Lion of the Desert (1981)

In the Fascist Italy Pre-World War II of Benito Mussolini, the cruel General Rodolfo Graziani is directly assigned by Il Dulce to fight in the colonial war in Libya to vanquish the Arab ... See full summary »

Director:

Moustapha Akkad

Writers:

David Butler (additional material), H.A.L. Craig,

Stars:

Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Irene Papas

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Anthony Quinn	...	Omar Mukhtar
Oliver Reed	...	Gen. Rodolfo Graziani
Irene Papas	...	Mabrouka
Raf Vallone	...	Colonel Diodiece
Rod Steiger	...	Benito Mussolini
John Gielgud	...	Sharif El Gariani
Andrew Keir	...	Salem
Gastone Moschin	...	Major Tomelli
Stefano Patrizi	...	Lt. Sandrini
Adolfo Lastretti	...	Colonel Sarsani
Sky du Mont	...	Prince Amadeo (as Sky Dumont)
Takis Emmanuel	...	Bu-Matari
Rodolfo Bigotti	...	Ismail
Robert Brown	...	Al Fadeel
Eleonora Stathopoulou	...	Ali's Mother

Storyline

In the Fascist Italy Pre-World War II of Benito Mussolini, the cruel General Rodolfo Graziani is directly assigned by Il Dulce to fight in the colonial war in Libya to vanquish the Arab nation. However, his troops are frequently defeated by the national leader Omar Mukhtar and his army of Bedouins. But the Butcher of Ethiopia and Libya uses a dirty war against the natives, slaughtering children, women and aged people, to subdue Mukhtar.

---

Plot Keywords:

desert | rebel | libya | mussolini | muslim | 

---

Taglines:

A giant of a man against a general seeking glory...a spectacular adventure of arch enemies in battle.

---

Genres:

Biography | Drama | History | War

---

Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

Libya USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 September 1981 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Omar Mukhtar: Lion of the Desert

Filming Locations:

Libya

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Falcon International Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

173 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Black and White (archive footage) Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The production's obsession with authenticity extended right down to the same barber who used to shave Benito Mussolini's head being hired to shave Rod Steiger's, the actor playing him.

---

Goofs

When Diodiece meets with Graziani and Prince Amadeo about starting peace talks, a map behind him, depicting the Horn of Africa, is inaccurate. The map clearly shows no borders between Ethiopia and the adjoining Italian colonies of Eritrea and Italian Somaliland, a situation that existed only after Ethiopia had been conquered by Italy and was united with the other two territories as the colony of Italian East Africa. However, this did not occur until 1936, and since the film takes place from 1929-1931, such a map could not possibly have existed at the time of the three men's meeting.

---

Quotes

[Omar Mukhtar protects two surviving Italian soldiers]
Omar Mukhtar: We do not kill *prisoners*!
Arab Warrior: *They* do it to *us*!
Omar Mukhtar: "They" are not our *teachers!*

---

Connections

Referenced in 'Halloween': A Cut Above the Rest (2003)

---

Soundtracks

"Marcia Reale"
(uncredited)
Music by Giuseppe Gabetti

User Reviews

A great movie!!

The movie tell us the true story of Omar Mukhtar, a Libian guerrilla fighter who fought against the Italians who occupied Libia before WW 2.

Omar Mukhtar is played by Anthony Quinn, who did a great job. Ollie Reed was brilliant as general Graziani also Rod Steiger was successful playing dictator Benito Mussolini. Sir John Gielgud plays a Libian betrayer who helps the Italians. A brilliant cast!

"Lion of the desert" is a great epic movie with a lot of action, very good battle scenes, good conversations and excellent locations. Director of photography Jack Hildyard did a great job and the music is very good. (conducted by Maurice Jarre).

This movie must be seen by everyone who loves war movies.

A true masterpiece!!