[crowd cheering and applauding]
-[whistle blows] -[player shouting]
Come on!
Yes! Over the top!
[player speaking in Arabic]
[crowd exclaims]
[indistinct chatter continues]
[in English] Hold on.
[excited chatter]
[in Arabic] Pass, Mou Mou! Pass, Mou Mou!
[crowd exclaims]
-[whistling] -[man] Referee!
Foul!
[cheering]
[whistle blows]
[referee in English] Goal! Brit Army 3, Locals 2!
Terrible. Come on.
On your feet.
[in Arabic] Bunch of thieves.
[indistinct chatter in English]
-[man] How are you faring, my dear? -[woman] Rather hot, isn't it?
-I do hope they're on time. -[man] Yes.
-Thank you. -All right?
Thank you, Sydney.
Ready, my dear?
[woman] Thank you, darling.
-[slow jazz music playing] -[indistinct chatter]
[salesman shouting in Arabic]
[salesmen continue shouting in Arabic]
-[in English] Bringing them from Scotland? -Yes.
[in Arabic] Hi, beautiful. I've missed you.
Careful.
[man 1] You're wasting your time.
My sister's way out of your league.
Then why does she keep looking at me?
Coca-Cola!
[man 1] Because she's wondering
where that stink of fish market is coming from.
You're lucky she's here or I would hit you.
What's your name?
Mohamed Fayed.
How many bottles do you sell each day?
[Mohamed] Fifty.
On a good day sixty.
We are the best salesmen in Alexandria.
Coca-Cola! Coca-Cola! Come closer!
What if
I buy you a thousand bottles.
We split the profits.
-Seventy-thirty. In my favor. -[chuckles]
Why don't you take the whole thing for free?
[Mohamed] Ice-cold soda!
Ice-cold soda!
[boy] Come have a drink! Coca-Cola!
[man 1] All right.
Fifty-fifty.
When I first saw you, I knew you were an intelligent man.
[bottle caps opening]
[clamoring in distance]
-[whistling] -[overlapping chatter]
-Who's that? -[man 1] Some king from England.
[spectators shouting in Arabic]
[dramatic music plays]
[Mohamed] We saw a king today.
The British king. Edward.
[man 2] That's not the king.
It's the former king who gave up the throne
for his American sharmoota,
Wallis Simpson.
She waved at Mohamed.
And did she cast a spell on you?
[Mohamed] No.
[man 2] Let me tell you about the British.
Since 1882, they have occupied us. Dominated us.
Made a mockery of our laws.
Trampled on our freedoms. Our dignity.
But I don't save my greatest contempt for them.
My greatest contempt
is for the Egyptians who look up to the British as gods.
[muezzin calling in distance]
[Mohamed] Strong words
from a weak man.
A petty school inspector
whose ambition stretches no further than the end of his nose.
[dog barking in distance]
He curses the British.
But does he have the vision to match them?
I want to match them. I want to be like them.
Have power like them.
And if we look up to their kings and queens as gods,
it's because they are.
[muezzin continues in distance]
[soft jazz music playing]
[in English] Thank you, Sydney.
I've grown rather fond of him.
-Who? -Sydney.
When I first engaged him, I had my doubts.
[lighter clicks]
I thought his presence might serve as an unwelcome reminder
of our time in the Bahamas.
Our exile from England. Our banishment from home.
Come on. You loved every minute of being governor.
[Edward] I loved the climate. Not the job.
A cocked hat covered in swans' feathers
is hardly the same thing as wearing a crown.
But, uh, I'm impressed by his work.
And if you're agreeable,
I am going to ask our Bahamian friend if he, uh…
he wants the job on a permanent basis.
Fine by me, darling.
[Edward] Sydney.
The duchess and I were wondering whether you would, uh, consider
joining our… little family on a more permanent basis.
-[percussive rhythm playing] -[women ululating]
[woman ululating]
[exhales deeply]
-[percussive rhythm continues] -[women continue ululating]
[groaning, panting]
[percussive rhythm continues]
[breathing heavily]
[in Arabic] Truly, you are a gift from God.
[women laughing]
[dramatic music builds]
[Mohamed] I promise I will be the greatest of fathers.
Then together,
we will survey the world we have conquered.
Together.
Father and son.
Together.
Always.
[dramatic music intensifies]
Your name will be…
Emad El-Din Mohamed Abdel Mena'em Fayed.
But I'll call you…
Dodi.
[music fades out]
[theme music playing]
[alert chimes]
[woman speaking over PA in French]
[in French] Have you met my father before?
No.
I have not had the pleasure.
[in Arabic] My son.
I'm happy to see you.
Me too, Dad.
[both chuckle lightly]
[woman in French] This way please, gentlemen.
[in English] Madame la Presidente, we will now hear the final bid
from the Fayed family.
[woman] Monsieur Fayed, welcome.
Have I addressed you correctly? Fayed?
Al Fayed.
[woman] I ask because there seems to be a great deal of mystery surrounding you.
One day, I hear you are Saudi.
The next, a Kuwaiti--
The Al Fayed family comes from Egypt.
The cradle of civilization.
I heard that you and your brothers have no history of hotel ownership.
Nor property development.
And that there is even a bounty on your head
from your time in Haiti as a commission agent.
Please, madam, do not listen to idle rumors,
and concentrate on our offer.
$18.6 million.
Significantly higher than any of our rivals.
Yes, but their money is guaranteed.
By contrast, we hear stories of you going from bank to bank
in London and Switzerland,
forgive me,
begging for money.
And each of these banks refusing because… they know of your reputation.
Madame Ritz.
[speaking in Arabic]
[Dodi] Um…
[Dodi in English] I must confess my disappointment.
[Mohamed speaks Arabic]
[in English] I came here hoping to be treated on merit.
[Mohamed speaks Arabic]
[Dodi] What is it that I must do?
[speaking Arabic]
I come with the guarantees of Lazard's bank…
[speaking Arabic]
…with more money than anyone else…
[speaking Arabic]
[Dodi] …to rescue a hotel…
[speaking Arabic]
…that can no longer rely on her reputation or beauty…
[Mohamed speaks Arabic]
[Dodi] …whose customers are deserting her in droves.
[speaking Arabic]
[Dodi] I come to rescue the great Ritz.
[speaks Arabic]
Because she is magnificent.
[speaking Arabic]
And I love her.
[speaking Arabic]
I want to make her once again…
[speaking Arabic]
…the greatest hotel in the world.
[Mohamed speaks Arabic]
[Dodi] And in return…
[Mohamed speaking Arabic]
…we are treated with contempt and discrimination.
[speaks in Arabic]
-[speaks in Arabic] -[hits desk]
[chairs scraping]
[Dodi in French] You had the opportunity to have him as an ally.
I'm sorry you chose not to take it.
Thank you.
Wait, Mr. Al Fayed.
Wait.
["Padam Padam" by Édith Piaf playing]
[singing in French]
[in English] Congratulations, Mr. Al Fayed.
[in French] Thank you, madam.
[continues singing "Padam Padam"]
-[woman speaking French] -[chuckles]
[in Arabic] Who is that?!
-[laughs] -[man] Heini!
[Dodi in Arabic] Her name is Heini.
She's from Finland.
The most perfect creature I've ever seen.
And who is that?
That's Jacques Chirac. [in English] Mayor of Paris.
[in Arabic] Not the mayor.
Him!
Get him out of here.
I'm trying to rebuild the reputation of the Ritz,
not ruin it on opening night!
I don't want to see him in here again.
-[Mohamed singing] -[men laughing]
[speaking Arabic]
[woman continues singing "Padam Padam"]
[inaudible dialogue]
[men laughing]
[woman continues singing in French]
[Dodi in Arabic] I did what you asked. He's gone.
It's a pity though, I liked him.
His name was Sydney Johnson.
It wasn't his name that bothered me.
He was an interesting guy.
Personal valet to Edward VIII.
The former King of England.
For thirty years.
[song ends]
[guests applauding]
[soft classical music playing]
[in English] Mr. Johnson, come in. Please.
Is it really true you used to work for the King of England?
I worked for His Royal Highness the Duke of Windsor
after he abdicated the throne as King Edward VIII, yes.
You know the duke visited Alexandria once.
[Sydney] That was my first overseas trip with His Royal Highness,
and then he asked me to join him permanently
and brought me here with him to Paris.
[Mohamed] As his valet?
Yes, sir.
The Valet of the King!
-Sir? -It's an Egyptian thing, no matter.
So, tell me, what did your job entail?
What did you do for him?
Everything.
I took care of every aspect of his life
from the moment he opened his eyes in the morning
to the moment he closed them at night.
[Mohamed] And how did someone, forgive me,
of your background know what the former King of England might need?
[Sydney] I didn't.
His Royal Highness taught me everything,
with great patience and kindness.
Then, will you teach me?
[Sydney] In which capacity?
As my personal valet.
British society is the finest in the world.
British manners and customs rule the world.
With your help, I will become that rare thing,
a British gentleman.
[slow, lilting classical music plays]
[Edward] Now, there are a dozen writers you have to read
if you are ever to understand the English.
PG Wodehouse.
Rudyard Kipling.
PG Wodehouse.
Rudyard Kipling.
Charles Dickens.
The Shooting Diaries of Colonel Peter Hawker.
[Edward chuckling lightly]
[Sydney] Afternoon tea is not a task to hurry through, Mr. Mohamed,
but a ritual to be savored.
[Edward] Ah-ah-ah.
You'll be in the doghouse if the duchess catches you pouring tea like that.
For the city, a simple dinner jacket, midnight blue, never black.
For the country, jeans and shirts. Freedom and ease.
Corduroys and checks for golf.
A cerise baseball cap and always…
[Sydney] …wherever you are…
socks.
Rolled down every morning, ready to slip on.
-[men calling out] -[dogs barking]
[gunshots firing]
As for recreation, to have your own shoot is important.
[gunshots firing]
[Edward] The English are fundamentally a bloodthirsty breed, but golf,
now, that is a game I am truly passionate about.
Passionate, just not very talented.
[Sydney] Captain of ten golf clubs.
[Edward] Sydney!
He learned his swing from the great champion, Percy Boomer.
How do you do?
[Edward] Three-time winner on tour,
author of several books,
and the greatest teacher in all Europe.
Percy sorted out a kink in my back swing with the help of stop-action photography.
Of course, the true sport of kings is polo,
where connections and friendships are made that will last a lifetime.
Which is why Dodi is already a passionate polo player.
Passionate, just not very talented.
Everything in British society begins and ends with the royal family.
If you are seen in their company, if you are known and trusted by them,
then all doors will open everywhere else.
I've taken the liberty of having the jacket cut with a high waist,
just as the duke used to,
to give a slightly longer leg.
The duke felt it gave him more stature in photographs.
Thank you, Sydney.
Very handsome, sir.
[music ends]
-[footsteps departing] -[door opens]
[door closes]
-[indistinct PA announcement] -[horses neighing in distance]
[man on PA] Trained in Berkshire,
Lindenburg comes from a long line of dressage medalists
and is hoping to live up that reputation.
-It's very clever. -Oh yes.
[both chuckle softly]
Hi.
-[man] May we see your ID? -Oh?
-What? But I have the member's ticket. -[man] We need to see your ID.
Mr. Al Fayed is a new member.
Okay.
-Would you mind, out of the way, sir? -Yeah.
-Some gentlemen want to come through. -Thank you.
Thank you.
You can't enter unless you're a member, I'm afraid.
-Oh. -Thank you.
[indistinct PA announcement]
I paid a fortune for these tickets.
They told me I would be close to the Queen.
Who is there?
[Sydney] Mr. Tiny Rowland.
Harrods' largest shareholder and sponsor of this event.
Sitting next to the Queen is his privilege.
[inaudible dialogue]
[Elizabeth chuckles]
[Heini] Good night, darling.
Say good night to Papa.
[kisses] Oh, my love.
Hey. Night.
Night.
Good night, my beautiful son.
[footsteps departing]
[door closes]
[man] You want us to buy a shop?
Harrods is much more than a shop.
Sydney.
Harrods is part of the national soul
and the very fabric of what it is to be British.
Owning Harrods is like owning the Tower of London or Westminster Abbey.
[Mohamed in Arabic] It's the most famous department store in the world.
Owning it will give us access and power and legitimacy.
We would be at the heart of British society.
The royals themselves are customers.
Passports and citizenship of the United Kingdom
will surely follow.
How much?
Six hundred million pounds.
[in English] I hope that still leaves enough for me to do what I want.
-[Mohamed] Which is? -To set up a production fund to finance--
Finance what?
Motion pictures.
I've found the perfect partners.
The best people with world-class talent and connections.
And what do you have?
What do you mean?
They have talent and expertise.
What do you have?
-[Dodi scoffs] -[Mohamed sighs]
[Dodi] Money.
[speaking in Arabic]
[in English] I have money.
What do you have?
That's not fair.
I have ideas.
-I have instincts, and I have a right! -[hits table]
What right?
A right
to explore my own business ideas, not just yours!
You want me to stand on my own two feet and make you proud.
Then why, as soon as I try,
do you cut my legs off?!
-[gentle breeze blowing] -[surf crashing in distance]
[birdsong]
[slow classical music builds]
[man in English] Cut!
So, this is a movie set?
Where are the girls?
[in Arabic] The story's not about girls.
-It's about a young Jewish man-- -A Jew?
Couldn't you make a film about something else?
…who overcomes racial and establishment prejudice,
runs the 100 meters in the 1924 Olympics…
[in English] …and wins gold.
[in Arabic] Really? That's a movie?
[in English] It's an inspirational story.
Where the outsider… ends up becoming an insider.
[Dodi] Mmm.
[in Arabic] I like the sound of that.
[Dodi chuckles softly]
[woman on TV] The next… is Raiders of the Lost Ark.
It's a Lucasfilm production of Paramount,
Frank Marshall, producer.
[applause on TV]
The next is Chariots of Fire,
Enigma Production Limited,
the Ladd Company, Warner Bros,
David Puttnam, producer.
And the last, the fifth nominee, Reds,
a JRS Productions, Paramount,
Warren Beatty, producer.
[applause on TV]
Ladies and gentlemen, the winner is…
[envelope tearing]
-…Chariots of Fire! -[audience exclaims]
[applause on TV]
[chuckles]
[squealing laughter] We won! We won! We won! We won! We won!
[laughing] We won. We won. We won! We won!
I won! We won! [laughs]
[Mohamed exclaiming in Arabic]
[in English] We won! We won!
-We… [laughs] -[Sydney laughing]
[man on TV] Just for 30 seconds, I wish I was Bette Midler.
[audience laughs]
[man on TV] Um…
I'd have to thank… Well, I don't know where to start.
It starts with my good friend Sandy Lieberson,
who made it possible in the first place, everybody at 20th Century Fox,
Mohamed and Dodi Fayed who came through for us
and put their money where my mouth was.
Thank you very, very much.
[audience applauds]
[somber classical music builds]
[music fades]
[footsteps approaching]
-[Mohamed] What's the matter? -[cup clinks]
We have an Oscar,
we have Harrods,
and you look miserable.
Why?
I'm sorry, sir.
I just received news.
The Duchess of Windsor…
[melancholic choral music plays]
[Sydney] She died this morning.
Three months before her 90th birthday.
Heart failure.
[bird cawing]
She'd been confined in the house for eight years.
Crippled by arthritis.
Suffering from mental derangement.
Mostly being fed through a tube.
She's at peace now,
and will be buried at Frogmore,
next to His Royal Highness.
[music fades out]
[wheezing cough]
[coughs weakly]
[wheezing cough]
[footsteps approaching]
Sit down.
[Mohamed grunts softly]
[Sydney] It was such a beautiful house.
Filled with so much love.
But after the duke died, it was neglected.
And in the end,
like the duchess herself,
fell into ruin.
[wind rustling]
[vehicle approaching]
[engine shuts off]
[footsteps advancing]
[door hinges creaking]
[door closes]
[Sydney] So sad.
Rain getting in through the ceilings.
Walls black with soot.
Priceless furniture, ruined.
And there was so much happiness here.
[Mohamed] What is this?
[Sydney] Catalog numbers.
All the duke and duchess' possessions,
her jewelry, his clothes,
his bureau, which contained papers of great sensitivity,
including his diaries,
is due to be put up for auction.
It doesn't go back to the royal family?
[Sydney] No, sir.
The fate of the house and its possessions
is now in the hands of the French authorities.
[pensive instrumental music plays]
[no audible dialogue]
[music builds]
[brakes squeak]
[indistinct conversations in French]
[indistinct chatter in distance]
When I saw the state the villa was in,
I said, "Money is no object."
Restoring it will be my honor and pleasure.
A former King of England lived here.
It has historical significance.
No matter the cost,
it will be my gift to the British royal family.
[pensive instrumental music continues]
[Sydney coughing]
[music fades]
[Fellowes] It appears the renovation took three years
and cost a great deal of money.
And now Mr. Al Fayed has invited you to pay the renovated property,
which he has renamed Villa Windsor…
[Philip groans softly]
…a visit.
Don't you dare.
If it was controversial for me to visit when my uncle was alive,
I'd say there's even less reason when he's dead.
[Fellowes] That was our thinking too.
But it seems there are… all manner of valuable possessions
at Villa Windsor,
which we feel it would be important for the Crown to have back.
Such as?
A Dutch old master painting, The Baby Prince.
That belongs to the Royal Collection.
The duke's Garter banner.
That should be returned to the Royal Collection.
Queen Mary's pearls.
They belong to….?
Me.
But perhaps most importantly, the Duke of Windsor's desk,
containing correspondence from the time of the abdication
and the duke's diaries.
His Royal Highness was never one to restrain his pen.
And material relating to his wartime stay in neutral Spain and Portugal,
where he and the duchess were frequently in the company of Nazis,
who hoped to install him as a possible puppet king--
Yes, thank you, Robert. That's, um…
That's enough.
[breathes deeply]
How do we best solve this?
[soft classical music playing]
-[Mohamed] A visit? -[man on phone] Yes, that's correct.
[Mohamed] I would be most honored.
When?
[man on phone speaking]
[Mohamed] Yes. Yes.
Wonderful.
Yes, thank you.
We look forward to it.
[receiver clatters]
The Queen's private secretary.
I always said she would come.
The mountain is really… moving to Mohamed.
Where's Dodi?
Tell him to come.
[birds chirping]
[classical music builds]
Mr. Al Fayed.
I am here on behalf of Her Majesty.
A great honor, sir.
[music ends]
Abdication desk.
Chair.
The coronet of the Prince of Wales.
Garter banner.
Baby Prince.
The duke's diaries and photographs?
And letters and papers?
If you want to make the Queen very happy indeed,
you'll let her have those back.
If I may say so…
whatever thoughts you might be thinking,
I imagine they're no different
from the thoughts the duke had about the royal family
almost every day he was alive.
What are you talking about?
Mohamed Al Fayed just made the Queen of England very happy indeed.
[wheezing cough]
[coughs weakly]
[somber instrumental music plays softly]
[coughing hoarsely]
[groans weakly]
[labored breathing]
[labored breathing stops]
[birds chirping]
[music fades out]
[bouquet rustles]
-[indistinct announcement on PA] -[horses neigh]
[man on PA] We have the final line-up of show jumping…
That's very good.
Who is that?
[Fellowes] Mr. Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods.
And of Villa Windsor in Paris.
Oh, yes.
I suppose I'd better sit with him this time.
Might be nice.
And, as the official sponsor today, he will have that expectation.
-Well, hello, you. -Hello, you.
Oh, and Porchie too.
Oh!
Porchie…
Well, in that case…
can I…
leave that with you?
Ma'am.
Thank you.
[snorting softly]
[Diana] I'm afraid you've got me.
Your Royal Highness.
I realize I'm no substitute for the Big Chief.
Oh, a lovely Harrods cushion.
Ooh, and look, a gift bag.
Special gifts for the Boss Lady?
Ah, not that it gets me anywhere.
Boss Lady seems allergic to me.
-Well, that makes two of us. -Surely not.
Can barely bring herself to look at me, which is why I'm here today.
Try and get back in her good books.
She's making me work for it.
Diana.
Mohamed. But you must call me Mou Mou.
Why must I call you Mou Mou?
[Mohamed laughs]
All my friends do.
Gosh, we're friends already?
-That was quick. -Too quick?
Mmm… Maybe a little too quick.
I'm great friends with your father, Lord Spencer.
-Yes, I know. -And Lady Raine.
My wicked stepmother.
-Do you know her nickname? -No.
Acid Raine.
What about your nickname? Mou Mou.
Did you make that up?
You look like someone who might make up a nickname to sound cool.
No.
It came from my father.
And what was his name?
Ali Ali.
-Ali Ali? -Yes.
Does everyone in your family say things twice-twice?
No, no.
-I bet they do-do, Mou Mou. -[laughs] Stop it!
I know. We have to be serious. There's royalty here.
Oh yeah. Somewhere.
-Not anywhere near you though. -[both chuckle]
No matter how much you pay to grovel.
-Have you paid a lot? -A fortune.
Are you even interested in horses?
Not remotely.
No, me neither.
Oh, now he comes.
-May I present my son, Dodi? -Your Royal Highness.
Dodi Dodi? Or just Dodi?
-What? -[Diana] It's a joke, joke.
-It's funny, funny. -[both chuckle]
[Dodi] I see.
-[Mohamed] Will you join us? -Uh, I can't.
I'm… I'm with friends.
Pleasure meeting you.
Now, let's see what's in the Queen's gift bag.
[Mohamed] Mmm.
A watch?
An expensive watch.
You little creep.
A silver pen?
[laughing and chattering]
That seems to have worked out well.
I was worried I'd been rude, but as it turns out…
-A match made in heaven. -Quite.
[Diana] Can I have that?
[Margaret] Out of the acorn of a simple kindness…
[Diana] What about these?
…an oak tree of happiness will grow.
-What is it? -I don't know.
[both laughing]
[horse huffs]
["Padam Padam" by Édith Piaf playing]
[woman singing in French]
[song ends]