The wind and the lion
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The wind and the lion |
| Original title | The Wind and the Lion |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1975 |
| length | 119 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | John Milius |
| script | John Milius |
| production | Herb Jaffe |
| music | Jerry Goldsmith |
| camera | Billy Williams |
| cut | Robert L. Wolfe |
| occupation | |
| |
The Wind and the Lion is an American adventure film directed by John Milius in 1975. The script is based on a true story, namely the so-called Perdicaris incident in 1904 (the kidnapping of Ion Perdicaris by Ahmed ben Mohammed el-Raisuli ). In contrast to the historical circumstances, a woman is kidnapped in the film. The film premiered in Germany on January 9, 1976.
action
In 1904 the German Empire , France and the British Empire attempt to bring Morocco under their control.
Raisuli is the leader of a Berber tribe who are fighting against the corrupt and pro-European policies of Sultan Abd al-Aziz and his uncle, the Pasha of Tangier . Raisuli kidnaps the American Eden Perdicaris and their children William and Jennifer after killing their British friend Sir Joshua. Raisuli wants to provoke an international incident that puts the Sultan in distress.
The American President Theodore Roosevelt is in the middle of the election campaign for his re-election. He sees the kidnapping as a political tool and an opportunity to show America's military might. His foreign secretary, John Hay , protests. Since the American consul in Tangier, Samuel Gummere, got stuck in his negotiations, the president sends the South Atlantic Squadron of the US Navy to Tangier. Their commander, Admiral Chadwick, is supposed to either free the Perdicaris family or to put pressure on the Sultan to give in to the Berber rebel's demands.
Raisuli has brought his hostages to the Rif . The children admire the Berber, but Eden sees him as a rowdy criminal. Eden often argues with Raisuli, but plays many games of chess with him. With the help of one of Raisuli's men, Eden and her children escape. However, the man is a fraud and delivers them to a horde of desert robbers. However, Raisuli has followed the trail and kills the robbers. He doesn't want to harm the Perdicaris and continues to scold them. When Raisuli tells Eden about his past, she falls in love with him. Raisuli had been betrayed by his brother, the Pasha, and locked in a dungeon for years.
Gummere, Chadwick and Captain Jerome, Chadwick's troop commander, are disgusted by the Sultan and his political moves. They decide to intervene in the military to force the sultan to negotiate with Raisuli. Jerome has his marines march through Tangier. To the annoyance of the European representations, they defeat the palace guards of the Pasha, take him prisoner and force him to start negotiations. The pasha is forced to comply with his brother's demands. But while the hostages are being released, Raisuli is captured by a German-Moroccan squad under the command of Von Roerkel. Raisuli's friend, the Sherif of Wazan, organizes a Berber attack on the Germans, while Eden persuades Jerome to save Raisuli. In the battle that followed, the Americans and Berbers were able to defeat the German-Moroccan alliance and free Raisuli. Eden and her children arrive safely in Tangier while the president receives news of his troops' victory.
Reviews
“A great romantic adventure story reminiscent of magazines colportage without any deeper human dimension, but at least in an externally fascinating staging. Fighting and cruelty only come into the picture subtly. The military intervention of the then US President Theodor Roosevelt is used for light satirical swipes as part of an elaborate film operetta. "
“Action director John Milius (“ The Red Flood ”,“ Conan, the Barbarian ”) is a guarantee for larger-than-life, but not always politically correct, adventure cinema. With this glowing desert epic based on the classic "Lawrence of Arabia" pattern, however, Milius produced a captivating and morally unsuspicious spectacle. "
Awards
- Nomination for Best Score for Jerry Goldsmith
- Nomination for Best Tone for Harry W. Tetrick, Aaron Rochin, William L. McCaughey and Roy Charman
BAFTA Awards 1976
- Nomination for Best Score (Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music) for Jerry Goldsmith
Grammy Award 1976
- Nomination for Jerry Goldsmith
- Nomination for the WGA Award for Best Drama (John Milius)
background
“ Mrs. Perdicaris, you are causing me great trouble. "
The MGM production budget was approximately $ 4 million. MGM was responsible for sales in the USA, with Columbia Pictures taking over international sales . The film was shot in Spain , and not only American soldiers but also Spanish soldiers were used as extras in the battle scenes. These scenes were used by the US Marine Corps as a training film.
The filming of the final battle lasted two weeks, including using real dynamite. The horse stunts got four American stuntmen. The stunt coordinator Terry Leonard, who can be seen as the American President's boxing sparring partner, signed a statement with director John Milius in 1990 for the British film supervisory authority that no animals were killed or injured during the shooting. Otherwise you would have had to cut out the horse stunts in order to be able to publish the video on the British market.
John Milius as a one-armed soldier and Aldo Sambrell as an Arab can be seen in supporting roles . The role of Sir Joshua Smith was taken on by cameraman Billy Williams. The film's special effects designer, Alex Weldon, can be seen in the role of US Secretary of War Elihu Root .
Brian Keith played another US president in the 1997 TV movie Rough Riders : Roosevelt's predecessor, William McKinley . Steve Kanaly is known to German television viewers as Ray Krebbs in the TV series Dallas .
The set of the film was the responsibility of the two-time Oscar winner Gil Parrondo.
Individual evidence
- ↑ The wind and the lion. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed May 1, 2017 .
- ↑ http://www.cinema.de/kino/filmarchiv/film/der-wind-und-der-loewe,1324124,ApplicationMovie.html
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073906/business
Web links
- The Wind and the Lion in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Critique of Variety