The Wind and the Lion starts in Tangier in Morocco on October 15 1904 where an American woman named Eden Pedecaris (Candice Bergen) & her two young children Jennifer (Polly Gottesman) & William (Simon Harrison) are kidnapped by the gang of men lead by Moroccan rebel Mulay Hamid El Raisuli (Sean Connery) the Lord of the Rif, Sultan to the Berbers & the last of the Barbary Pirates. Word of the kidnapping gets back to President Theodore Roosevelt (Brain Keith) who decides to use the situation as a show of strength & issues the ultimatum 'Pedecaris alive or Raisuli dead'. As the struggle for power in the Middle East & Morocco wages between the Europeans, the Americans & the Moroccan people Raisuli & Pedercaris become pawns, they become symbols of war & what to fight for or against as the Middle East sees in the beginning of the 20th Century in turbulent fashion...

Written & directed by John Milius this historical adventure is loosely based on real events but in essence is a fictional work, whether you like The Wind and the Lion will probably depend on how much you enjoy period adventure films. Of course the fact that the film is partly about an American war against Middle Eastern extremist's who kidnap people & demand a ransom has parallels to what's happening right now in the real world, doesn't it? The character's are well written & likable, it's odd to see Sean Connery play an Arab Sultan but he has great charisma & screen presence although it's rather inevitable that Pedecaris will fall for his roguish behaviour, sense of honour & conviction in his beliefs while it's also just as inevitable that Raisuli will fall for her strength, independence & good looks in the obligatory romance subplot. The film has an uneven pace & tone, it flips between Raisuli, Roosevelt in America, lots of political wrangling & some good old fashioned fighting without a totally clear direction. It's a good film but I just wish it didn't last quite as long & it didn't come to a grinding halt every five minutes for a speech of some sort, whether it's Roosevelt in America talking about Grizzly Bears or Raisuli in Morocco spouting another cryptic proverb. I mean I just think it might have flowed a bit better had it not been so bogged down in politics & philosophising. The Wind and the Lion is good film but I did get bored by it by the end, it is a little predictable & the story could have been a little bit more focused.

Director Milius does a fine job here, the film looks wonderful from start to finish with exemplary production design, costumes & locations. A lot of time is spent during The Wind and the Lion setting the scene & really making the viewer feel they are watching something that did indeed take place at the start of the last century. The film can also be quite violent at times, there's plenty of death, shootings, a severed tongue, a couple of executions & some nicely choreographed action scenes. Some people seem to think the horse were abused during the making of The Wind of the Lion, the film has never been released on any home video format here in the UK because the BBFC demanded cuts to several horse falls to which director Milius reacted angrily to & stopped the planned release since all who were involved with the making of it say no animals were hurt at all. To be honest I didn't see anything that concerned me at all.

With a supposed budget of about $4,000,000 The Wind and the Lion looks great throughout with top class production values & meticulous attention to detail. Set in Morocco but filmed largely in Spain. The acting is good especially Sean Connery.

The Wind and the Lion is a visual treat for anyone who likes their films set in the past, it looks great throughout & there are some nice action scenes but the story doesn't hold up that well & it's far too long for my liking. Good but not great & I doubt I would want to see it again anytime soon.

In 1904, a Greek-American named Perdicaris was taken hostage along with his step-son. His captor was a Moroccan chieftan named Raisuli and eventually the United States was able to secure the release of the men.

The film "The Wind and the Lion" is HEAVILY fictionalized version of the Perdicaris Affair. I say heavily because in order to 'sex it up', the film features a pretty woman (Candice Bergen) as Perdicaris and instead of a step-son, she's taken hostage with her two young children. What also is heavily fictionalized is the climactic battle at the end of the film.

So is it any good? Well, despite casting a Scottish actor as Raisuli and the writing for Mrs. Perdicaris being terrible, yes, it is very enjoyable. But as I just said, Mrs. Perdicaris was ridiculous. Imagine what you'd do if you were in this situation...would you yell and be a thorn in your captor' side?? No way...it would result in a quick trip to the afterlife! But the action is good and Brian Keiths flamboyant portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt is quite captivating. Well worth seeing....though it left me really wanting to see a film actually based on the Perdicaris kidnapping.

I saw this film at school and absolutely loved it. Based on a true story, this is an absolutely splendid masterpiece of a film. Seriously, I couldn't find anything wrong with it. One definite plus is how it was filmed. Set in Morrocco in 1904, the Wind and the Lion is filled with stirring images like the Great Raisuli on horseback especially. The cinematography was faultless, the editing was crisp, the costumes were gorgeous and the scenery was breathtaking. And I have to mention the music from Jerry Goldsmith, it was phenomenal. I have used this phrase a lot recently, but Goldsmith ain't my favourite film composer for nothing. His score here is so rousing and exciting, it shows the man's true musical genius, and this gem of a score should be up there with Goldsmith's best scores with Legend, Rambo:First Blood, Patton and The Secret of NIMH.

The action is exhilarating and the screenplay is intelligent and sophisticated. The direction is sensitively handled too. The performances were astounding as well, with Sean Connery, ever the picture of charisma and suavity, magnificent as the Great Raisuli, he almost dominates the entire picture on his own. He is joined by a feisty Candice Bergen, a wily John Huston and a captivating Brian Keith in one of his more understated performances. The history is fairly accurate, perhaps flimsy in some areas, but with the acting, music and visuals so good I am past caring. 10/10 Bethany Cox