The Blue Elephant

This article is about the 2014 Egyptian film. For the 2006 Thai film released as "The Blue Elephant" in the United States, see Khan Kluay.
The Blue Elephant
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMarwan Hamed
Written byAhmed Mourad
Based onThe Blue Elephant
Produced byFadi Fahim
Omar Sallam
StarringKarim Abdel Aziz
Khaled El Sawy
Nelly Karim
Mohamed Mamdouh
Dareen Haddad
Shereen Reda
Mohamed Shahin
Lebleba
CinematographyAhmed El Morsi
Edited byMohamed Attia
Music byHesham Nazih
Distributed byArabia Cinema Production & Distribution (ACPD)
Release date
  • July 28, 2014 (2014-07-28)
Running time
170 minutes
CountryEgypt
LanguageEgyptian Arabic

The Blue Elephant (Egyptian Arabic: الفيل الأزرق, romanized: Al Fil Al Azraq) is a 2014 Egyptian drama/horror/mystery film produced and directed by Marwan Hamed in Cairo, Egypt. The story was originally translated into film from a 2012 Arabic novel written by the famous Egyptian writer Ahmed Mourad, and starring Egyptian actors Karim Abdel Aziz, Khaled El Sawy and Nelly Karim. The film talks about a man called Yehia, who unwillingly comes out of isolation after five years, to resume his service in El-Abbaseya psychiatric hospital, where he is in charge of evaluating the mental health of the criminally insane. It was followed by a sequel The Blue Elephant 2 (Arabic: 2 الفيل الأزرق, translit. Al Fil Al Azraq 2) released in 2019.

According to Ahmed Mourad, writer of the Arabic novel, the book and the film hold two different endings. Director Marwan Hamed proposed a change in the closing scene of the movie to allow the film to adapt and satisfy a large mass of audience.[1]

The Blue Elephant received mixed reviews but performed well in the Egyptian Box-office during Eid time. The film did not follow the formula of the recent slew of Egyptian comedies, yet it managed to win over audiences across the Arab region. The film gained up to 30 million Egyptian pounds, which is approximately 4.2 million U.S. Dollars.[2] As of 2024, it is the 12th highest rated horror film on IMDb with a rating of 8.0.[3]

  1. ^ "Egyptian Novelist, Ahmed Mourad". Prime Cairo. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. ^ Field, Roger. "The Blue Elephant pushes the boundaries". Business Publishing Ltd. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
  3. ^ "Feature Film, Rating Count at least 25,000, Horror (Sorted by IMDb Rating Descending)". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-05-27.