands bury them where they stand.

- Your Highness, you have defeated brave

and honorable soldiers, they deserve the consideration--

- Heresy this man preaches.

Give me the right to act in your behalf, my prince.

Say the word, sire.

- The killing of these defenseless men

will be a brutal act of cowardice

and a confession of weakness

on the part of the future ruler of Egypt.

- You plead for the lives of these men?

What do you ask for yourself?

- Nothing.

- And you, have you no fear for yourself?

- You can destroy my body, yes,

but my true destiny rests in the hands

of a power greater than all the laws of Egypt,

in the hands of Aten, the only true god.

- Your god gave you defeat.

Our gods give us victory.

- There is no god but Aten, the sun god.

All other gods are false.

- Enough!

(Seper thuds)

- [Amenophis] Nagor!

- I will assert my right.

Not even the commander of the armies

has the right to shield a heretic.

- [Amenophis] Nagor!

(dramatic music)

- Come on, brave one.

Let's test your courage with someone your own age.

- Lower your weapons!

Tumos! (laughing)

Tumos, my foolish friend.

You've challenged the bloodiest anchor in my ranks, eh?

What brings you to the desert?

- I've come to enlist your aid.

- Well, come in and tell me about it.

Remember, Nagor, I hold you responsible

for the lives of these prisoners.

Now come in, you must be tired and hungry.

- What will you do with him?

Will you not punish him?

- In religious matters I'm without complete authority.

If I were to punish every act of insubordination

I'd be a commander without an army.

- There was a time when you'd have had his head

for a lesser offense.

Amenophis, you've changed.

- Do you think so?

Well times change, Tumos, and so do men.

(laughs) Come in.

Go gaze at the stars for a while.

I have a guest. (laughs)

Make yourself comfortable, my friend.

Are you as thirsty as always? (laughing)

Now then Tumos, you said you came to ask my help.

Well if you're in debt, your problem's solved.

My purse is wide open.

- No, I'm not in debt, but I do need your help.

- It's pledged.

What's your problem?

- I've, I've fallen in love.

- Wonderful.

Do I know her?

- No, I don't think so.

Her name is Tenet.

- Tenet?

No, I'm sure I don't know anyone by that name.

You're going to be married I suppose.

- Amenophis, that depends on you.

- Me?

- Unfortunately there's a great obstacle

that stands in our path.

- Tell me, we'll break it down.

- Tenet is under the protection of the high priest.

I believe it's her destiny to be ordained a priestess.

- What a waste of beauty.

- You must help us.

- I want to, surely my friend,

but only the Pharaoh has the power

to oppose the high priest.

- But surely you can intercede with your father.

- Look at my position, Tumos.

I'm far from Thebes, my father's old and sick.

All my communications to him pass through the hands

of the high priest.

Do you think Benakon would agree if I petition

in your behalf?

- Amenophis, you are our last hope.

- I want to help, I want to.

(armor thudding)

Perhaps, perhaps when I return with my army into Thebes.

- But then it'll be too late

for me and for Tenet.

Your failure to act at once dooms us.

Already Benakon has condemned me to death.

- Death?

My friend, you torture me.

The hour is late, my brain won't function.

We must rest.

Sleep Tumos, sleep.

We'll talk again when the sun rises.

Don't despair.

A new day wears a new complexion.

Sleep Tumos, sleep.

- [Penaba] Tenet, what are you doing

out of bed at this late hour?

- My sleep is lost, my mind wanders.

- Do you want me to be nursing an invalid?

The cold air will touch your bones.

(gentle music)

- The sun has gone down five times since he left.

- And it may go down five times more before you meet again.

Get back to bed or you'll be meeting him

with a wet, red nose.

Don't throw the rest of the night away, sleep.

- The caravans report sand storms over the desert.

- Yes, and he's sure to come through with no loss.

(wind howling)

(dramatic music)

(men grunting)

- Amenophis, it is Tumos.

It is I, Tumos.

Amenophis, it's your friend, Tumos.

- Tumos.

What happened?

Tumos, are you all right?

- Yes, yes I'm all right.

- Forgive me, my friend.

I might have killed you.

- It's all right.

It must have been a bad dream.

- Dream?

Dream, dream.

Is there anything but bad dreams?

Why do my gods twist my mind?

why do they distort my days

and foul my nights with the suffocating stench

of a thousand cadavers fallen on the field of battle?

Why do they drive me to kill, to kill, to kill

when all I want is peace?

- You need to rest.

You need to sleep.

- Sleep? (laughs)

Sleep, sleep is the spit on which

the evil gods roast the prince.

By heritage and the royal tradition

I'm their favorite son on earth

but yet they torture me beyond my endurance.

- [Seper] And lifting up their hands

to heaven in your praise.

The beasts of the fields graze at peace,

pasture and woodland flourish.

The birds of the air fly high in the heavens

and move their wings in your praise.

- But what of him?

What is the true source of his courage, is it tranquility?

- Whose courage?

- That Chaldean priest.

He fears nothing.

He has one god and he's comforted.

He's out there in the cold night

yet he has an inner warmth that astounds me.

- And are born again.

You shine from afar but your rays are upon the earth.

They touch the face of every man.

You move high across heaven

but your steps count the day on earth.

Hail Amenophis, ruler of Egypt.

- What nonsense are you suggesting, old man?

My father rules Egypt.

- Before the sun twice warms these sands

you will be proclaimed Pharaoh.

- If your prophecy is realized

you will ride with me to Thebes a free man.

- They're palace guards.

It looks like General Mareb.

- Hail Pharaoh, King of Egypt.

It is my solemn duty to report that your father the Pharaoh

has passed to the ranks of Egypt's immortals.

(dramatic music)

- How did my father die?

Was he in pain?

- He died as he lived, my Pharaoh,

in peace and with fortitude.

- I made a promise, now it's time to keep it.

- I cannot accept freedom for me alone.

- Then accept it also for your men.

(men cheering)

- [Soldier] Hail Pharaoh!

- I prefer tears for my father than cheers for me.

Mareb, you will select enough men to form an escort

for my return to Thebes.

- [Mareb] When will my Pharaoh leave?

- With the second sunrise. - The escort will be ready.

- I'm turning my command of the desert troops

over to you, Mareb. - I'm honored, Majesty.

- Your Majesty.

- Has my new station already changed my face

in the eyes of an old friend?

- Amenophis.

- Now and always.

You were going to ask something.

- I was going to tell you something.

I share your grief.

- Oh, thank you my friend.

I recall you have a sorrow of your own, it's over now.

You may return to Thebes with the palace guards

and you will carry with you the mandate of a new Pharaoh

freeing you from interference

in the pursuit of a girl you love.

- Amenophis, that you should have a thought

for me in this moment, thank you.

(hooves clomping)

Where is your commander?

(moving instrumental music)

- Oh Tumos, I nearly died without you.

- Let me look at you.

- Oh, but come, come tell me what has happened.

What news have you?

Tell me everything.

- This document is notable as the first official order

of the new Pharaoh.

It means that we're free, free.

Now no one can touch us.

- Not even the high priest.

- Not even Benakon. - Oh!

Come, let us make plans, wild, wonderful plans.

- There's time enough for that.

- What do you mean?

- 70 days, the traditional mourning for the dead Pharaoh.

We'll have to suffer it out.

- Somehow I'll survive, 70 days of joyous torture,

and then the great moment.

- Amenophis has promised to give our wedding feast.

- I'll burst with joy.

Just think, me, Tenet,

wife of the famous young sculptor Tumos,

mother of his children, his many children.

(Tumos laughing)

- Wife.

Wonderfully modest little wife.

Oh, master, please.

- I can't think what she sees in you.

You're so ugly.

(Tumos laughing)

- Master, I owe you a lot for all that you've done for us

and for making today possible.

- Yes, yes but I'm the one who's anxious to meet her.

I'm ready. - Oh.

- Come on.

(dramatic music)

- With this consecrated sword,

the mandate of the great god Amun shall be executed.

(dramatic music)

With the shedding of this drop of blood

Tenet is a name forgotten, Tenet is no more.

In her place rises a pure chaste soul

fit for the destiny for which she has been prepared.

From this day forth she shall be known as Nefertiti.

Rise, Nefertiti.

- They've taken her.

- Calm yourself.

The Pharaoh will be back soon.

He'll help you to find her.

- I'll not wait.

I'll go to the desert.

I'll show the Pharaoh how his authority

is flouted in Thebes.

He'll have every inch of Egypt searched.

- Get him! - Escape Tumos!

(Tums shrieks)

(dramatic music)

- Come, my child.

You must not tremble so.

You should rejoice.

You are the most fortunate girl in all Egypt.

- I do not understand these strange rites.

Am I now a priestess?

- No, my child.

Your station is far loftier.

You are now the betrothed of the realm,

the future bride of Egypt.

- Betrothed?

- You will be married to Amenophis immediately

upon his return from the desert.

- But this is not possible.

- Egypt will have a new Pharaoh and a new queen.

- But Amenophis is Tumos's friend.

He would never permit anything so dishonorable.

He gave his word.

- The needs of the state are never dishonorable.

- But Tumos has the Pharaoh's mandate.

You dare ignore this?

- I have a prior mandate.

Binding even upon the new Pharaoh.

A mandate from the god Amun.

Sanctioned by the old Pharaoh before he died

and subscribed to by your father.

(somber string music)

- But this is your signet, your seal.

- There's no longer any reason for secrecy between us.

I can tell you now.

I am your father.

- Why have you waited so long to tell me this?

- It was better so, my daughter.

The intricacies of church and state are not easily

comprehended by the young, some day you will thank me.

(majestic music)

(crowd shouting)

- People of Thebes, as your new Pharaoh

I now affirm my solemn promise to dedicate myself,

as did my great father, to the pursuit of your progress,

your happiness and your prosperity.

(crowd cheering)

- Does Amenophis know that I am the girl

he granted Tumos permission to marry?

- You are not the same girl.

Tenet is dead.

- I'll inform Amenophis of this plot to violate his word,

to dishonor his friend.

- That would give you no comfort.

On the contrary it would surely seal the doom

of your young friend.

- Are you saying that you'd have Tumos killed if I speak?

- His life is in your hands, my daughter.

Your silence is his salvation.

(somber music)

- I must have your solemn promise

that no harm will come to Tumos.

- Have faith, my daughter.

(claps)

Come now, you must try to seem animated before the Pharaoh.

- Have we seen the end of the day's appointments?

My head is splitting.

- Your high priest has a most important presentation

to make, but first I would like to register

the objections of our priesthood

to the presence of an alien priest

so close to the throne of Egypt.

- The Pharaoh is aware that few normal prerogatives

will be left to him while he occupies the throne

but he retains the right to think for himself

in purely personal matters.

If I choose to be influenced by the philosophy

of the one god at some future time, that is my concern.

You said you have a presentation to make.

- I have here a proclamation transmitted through

the priesthood by the god Amun

designating the maiden chosen to sit beside

the new Pharaoh on the throne of Egypt.

(gentle instrumental music)

(singing in foreign language)

(exotic music)

- Tumos, Tumos.

- Master.

Master!

- Tumos, stand back, stand back, stand back!

(whacking)

(energetic music)

(people shouting)

- Master, oh, Master.

- At last, Tumos.

Come, we have no time.

Get to the well at Rhada.

Wait for me there.

Go as fast as you can.

Hurry.

(energetic music) (people clapping)

(water splattering)

(foreboding music)

(horse neighing)

(lion roaring)

(dramatic music)

(horse neighing)

(lion roaring)

(Tumos grunts)

(horse neighs)

(lion roaring)

(arrow thwacks)

- Tumos!

Tumos!

Answer me, please answer me.

- Is he alive?

- I don't know.

I'm afraid.

(soft, exotic music)

(people laughing)

- To Nefertiti, the most beautiful queen

ever to grace the throne of Egypt.

(people chattering)

- To the Queen. - Lovely Queen.

- No, no keep your seats.

There are faces here that are strange to me.

Where is the face of my dear friend, Tumos?

Dakim.

Why was my friend not at the temple?

Why is he not here for my wedding feast?

- His name, my Pharaoh, was struck from the guest list.

- By who's order?

- By my order, my Pharaoh. - Why?

- I regret that my Pharaoh poses

such a question at this time.

I had hoped to avoid the introduction

of a sad note on this happy occasion.

Tumos is dead.

(somber music)

- How did it happen?

- He was held at a desert post as punishment

for an impulsive indiscretion.

I ordered his release but he escaped.

A search party found his tunic sleeve,

it was blood stained.

Apparently he'd been attacked by some wild beast.

That is the information I have received, my Pharaoh.

(people murmuring)

- You must go to bed.

- I cannot.

Sleep is impossible until I know he is safe.

(gentle string music)

- What satisfaction does the Queen get in humiliating

her husband and insulting the Pharaoh?

- I have no desire to hurt your feelings.

- But you have.

I've stared into the blank face of the moon

three nights while you languish here alone.

- I have not been well.

- You make a ravishing invalid.

Much too healthy to be neglected.

- You must give me time, time to adjust.

- You're frightened.

Or is this merely part

of the eternal game of womanly evasion?

- I am frightened.

I have never been alone with a man like this.

- We're not alone now, my love.

The minds of all the people of Egypt are centered here

in the hopes of an heir to the throne, you know that.

- Oh, I cannot!

Oh, I beg you, do not press me.

I have no desire to hurt you.

- How considerate.

Do you think your evasions can bring me pleasure?

Is there a greater prize besides a throne

a Pharaoh must bestow on a queen for her favors?

- I would gladly vacate the throne

for someone more submissive, I never wanted it.

- We have an obligation to our people.

(somber instrumental music)

- If you insist on the hard cold discharge of a contract

then that is what it will be.

The last cospasm of a passion that is dead.

If that will satisfy your pride, take it.

I know I've been cruel.

- Life is cruel.

To me you are the beautiful instrument

that sharpens the diabolical humor of the gods.

(chisel tapping)

- Look, it's Tumos.

- Oh Master, you promised you'd go to Amenophis.

- Yes, I tried. - You did, didn't you?

- Well, you know the Pharaoh is not easy to reach

when a high priest like Benakon blocks the way.

- But what's the news of Tenet?

What's happened to her?

I must know, where is she?

- Oh, forget everything for the present

and concentrate on getting well.

- What's that noise outside?

- Oh, another of these long monotonous series

of state displays.

(people shouting)

- Long live the Queen! - Long live the Queen!

- Long live-- - The Queen?

Has Amenophis already taken a bride?

Then I must see.

- Tumos.

(dramatic music)

(people shouting)

- Tenet!

Tenet!

- No!

Come!

- You lied to the Pharaoh, you lied to me.

- I believed the young man was dead

but apparently my informants were impulsive

and their conclusions faulty.

- But you were eager, anxious to believe.

- I confess I regarded such a possibility

as the elimination of a dangerous impediment

in your present exalted position.

- I cannot admire such cold disregard

for my personal feelings.

(Tumos laughing)

- What are you thinking about?

The Queen?

- The distance between us now

is deserts, oceans, centuries.

Come drink with me.

To the deserts, the oceans, and the centuries.

Let us celebrate together, you and I.

- Together, how I've dreamed of it.

- We'll laugh at the past. (laughing)

And we'll take all that the future has to give.

Come Merith to us, to you and to me.

(somber music)

- Come on, it's late.

Put them on.

Come on, come on.

You've much work to do.

- I know.

Behold, Master, a new Tumos.

Without memory and without sentiment,

blown by the wind wherever chance dictates.

- Well, chance has dictated a royal commission.

- A royal commission for me?

- Yes, for you.

You've been selected to do the statue,

the statue of the Queen.

Yes, it's true.

(gentle music)

- Tenet.

But why me?

Why not you?

You're the master.

- No, the commission is yours.

Your selection is a tribute to me.

I'm more than satisfied.

- But who selected me?

- Seper, the new priest.

He suggested the statue, the Queen named the artist,

and the Pharaoh readily agreed.

- Well, I don't know that I can accept.

- Oh you can't refuse, it's a royal command.

Don't you see what the Queen is trying to do for you?

- Yes, balm for a disturbed conscious.

- For whatever reason you may think,

don't you realize what it would mean to you?

It would immediately lift you up to the heights

of the master sculptors of Egypt

and your future will be assured.

- Why not?

Why shouldn't I be as she is, an opportunist!

Yes, I'll do it.

I'll take advantage of this.

(soft instrumental music)

Where's the other one?

- Everything you brought is over there.

You are nervous.

- Come on, sit over here.

- You are nervous because the Queen will soon be here.

- The Queen is no different from any other subject

I've ever done.

Look over there.

Yes, the light is good, very good.

My Queen.

- Amenophis, have you nothing to say to your old friend?

- My old friend?

Tumos.

Tumos.

But someone told me that you were...

Ah, you must forgive me,

my friend, I'm not quite well.

Too many pressures, you know.

All the ceremonies drain my energies.

I'm so happy to see you again.

You look well.

- And you, you seem--

- No, no, no compliments.

I see my face in every piece of silver in the palace.

I don't like what I see, I don't.

Ah, so you are going to make a statue of my bride.

Well, don't let me delay the work.

Will I disturb if I watch?

- It would be an honor. - Please begin.

- If it would please my Queen to sit here.

If the Queen will direct her gaze toward,

toward my assistant, then we can begin.

- It seems to me you came to the desert

during my very last campaign to enlist my aid for,

what was it?

- I came to ask your help, in my efforts to marry

the girl that I loved.

- [Amenophis] And I gave it?

Of course I must have.

- [Tumos] It was your first official order as Pharaoh.

- So it was.

You told me she was very pretty, I remember.

- She was beautiful, so I thought.

(soft string music)

But beauty is not the quality that we artists depict,

it lies deeper, when it's real.

Deeper than what is captured by the hammer and chisel

or by the eye of a too trusting lover.

My Queen.

- So the marriage didn't take place?

- No, it didn't take place.

- Did you change your mind or did she?

- As I remember, it was she.

- Unfortunate.

And what happened?

- Nothing, I was just a diversion for the moment

but time changes things for everyone.

New attitudes, new opportunities.

- I'm afraid I'm,

I'm not up to this ordeal this morning.

I'm tired.

After I rest perhaps.

- It's true.

Broken romances are saddening.

- Why do I have her pose at all?

I know every shadow, every curve of her face.

I could mold it from memory a thousand times.

- She still loves you.

I could see it in her eyes.

And I hate her for it.

I could kill her.

- Merith. - No.

I want to go away, back to my people in the desert.

Where I can forget everything about Thebes.

- But you won't, will you?

- We all love the Pharaoh

but our ancient gods are supreme.

Amenophis is cursed by the gods,

he is no longer fit to rule.

You, you too will feel the wrath of the gods

if you submit without--

- The priests are very busy this morning.

There's something in the air.

- I have placed great reliance

on my relationship with the Queen,

but I must confess that my influence,

my efforts of gentle persuasion have availed me little.

The cold reality, my brothers, is that our priesthood

is faced with possible extinction.

- Does his excellency have a plan of action?

- I have.

Much as I deplore violence, an incident must be created

to bring the Pharaoh and the Queen to their senses.

(gentle music)

- With the Queen's permission.

- Perhaps the Queen would prefer to end today's session.

- Oh Tumos, Tumos, why do you hate me so?

I had no control over what happened.

- You have everything that an ambitious girl would want.

As for me, there is my work.

- I've nothing that I want.

I've never stopped loving you for an instant.

- But you're the Queen.

You're married with my friend.

- There is no marriage.

I have not deceived him,

but I am not a wife to Amenophis.

- What are you saying?

There's a legal bond between you.

- I will never stop loving you as long as I live.

Oh please, please Tumos try to understand, I...

At least don't hate me, I can't bear it.

Amenophis will be here soon, to view the finished work.

- Yes, it's finished.

It's the end of my work here.

Tenet I, I must leave.

I must go away.

- Oh, but what are you saying?

- I must go out of Egypt.

- Oh no, no I will never let you go.

I will never let you go.

- Oh, this is madness.

If there were one witness, an eye in the wall,

you know what could happen to you.

Now it is you who are in danger and I cannot bear it.

- I will not listen to this.

Oh, there must be something we can do.

- I must leave.

For you.

(somber string music)

Tomorrow at dawn I will visit the temple

to choose a place for your statue before I leave.

(dramatic music)

(singing in foreign language)

- Tumos.

- You shouldn't have come here.

You'll be recognized.

If Amenophis should know.

- Poor Amenophis, he knows little of what transpires

beyond his own inner world.

- It's dangerous.

- The risk I take is the measure of how desperately

I wanted to see you, once more.

- Before you Aten, you, oh living star,

wellspring of life, shadows take flight

and men come forth rejoicing

and lifting up their hands to heaven in your praise.

Light the world and warm the hearts of your children

oh omnipotent sun god.

(arrow thwacks) (Seper shrieks)

(people screaming)

(dramatic music)

- How did you get in here? - From the crypt.

There's a passage through the wall of gardens.

(dramatic music)

(people screaming)

(weapons clanging)

(woman screams)

(gentle music)

Are you all right?

- I have no wounds.

- I've never been so frightened.

- I thought that that would be our last moment

but I was happy that we should spend it together.

(hooves clomping)

- Come, the palace is already in alarm.

You must go.

Farewell, Tumos.

- Tenet, dark days lie ahead.

That incident in the temple was only a prelude.

There is worse to come.

And now without Seper,

Amenophis will lose his grip on the throne.

Darling, why don't we run away out of Egypt, together,

to where we can live as we had planned?

- It's a lovely dream, my dearest,

but how could it be fulfilled honorably?

- You are not bound in your heart to the throne

or to the Pharaoh, there is no just claim upon you.

- I will take any risk as long as I can be with you.

(dramatic music)

(singing in foreign language)

(wind howling)

- I express the sentiments of my priesthood

in deploring the tragic excess

that cost the lives of so many worshipers here.

But I would be remiss in my duty to the throne

if I failed to mention the significance of this spontaneous

outburst on the part of the people of Thebes.

- You have brutally martyred a gentle, saintly man

who was so great a comfort to me

and in his name, in the name of my beloved Seper,

I now proclaim the worship of one god as the new religion.

I decree the destruction of all idols

and all temples dedicated to the false gods.

I declare your offices vacated

and your present duties forever ended.

You will prepare to leave the city.

- My Pharaoh, may I remind you that...

- If I were to exercise the power vested in the Pharaoh

I would now condemn you to death.

But you who have plotted against the one god,

a god opposed to violence and blood,

a god of love and mercy,

you will be the first in my court

to receive the benefits of his teachings.

- [Soldier] The days roll swiftly by

and if we're to strike, it should be soon.

- [Benakon] The gods have not deserted us

and the moment of our revenge is not far off.

- [Soldier] It's not enough to bid us wait though,

my commander, you must act now.

- I have spent the nights in communion with our gods

and the conclusion is a painful one, my brothers.

Amenophis and the new religion must be ruthlessly destroyed.

We must now offer ourselves for the preservation

of our sacred beliefs.

- We have one great chance to rally the people to our cause.

- The day of penitence. - Yes.

- The people will come to Thebes from all over Egypt

for their annual petitions and prayers to the god Amun.

They still fear the ancient deities.

It will be easy at that time to stir them to revolt

against the sun god.

- The best of the Egyptian army is still in the desert.

We should take advantage of their absence.

I can pledge the support of all our men here in Thebes.

- Our day is marked, my brothers.

We strike the blow for Amun and our gods.

And with their aid victory is certain.

(foreboding music)

(moving instrumental music)

- Tumos, my love, we must change our plans.

- What are you saying?

- The high priest is plotting to destroy Amenophis

and seize the throne.

Tonight I came face to face with this cold reality.

I cannot, I cannot desert Amenophis now.

- And what of our love?

- That's not changed.

I will always love you.

But Amenophis is not well.

he needs my support desperately.

Seper is gone, he has no one else.

- But what can you do?

- It is not the first time that two people

have been called upon to make the choice

between love and duty.

We must prove our love,

and I, I must prove myself a queen, nothing less.

Oh Tumos, we must forget ourselves for the moment.

I need your help.

- My help?

- Take the horses, burn the sands beneath their feet

until you reach General Mareb's army in the desert.

Tell him his army is desperately needed here in Thebes.

There's not a moment to spare.

Go now, Tumos, quickly, at once.

Please, please go.

(people clamoring)

- To the palace!

(dramatic music)

- What do you report?

- Benakon is leading his troops on a march on the palace.

- Sound the general alarm!

Call out the master guard!

(dramatic music)

- Melad, no word from the desert yet?

- No word.

- Let us hope.

- My Queen, I have distressing news.

The Pharaoh has locked himself in his chambers

and refuses to see anybody.

You must intercede, my Queen.

(dramatic music)

(people shouting)

You're in a dangerous position, my Queen.

I respectfully suggest that you withdraw.

- [Nefertiti] Never.

(dramatic music)

- [Benakon] Do you speak for Amenophis?

- I speak for all those loyal to the Pharaoh, traitor.

What do you want?

- We demand that Amenophis renounce the sun god

and return to the gods of his people.

- [Soldier] And if the Pharaoh chooses to stand mute?

- We insist upon an answer.

If not,

when the shadow of this lance crosses that line,

we attack.

- Amenophis.

Amenophis.

Do you hear me, Amenophis?

Benakon leads a march on the palace.

Your throne is threatened, you must fight to save it.

- There's no intelligence in blood shed.

It offends the one true god, Aten.

- Oh please listen to me, Amenophis.

Benakon has delivered an ultimatum,

the length of the spear's shadow marks the moment of attack.

Your generals need you.

- They need the light from the one god Aten,

we all need it.

Send for Seper, bring him to me.

- Seper?

- Yes, he will bring us a prayer from the heart of Aten.

(somber music)

- Amenophis, Seper is dead.

He was killed in the temple riots.

- Go, tell him to come at once.

Tell him I have a mandate from Aten,

to maintain the power of the throne

so that his word may triumph.

- Come with me, Amenophis,

together we will stand before the people.

When they see you their mood will change.

Come, Amenophis. - They shall not prevail!

Those foul gods battle for my soul.

They still draw from limbo those putrid cadavers

I left on the field of battle

and thrust it in my face.

They're all around me.

I can see them with my eyes closed.

There, there, there, there, there,

they're everywhere, everywhere!

Everywhere, everywhere. (sobbing)

- What does the Pharaoh say, my Queen?

- The Pharaoh has nothing to say.

- In the name of Amun, attack!

(dramatic music) (men yelling)

- It has begun,

and someone must take the command of the palace.

(arrow thwacking) (man shrieking)

(man shouting)

- Is there no word at all from the desert?

- None.

We must depend on our own scant resources.

- The palace and the person of the Pharaoh

must be defended at all costs.

(dramatic music) (men yelling)

(weapons clanking)

(people shouting)

(foreboding music)

(weapons clanging)

- Show yourself, Amenophis.

Show yourself to the people, Amenophis,

if you have the courage.

(men shouting)

(majestic music)

You must realize by now, my daughter,

that further resistance is senseless.

You are out numbered 10 to one.

- What do you want of us?

- The immediate surrender of the palace,

and the life of Amenophis.

I warn you, my daughter.

- And I remind you, subject,

you are addressing the Queen of Egypt.

- You know that you are consigning everybody in this palace

to certain death.

- Perhaps we prefer death to the rule of your priesthood.

I've said enough, consider your own safety.

Leave the palace while you still have time.

(dramatic music)

(men yelling)

(weapons clanging)

Come with me.

We must take the Pharaoh away from the palace

to a place of safety.

- But how, my Queen?

The palace is surrounded.

- I know a way, there's a passage from the royal garden

to the temple of Aten.

Bring some guards for protection.

(dramatic music)

(Nefertiti screams)

(doors banging)

(weapons clanging)

(people screaming)

- This room is our last refuge.

My Queen, first I will defend you to the end

and then this sword will not give them the satisfaction

of torturing the Pharaoh's general.

- No, Dakim, you speak of surrender

and we must never surrender,

to anyone or anything.

(dramatic music)

(horse neighs)

(weapons clanging)

(people screaming)

(soldier shrieking)

- Stop, stop, do you hear me!

So we come to the very end, my daughter.

I offer you this last chance to save your life

and perhaps your throne.

- Your demands come too late, Benakon.

- Take him!

(dramatic music)

Have no fear.

We hold the Queen as hostage for our safety.

(men grunting)

(dramatic music)

And now, Tumos, it is your finish.

(arrow thwacks) (Benakon shrieks)

- My father, if only your ambition had been to be a father

when I needed you so much.

(Nefertiti crying)

(somber music)

- Tenet.

- Tenet.

Tenet.

How far in the past it all seems now.

- My Queen.

- Tumos, to you I owe my life and my throne.

Both will be a great burden to me.

- Tenet, no.

Nefertiti.

Now you are Egypt.

And we will remember the Tenet of yesterday.

(dramatic instrumental music)