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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Between the Wind and the Lion is the woman. For her, half the world may go to war."
1 Nov 2008
Format:DVD
For me, The Wind and the Lion is one of the great adventure films of all time (rather than an action movie per se) and certainly has the best script of the 70s, managing to combine adventure, myth, romance, wit and political cynicism while creating memorable characters and driving the story forward. Its influences are clearly noticeable, and all acknowledged by writer-director John Milius: the children's behavior is straight out of A High Wind in Jamaica, the superb beach sequence inspired by another horseback swordfight in The Hidden Fortress (Kurosawa is a big Milius influence elsewhere in the film as well) while the finale throws in a tip of the hat, both musically and visually, to The Wild Bunch. But unlike a Tarantino grab-bag of favorite movie moments, Milius manages to make something unique of his own out of them all in this highly romanticised tale of an American woman (Candice Bergen) and her children kidnapped by an Arab leader (Sean Connery) in Morocco in 1904 that became an international incident that briefly threatened to turn into a war as Teddy Roosevelt (Brian Keith) used it as a rallying cry during his election campaign. But as the Americans and European powers that control the region rattle sabres, hostage and captive form a real friendship they'll risk anything for.
As for Connery's casting... Well, it makes a change to cast a Scot as a north of the border Berber - up until then Hollywood usually cast Welsh actors like Hugh Griffiths as Arabs. Yes, you do laugh when you first hear him speak, but after his line "I am the Raisuli - you will not laugh at me again!", you won't. Accent or not, this is one of his most likeable and charismatic performances, proving himself one of the few actors with enough presence for the epic genre.... Read more ›
As for Connery's casting... Well, it makes a change to cast a Scot as a north of the border Berber - up until then Hollywood usually cast Welsh actors like Hugh Griffiths as Arabs. Yes, you do laugh when you first hear him speak, but after his line "I am the Raisuli - you will not laugh at me again!", you won't. Accent or not, this is one of his most likeable and charismatic performances, proving himself one of the few actors with enough presence for the epic genre.... Read more ›
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
It really beggars belief that one of the great adventure movies is only available on region 2 in foreign imported DVDs. Mine is a Dutch version which has excellent picture quality and no problem with subtitles. This is a very old fashioned adventure that has more in common with some of those dashing films from the thirties, even including a very Light Brigade like charge. There is an awful lot of dash, that is carried out with great savoire-faire! A few years back in Marrakech, being your typical tourist bore, I visited a museum where I saw much of the regalia that adorned the Moroccan hill tribesmen's horses. There were some very ornate items, that I thought must have looked simply splendid in action. That schoolboy hope was realised when I watched John Milius's rattling good yarn "The Wind and the Lion".
Very loosely based on a real incident at the turn of the Century, the story involves an American woman and her two children who are kidnapped by a dashing Berber lord, who wants to provoke an international incident in the hope of bringing down the coorrupt ruling government. This he manages to achieve, upsetting no less a person than the then president of the United States Teddy Roosevelt. Things are complicated further when those dastardly Germans get involved as well. It doesn't involve penalties thank goodness! At first she is unsurprisingly hostile toward her kidnapper, but then gradually warms to him, finding him to be a man of honour and not the brigand that some would make him out to be. He is also a man willing to fight his own battles, and there are plenty of opportunities for him to do this.
Milius admitted that he was influenced by the stories of Rudyard Kipling, which the film bears out.... Read more ›
Very loosely based on a real incident at the turn of the Century, the story involves an American woman and her two children who are kidnapped by a dashing Berber lord, who wants to provoke an international incident in the hope of bringing down the coorrupt ruling government. This he manages to achieve, upsetting no less a person than the then president of the United States Teddy Roosevelt. Things are complicated further when those dastardly Germans get involved as well. It doesn't involve penalties thank goodness! At first she is unsurprisingly hostile toward her kidnapper, but then gradually warms to him, finding him to be a man of honour and not the brigand that some would make him out to be. He is also a man willing to fight his own battles, and there are plenty of opportunities for him to do this.
Milius admitted that he was influenced by the stories of Rudyard Kipling, which the film bears out.... Read more ›
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By "filmfogey"
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well he's a Berber, actually, but as President Teddy Roosevelt observes, "it goes double" when considering what kind of rifle the Lord of the Rifs might be likely to use. For Raisuli the Magnificent and his tribesmen have kidnapped a high-placed Yankee widow-lady and her two children out of Tangier and with re-election coming up it's a God-sent opportunity (or maybe Allah who knows) for Teddy to boost his popularity by sending the Atlantic Squadron to Morocco to demand their release. John Milius' free-wheeling and lightly-satirical take on a historical incident (where the hostages were two adult males) sweeps us onto a magic-carpet ride of cheerful hokum that calls to mind the home-based Hollywood 'Easterns' of the Forties and Fifties though this widescreen Seventies entry was filmed entirely in Spain using sets left over from LAWRENCE.
Sean Connery plays Raisuli with unbeatable charisma and his own fruitily imperturbable accent which may irritate the purists but if you loved Hugh Griffith as an Arab from Anglesey in BEN-HUR you should have no trouble here. If it bugs you pretend his mother was a tourist from Edinburgh. A man's a man for all that and Connery is certainly the man. He and the comely widow (Candice Bergen) hit it off right away - he backhands her for laughing at him falling off his horse (Sir Sean reportedly approved of treating 'em rough in real-life too) but when he tells her "You're going to be a great deal of trouble" we start getting that King & I feeling. "Do you play checkers ?" he later asks. "No, I play chess," she replies and they do while swapping cute aphorisms and cultural critiques.... Read more ›
Sean Connery plays Raisuli with unbeatable charisma and his own fruitily imperturbable accent which may irritate the purists but if you loved Hugh Griffith as an Arab from Anglesey in BEN-HUR you should have no trouble here. If it bugs you pretend his mother was a tourist from Edinburgh. A man's a man for all that and Connery is certainly the man. He and the comely widow (Candice Bergen) hit it off right away - he backhands her for laughing at him falling off his horse (Sir Sean reportedly approved of treating 'em rough in real-life too) but when he tells her "You're going to be a great deal of trouble" we start getting that King & I feeling. "Do you play checkers ?" he later asks. "No, I play chess," she replies and they do while swapping cute aphorisms and cultural critiques.... Read more ›
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Wind and the Lion
Clearly for me the best film ever and certainly my favourite with Sean Connery. There are many truths in the film for that period which are still pertinent today.
Published 15 days ago by Jaleva
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not sure
This is a poorly executed storyline- all over the place and the Berbers are portrayed in a very poor light and the American president made to look like a bufoon! I
Published 26 days ago by Sophia Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars
Timeless classic
If you're a fan of Sean Connery then this is a must for your collection
Great quality and brings back wonderful memories.
Great quality and brings back wonderful memories.
Published 3 months ago by KSD1
2.0 out of 5 stars
unclear about format
i had purchased this in the uk and was disappointed that it was not set for a uk format viewing and requires a change to zone one or 4 to view. Read more
Published 4 months ago by john fieldsend
5.0 out of 5 stars
A classic that never dates
As much as I love the man who would be king, I think this is the better film.
Sean Connery has never been better, and his portrayal of Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli is... Read more
Sean Connery has never been better, and his portrayal of Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli is... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2011 by TheFivePillars
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Wind and the Lion
Very well presented film, good storie line, fast moving, keeps your attention all the way through.
Published on 9 Mar 2010 by Nicky Woods
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great sunday movie
when you feel like switching off and watching a good action movie - watch this, a movie set in a time when the USA did not care whether the world loved it or not and it did what it... Read more
Published on 28 April 2005
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