The Wind and the Lion (1975)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

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 | American | Morocco | Berber | Famous Score

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 nominations

Cast

Sean Connery	...	Raisuli
Candice Bergen	...	Eden Pedecaris
Brian Keith	...	Theodore Roosevelt
John Huston	...	John Hay
Geoffrey Lewis	...	Gummere
Steve Kanaly	...	Capt. Jerome
Vladek Sheybal	...	The Bashaw
Nadim Sawalha	...	Sherif of Wazan
Roy Jenson	...	Admiral 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:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Look for the human hand hanging from the phone, the hand was the cooks during the attack in the house.

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:

Referenced in Rough Riders (1997) (TV)

This Is A True Story ...

... Except that the Eden Pedecaris character was in reality a man who didn't have any children with him and that the battle at the end with the United States Marine Corp defeating a German force never happened . So in truth it's not actually a true story plot wise

It's very arrogant of Hollywood in general and John Milius in particular to re-write history in this manner because the film is rather accurate in some other ways namely the portrayal of Theodore Roosevelt . Want to know about how the teddy bear came into being ? Watch this film . Roosevelt was a great lover of nature , he was both a hunter and an ecologist and decided that if America wanted to be a major world power then the nation would have to carry a big stick while speaking in a soft voice

Roosevelt more than any president in history made America the superpower it is today and it's a very topical film to watch in 2004 . America's resentment of Germany and France ! Arabs slaughtering infidels on the battlefield but taking a moral high ground about women and children being held as hostage ! American military leaders and diplomats not really caring if they start a bloody war ! The more things change the more they stay the same

It is interesting to see that Milius has painted the Arabs with very human faces . Mulay might be a brigand but he's a most likable anti hero and a cinema audience has the rare opportunity of seeing what Sean Connery is capable of when he's given a good role . I wonder though how this film would have the Arabs if it'd have been made a few years later after the Iranian revolution ? I've got a feeling it would never have been made at all in todays current climate

As it stands THE WIND AND THE LION is very poor history in most parts , fairly good history in some parts and stands as a sort of timepiece when Hollywood was far less xenophobic than it is today