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:

In the introduction to Ray Bradbury's Somewhere a Band is Playing, Ray writes, "Some thirty years ago I saw a film called The Wind and the Lion, starring Sean Connery and with a fabulous score by Jerry Goldsmith. I was so taken with the score that I sat down, played it, and wrote a long poem based on the enchanting music."

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:

References The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Waving the Big Stick

Lovely Candace Bergen as the widow Perdicaris are kidnapped and held for ransom by the Sheik Raisuli played by one dashing Sean Connery. The incident comes during 1904 as Theodore Roosevelt runs for election to the presidency in his own right. Needing a good example to show off the muscular foreign policy of the United States, Brian Keith as Roosevelt issues a stunning declaration to the Sultan of Morocco, "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead."

But in this adaptation of that incident the famous declaration is the only true thing about this story. The Perdicaris in question was in reality one Ion Perdicaris who was a Greek immigrant and dilettante playboy. In fact Perdicaris gave up his American citizenship years ago and was back as a Greek national. Never mind that though, his predicament was serviceable enough at the time.

The damsel in distress makes better screen material though so it's a widow woman and her two kids that are in harm's way here. Of course as presented here the incident is also used by some of our European powers to get their foothold into Morocco. The intrigues get far beyond one brigand's demand for ransom.

The Wind and the Lion is hardly history. But it is an enjoyable film and Sean Connery is always fun to watch. Brian Keith also fits my conception of Theodore Roosevelt and the scenes in the Roosevelt White House do ring true to all the stories told. John Huston plays the ever patient Secretary of State John Hay who Roosevelt had inherited from his predecessor William McKinley.

But kids don't use this film to skip reading a history assignment on the Theodore Roosevelt era.