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The Message

  • 1976
  • PG
  • 2h 57m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
49K
YOUR RATING
The Message (1976)
This epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.
Play trailer1:57
1 Video
90 Photos
BiographyDramaHistory

This epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.This epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.This epic historical drama chronicles the life and times of Prophet Muhammad and serves as an introduction to early Islamic history.

  • Director
    • Moustapha Akkad
  • Writers
    • H.A.L. Craig
    • Tewfik El-Hakim
    • A.B. Jawdat El-Sahhar
  • Stars
    • Anthony Quinn
    • Irene Papas
    • Michael Ansara
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    49K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Moustapha Akkad
    • Writers
      • H.A.L. Craig
      • Tewfik El-Hakim
      • A.B. Jawdat El-Sahhar
    • Stars
      • Anthony Quinn
      • Irene Papas
      • Michael Ansara
    • 168User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 1 nomination total

    Videos1

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:57
    Watch Official Trailer

    Photos90

    The Message (1976)
    The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn, Moustapha Akkad, and Abdallah Gheith in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn in The Message (1976)
    Anthony Quinn in The Message (1976)
    Hamdy Gheith in The Message (1976)
    Earl Cameron in The Message (1976)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anthony Quinn
    Anthony Quinn
    • Hamza
    Irene Papas
    Irene Papas
    • Hind
    Michael Ansara
    Michael Ansara
    • Abu Sofyan
    Johnny Sekka
    Johnny Sekka
    • Bilal
    Michael Forest
    Michael Forest
    • Khalid
    Garrick Hagon
    Garrick Hagon
    • Ammar
    Damien Thomas
    Damien Thomas
    • Zaid
    André Morell
    André Morell
    • Abu-Talib
    Martin Benson
    Martin Benson
    • Abu-Jahal
    Robert Brown
    Robert Brown
    • Otba
    Rosalie Crutchley
    Rosalie Crutchley
    • Somaya
    Bruno Barnabe
    • Umaya
    Neville Jason
    Neville Jason
    • Jaafar
    John Bennett
    John Bennett
    • Salool
    Donald Burton
    Donald Burton
    • Amr
    Earl Cameron
    Earl Cameron
    • Annajashi
    George Camiller
    George Camiller
    • Waleed
    Nicholas Amer
    Nicholas Amer
    • Suheil
    • (as Nicolas Amer)
    • Director
      • Moustapha Akkad
    • Writers
      • H.A.L. Craig
      • Tewfik El-Hakim
      • A.B. Jawdat El-Sahhar
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Production stopped when the financeers withdrew their support, leaving cast and crew stranded for two weeks in Morocco (in a hotel with broken air conditioning; they slept under wet towels). Financing was eventually supplied by none other than Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi.
    • Quotes

      Bilal: There is no compulsion in religion. A man may take many years, or only need minutes. It is God who decides the time.

    • Alternate versions
      Director Moustafa Akkad wanted the story to be told in English, so people all around the world could enjoy it. Also, he felt he needed to pay a tribute to the Middle East, where it took place. So two versions were shot on location simultaneously. There were two actors for each role and the one that is well known now is the English Version, starring Anthony Quinn. However, "Al Risalah" (the Arabic movie) is the other well known version in Saudi Arabia and the surrounding countries.
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of The Message (1976)

    User reviews168

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    great film, visuals and acting
    This is a great film. I'm a history major who took several courses in the history of the Middle East and Islam, so nothing is going to be good or accurate or trivia filled enough for me, but it certainly didn't contradict anything I'd learned (for cinematic purposes or otherwise), and that's more than I can say for any historical epic I've seen in several years.

    This film starts with Muhammed receiving the Koran from the angel Gabriel and ends at his death. It was filmed in accordance with Islamic political correctness, so The Prophet himself is never depicted, visually or vocally. While this is well affected, it unfortunately removes him from a lot of the story. I would like to have known a lot more about his life from the film, not his mannerisms or speech as depicted by a particular actor, but at least the major events of his life, his children, his wives, and so on.

    Having said that, however, the film is still a very good depiction of the birth of Islam. The plot focuses on the historical events rather than the Koran itself, which contains almost no history from its own period, and is therefore different from a lot of Biblical epics which present the historical events IN the Bible. It's accurate in that it tries to present the birth of Islam as most people today probably learn it. Definitely not a propaganda piece, but it's not a movie filled with facts, truth or fiction, more a movie of character and tone. It's more similar to Braveheart than it is to Ben Hur or the Gospel of John. The movie presents a decent snapshot of the times and the attitudes and lifestyles under which Islam developed.

    The acting is fantastic, the music is good (won an academy award), and the cinematography, filmed in Morocco and Libya, is beautiful. Costumes are cool, and there's a few scenes with a set of ancient bagpipes for you Celtic history buffs.
    helpful•175
    41
    • ShimmySnail
    • Dec 4, 2004

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • January 31, 1977 (Turkey)
    • Countries of origin
      • Lebanon
      • Libya
      • Kuwait
      • Morocco
      • United Kingdom
      • Egypt
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
    • Also known as
      • Mohammad: Messenger of God
    • Filming locations
      • Morocco(Mecca and Medina exteriors)
    • Production company
      • Filmco International Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    • Budget
      • $10,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • Runtime
      2 hours 57 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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