The Wind and the Lion (1975)

Director:

John Milius

Writer:

John Milius (writer)

Release Date:

26 October 1975 (UK)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Tagline:

Between the wind and the lion is the woman. For her, half the world may go to war.

Plot:

At the beginning of the 20th century an American woman is abducted in Morocco by Berbers. The attempts...

Plot Keywords:

Military | Morocco | Berber | American | Hostage

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli
Candice Bergen	...	Eden Pedecaris
Brian Keith	...	Theodore Roosevelt
John Huston	...	John Hay
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Samuel Gummere
Steve Kanaly	...	Capt. Jerome
Vladek Sheybal	...	The Bashaw
Nadim Sawalha	...	Sherif of Wazan
Roy Jenson	...	Admr. French Ensor Chadwick
Deborah Baxter	...	Alice Roosevelt
Jack Cooley	...	Quentin Roosevelt
Chris Aller	...	Kermit Roosevelt
Simon Harrison	...	William Pedecaris
Polly Gottesmann	...	Jennifer Pedecaris (as Polly Gottesman)
Antoine Saint-John	...	Von Roerkel (as Antoine St. John)

Also Known As:

John Milius' The Wind and the Lion (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

119 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

USA:PG (certificate #24156) | Netherlands:12 | Canada:PG (video rating) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Singapore:PG | UK:A (original rating) | Iceland:12

Filming Locations:

Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Herb Jaffe

Trivia:

Omar Sharif and Anthony Quinn were possibles for the lead.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The Raisouli and his followers pray while the muezzin is calling. In fact, the actual praying is done after the muezzin finishes - it's his job to remind the faithful to go pray. This is a common mistake in Hollywood productions, possibly done for dramatic purposes.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Eden: Don't you agree that the most important part of the meal is the wine? Everything must follow the wine. And in this case, I should favor a Red Bordeaux.
Sir Joseph: A Red Bordeaux at lunch? Your late husband would never have approved.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Making of 'The Wind and the Lion' (1975)

For the Whole Family - A Wonderful "American" Adventure Yarn

We usually think of the British as the experts at rendering great adventure from the Imperial age, with the likes of The Four Feathers (1939) and Zulu, simply because the Imperial age was, for the most part, British. Here, in The Wind and the Lion, we see a wonderful rendering of America's own Imperial age.

America's projection of power under Teddy Roosevelt is the backdrop for this conventional tale of the kidnapped damsel who, despite her gentility, is smitten by the rough, manly nobility of her captor, who in turn is disarmed by her beauty and scorn. (Politically correct prigs eager to see some slight of "native" peoples or cultures can rest assured, that the way Arabs and Muslims are depicted here is far more flattering than the way their modern counterparts depict themselves on the current world stage.) What makes this story different are the terrific production values - faultless photography, composition and editing - the terrific casting - the underappreciated Brian Keith playing a bully Teddy - and vivid history.

Though The Wind and the Lion is told largely through the eyes of the son, every member of the family can identify with one of the characters, whether it be Sean Connery's noble brigand, Candace Bergen's feisty heroine, John Huston's wily John Hay or Steve Kanaly's spiffy, radiant, ruthless can-do lieutenant, Roosevelt's "Big Stick". There is a transcendent scene at the end, when the little boy is symbolically swept away by the dashing Moor on his white steed. This is high adventure at its best.