Lion of the Desert

"He was a man of honor in a war without any."

1981 2h 53m EN

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7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 208

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Synopsis

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Resistance leader Omar Mukhtar opposes Italian colonization before World War II. The brutal guerrilla war against Italian General Rodolfo Graziani and the Fascist forces of Benito Mussolini highlights the struggle for Libyan independence and the harsh tactics utilised by the colonisers.

“He was a man of honor in a war without any.”

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Cast

Anthony Quinn
Omar al-Mukhtar
Oliver Reed
General 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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Moustapha Akkad
Writers: David Butler, H.A.L. Craig
Languages: Arabic, English, Italian
Countries: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, United States of America, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 173 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 4% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Arabic, English, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, United States of America, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Moustapha Akkad, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor John Shirley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Moustapha Akkad directs. Jack Hildyard behind the camera. Maurice Jarre scores. John Shirley cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, United States of America, United Kingdom. Dialogue in Arabic, English, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 173 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 4% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
345 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Arabic, English, Italian.
5International production across 3 countries: Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, United States of America, United Kingdom.
6Directed by Moustapha Akkad, shot by Jack Hildyard. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Maurice Jarre. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor John Shirley shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9Anthony Quinn and Oliver Reed and Irene Papas carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "He was a man of honor in a war without any.".
11IMDB entry: tt0081059 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 16 themes, including "guerrilla warfare", "libya", "africa", "resistance".
13Released under 10 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jack Hildyard
Original score: Maurice Jarre
Editing: John Shirley
Production design: Mario Garbuglia
Costume design: Piero Cicoletti
Makeup / hair: Alan Boyle
Stunt coordinator: Glenn Randall Jr.
Runtime: 173 min · 2h 53m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $35,000,000
Box office: $1,502,136
Return: 4% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: Lion of the Desert (1981)

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Moustapha Akkad

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Wuchak2019-05-25
★ 5/10
“Braveheart” in the Libyan desert with Quinn, Reed and Steiger After twenty years of failing to remove Bedouin rebels during the Italian colonization (aka invasion) of Libya, Mussolini (Rod Steiger) sends formidable General Graziani (Oliver Reed) in 1931 to take care of the problem. Anthony Quinn plays the titular protagonist and leader of the freedom-fighting Libyans. Did you ever wonder why “Lion of the Desert” (1980) is so obscure? It cost $35 million, has three big name stars, was shot on location and is epic in scope, but it only grossed $1 million worldwide and sits alongside other big money losers of the time period, like “Heaven's Gate” (1980) and “Inchon” (1981). Was it because it was supported by Gaddafi? Was it because it portrayed the Italians in a bad light and freedom-fighting Libyans as the protagonists? Or maybe it simply lacked the pizzazz to draw audiences. For me, it’s the last one. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a lot of good in this historical film and the movie perks up whenever Steiger and Reed are on the screen; Quinn too, but less so. And you can’t beat the authentic locations and action/adventure; the cliff-gorge battle, for instance, is a treat. Yet there’s something meh about the overall proceedings. It lacks the artistic style of “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962). It doesn’t help that the first act is relatively tedious and the action doesn’t kick-in until the 40 minute mark. Since the movie lights up whenever Reed and Quinn are on the screen (Steiger’s Mussolini being a minor character), the script should’ve focused more on their characters. When these two opponents finally confront each other at the end it’s gripping drama. But the rest of the movie isn’t so compelling, disregarding the positives noted. Furthermore, the propagandizing Libyan bias is laughable. Still, if you like flicks like “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Braveheart” (1995), it’s worth checking out. The movie runs 2 hours, 54 minutes and was shot in Libya and Italy. GRADE: C+
CinemaSerf2023-06-07
★ 7/10
This is a curious hybrid of a film - it brings together some elements of "Gandhi" (1982) , "Khartoum" (1966) and even "Spartacus" (1960) to illustrate a theatre of war for Fascist colonialism of which I was largely unfamiliar. Rod Steiger (Mussolini) has decided that Italy must get in on the act of colonial powers in North Africa - and deploys General Graziani (Oliver Reed) to cement their invasion of modern day Libya. His job is continually thwarted, however, by the tenacious and shrewd Omar Mukhtar (Anthony Quinn), who leads an effective resistance - and has done for some twenty years. Despite facing overwhelming technical superiority, Mukhtar continues to defy his would-be overlord and the film depicts many a scenario as his people refuse to capitulate. Oliver Reed only really had one style of acing, and it wasn't the best - but he is somewhat more in his element as this calculating, at times brutal, soldier. The action scenes are well made; the battle scenes realistic and there is plenty of grand cinematography (some from Libya, itself) to help his character's megalomania develop nicely. Quinn features sparingly, his sheer presence does most of his acting, for he has few lines, and there are also a few almost compassionate scenes from Raf Vallone (Col. Diodiece) as history takes an inevitable course. The dialogue is what lets this down, it's rather stiltedly written and barely audible at times, but at almost three hours is marries elements of adventure and history quite efficiently. Worth a watch...