Muhammad: The Messenger of God (film)

Not to be confused with The Message (1976 film).

Muhammad: The Messenger of God
Directed byMajid Majidi
Written by
Based onMuhammad
Produced by
  • Muhammad Mehdi Heidarian
  • Mohammadreza Saberi
  • Majid Majidi
Starring
CinematographyVittorio Storaro
Edited byRoberto Perpignani
Music byA. R. Rahman
Production
companies
  • Noor-e-Taban Film Company Production
  • Infinite Production Company GmbH
Release date
  • August 27, 2015 (2015-08-27) (Iran)
Running time
178 minutes[1]
CountryIran
Languages
  • Persian
  • Aramaic
  • Arabic
Budget$40 million[2]
Box office$1.4 million

Muhammad: The Messenger of God (Persian: محمد رسول‌الله, romanized: Mohammad Rasulollah) is a 2015 Iranian Islamic epic film directed by Majid Majidi and co-written with Kambuzia Partovi. Set in the sixth century, the plot revolves around the childhood of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

The film marks the highest-budget production in Iranian cinema to date.[3] Development of Muhammad: The Messenger of God began in 2007 and Majidi wrote the first draft of the screenplay by 2009. By 2011, a colossal set created in the city of Qom near Tehran was ready for the majority of the film. Throughout the filming process, Majidi worked with a team of historians and archaeologists for the work on accuracy of the early life of Muhammad. Post-production works began in Munich during late 2013 and were completed in 2014. The cinematography is done by Vittorio Storaro and film score is composed by A. R. Rahman.

The film was set to have its premiere at the Fajr International Film Festival on 1 February 2015 but was pulled due to technical difficulties. For the critics, filmmakers and journalists, a special screening was held at Cinema Farhang in Iran on 12 February 2015. It was released both in Iran and at Montreal World Film Festival on 27 August 2015. The film was selected as the Iranian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.[4][5]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference ffm was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Iran premieres big-budget epic film 'Muhammad'". Firstpost. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
  3. ^ "بزرگ‌ترین پروژه سینمای ایران به نیمه رسید / مخاطبان در انتظار "محمد (ص)" مجید مجیدی". خبرآنلاین (in Persian). 18 June 2012. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Muhammad to represent Iran at 88th Academy Awards". Mehr News Agency. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
  5. ^ Vivarelli, Nick (28 September 2015). "Iran Picks Rise of Islam Epic 'Muhammad: The Messenger of God' for Foreign-Language Oscar". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 April 2019. Retrieved 28 September 2015.