Lion of the Desert | |
---|---|
Directed by | Moustapha Akkad |
Written by | H.A.L. Craig |
Produced by | Moustapha Akkad |
Starring | Anthony Quinn Oliver Reed Rod Steiger Raf Vallone |
Cinematography | Jack Hildyard |
Edited by | John Shirley |
Music by | Maurice Jarre |
Production company | Falcon International Productions |
Distributed by | United Film Distribution Company |
Release date |
|
Running time | 173 minutes |
Countries | Libya United States |
Languages | English Arabic Italian |
Budget | US$35 million[1] |
Box office | $1 million (U.S.)[1] |
Lion of the Desert is a 1981 epic historical war film about the Second Italo-Senussi War, starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army), and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who defeated Mukhtar. It was directed by Moustapha Akkad and funded by the Libyan government under Muammar Gaddafi.[2]
Released in May 1981, the film has received positive reviews from critics, but performed poorly at the box office, gaining revenues of US$1.5 million worldwide despite having a $35 million budget.[3][4] The film was banned in Italy in 1982 and was only shown on pay TV in 2009.