The Wind And The Lion + Discussion

Dir. John Milius, Unknown, USA, 1975

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Thu 22 November 2012 // 18:30 / Cinema

 

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Sean Connery with an Arabic accent! This is an epic adventure film about the kidnapping of an American woman by a Berber group in Morocco (led by Sean Connery), based on real events that took place in 1904.

 

"Milius' film revives the desert epic with wit, style and a compelling brilliance in his handling of the Panavision format." - TIME OUT

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Adventure

An American woman and her two children are kidnapped by Berber brigand Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli (Sean Connery), prompting American President Theodore Roosevelt to send an armed invasion and rescue mission to Morocco. 

Inspired from Real Facts

This story is inpsired from real facts which took place in 1904, although the reality was a bit less glamour: the real incident involved the kidnapping of a middle-aged man and his stepson, who were not harmed.

Sean Connery as the leader of the Arabs

Yes, and it features Sean Connery as you've never seen him - he plays the leader of the Arab kidnappers, and speaks with a (bad!?) Arabic accent!

+ Discussion with Dr Michael Cullinane

The film will be introduced by Dr Michael Cullinane, History lecturer at Northumbria University, specialist of American history, and will be followed by a discussion with him.
 
This film is from 1975, but it echoes very strongly the Al-Qaeda situation now, so this is a great film to watch, to start a discussion about American diplomacy and the "war on terror".