Lion of the Desert

Set in Libya during the late 1920s, Lion of the Desert centres on Omar al-Mukhtar, a teacher who becomes the spiritual and military leader of the Bedouin resistance against Italian colonial rule. Frustrated by a campaign that has stalled for years, Benito Mussolini places General Rodolfo Graziani in command and orders him to end the uprising. Graziani pursues his mission with ruthless force, including mass reprisals against civilians, while Mukhtar's fighters rely on knowledge of the land and guerrilla tactics to strike at a far better equipped enemy. What develops is a prolonged contest between two determined adversaries, one defending his homeland and the other determined to subdue it.

The film was directed by Moustapha Akkad, his second feature after The Message (1976), and produced by Akkad with Mohammad Sanousi. Anthony Quinn plays Omar al-Mukhtar, with Oliver Reed as Graziani, Irene Papas as Mabrouka, Raf Vallone as Colonel Diodiece, Rod Steiger as Mussolini and John Gielgud as Sharif El Gariani. H.A.L. Craig and David Butler wrote the screenplay, and 47 cast members are credited.

Its scale is reflected in a budget of 35 million US dollars, a large sum for the period. The worldwide box office return of about 2 million US dollars was far below that outlay. On IMDb the film holds 8.2 out of 10 from roughly 19,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.3 out of 10 from about 205 votes. A critics' rating of 7 out of 10 from eight reviews sits below the IMDb audience figure and above the TMDB one.