X

Join or Sign In

Sign in to customize your TV listings

Continue with Facebook Continue with email

By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy.

Thais

The story of "Thais" takes place in Alexandria during the early era of Christianity. Many of the scenes depicting the licentious life in Alexandria would be repellent in their realism, but for the care used by the cast in keeping all the sumptuousness possible in the picture, and eliminating everything that would be offensive. During the dominance of the fair courtesan Thais, the city was at the height of its glory. Paphnuce, a young Roman but recently converted to Christianity, falls under the spell of Thais, who rules Alexandria's youth with an iron hand. But Thais is never constant in her affection, and when Paphnuce finds himself no longer her favorite he turns, brokenhearted, to the church for consolation. He becomes a hermit-monk, and goes into the desert to preach the gospel to wandering tribes. Five years later he has conquered himself completely, and fired with the ardor of saintliness. he returns to Alexandria to try and win Thais from her wicked ways. He succeeds in converting her, and while she loves him again, she is strong enough to control herself, and enters the convent of the White Sisters to expiate her earlier life of sin. But while he is bringing Thais to see the light. Paphnuce's own spiritual downfall results, for he finds his love of the woman stronger than his own steadfastness to Christianity. He can control himself no longer, and one night, coming into the convent, he finds Thais dying, brokenhearted, and is just in time to let her last breath on earth come while pillowed in his arms.

Loading. Please wait...

Content not available in your region? ExpressVPN can help you stay connected wherever you are. Get 4 extra months FREE with TV Guide's exclusive offer.

Cast & Crew See All

Constance Crawley
Thais
George Gebhardt
Nicais
Arthur Maude
Paphnuce

You May Also Like See All

The Godfather
Three Colors: Red
Rear Window
The Conformist

Popular Movies See all movies

The Ten Commandments

3 hr 40 mins
The Egyptian Prince, Moses, learns of his true heritage as a Hebrew and his divine mission as the deliverer of his people.
1956 Action & Adventure, Drama, Family, Documentary

Crucify

1 hr 19 mins
A neon noir thriller that descends into a maze of nightmares as two teens trapped in a haunted crime scene are forced to confront their demons.
2020 Fantasy, Horror, Suspense, Drama

Bastard Out of Carolina

1 hr 38 mins
Difficult tale of a poor, struggling South Carolina mother and daughter who each face painful choices with resolve and pride. Tired Anney and her daughter Bone grow both closer and farther apart as Anney sees Glen as her last chance despite his mistreatment of Bone.

Hamnet

2 hr 5 mins
From Academy Award® winning writer/director Chloé Zhao, HAMNET tells the powerful love story that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
84   Metascore
2025 Documentary, Drama

Dhurandhar

3 hr 34 mins
Humza moves through the shadows of Karachi with the cold detachment of a man already dead. He targets the empire of Rehman Dakait; a titan of the underworld whose reach dictates the city's pulse. To climb this ladder, Humza performs acts of calculated brutality that buy him a seat at the table. He serves two masters while feeding intelligence to the authorities through a secret conduit. When a political mentor turns on Rehman, the veteran gangster finds himself hunted by the very state apparatus that birthed him. Humza pivots toward his defining vice of reckless over-extension to protect his target. This survival instinct secures his position but creates a vacuum that invites total national ruin.
2025 Action & Adventure, Suspense, Drama

The Passion of the Christ

2 hr 7 mins
A depiction of the last twelve hours in the life of Jesus of Nazareth, on the day of his crucifixion in Jerusalem. The story opens in the Garden of Olives where Jesus has gone to pray after the Last Supper. Betrayed by Judas Iscariot, the controversial Jesus - who has performed 'miracles' and has publicly announced that he is 'the Son of God' - is arrested and taken back within the city walls of Jerusalem. There, the leaders of the Pharisees confront him with accusations of blasphemy; subsequently, his trial results with the leaders condemning him to his death. Jesus is brought before Pontius Pilate, the prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, for his sentencing. Pilate listens to the accusations leveled at Jesus by the Pharisees. Realizing that his own decision will cause him to become embroiled in a political conflict, Pilate defers to King Herod in deciding the matter of how to persecute Jesus. However, Herod returns Jesus to Pilate who, in turn, gives the crowd a choice between which prisoner they would rather to see set free - Jesus, or Barabbas. The crowd chooses to have Barabbas set free. Thus, Jesus is handed over to the Roman soldiers and is brutally flagellated. Bloody and unrecognizable, he is brought back before Pilate who, once again, presents him to the thirsty crowd - assuming they will see that Jesus has been punished enough. The crowd, however, is not satisfied. Thus, Pilate washes his hands of the entire dilemma, ordering his men to do as the crowd wishes. Whipped and weakened, Jesus is presented with the cross and is ordered to carry it through the streets of Jerusalem, all the way up to Golgotha. There, more corporal cruelty takes place as Jesus is nailed to the cross-suffering, he hangs there, left to die. Initially, in his dazed suffering, Jesus is alarmed that he has been abandoned by God his father. He then beseeches God. At the moment of his death, nature itself over-turns.