The Wind and the Lion

The Wind and the Lion
Pre-release promotional poster
Directed byJohn Milius
Written byJohn Milius
Produced byHerb Jaffe
Starring
CinematographyBilly Williams
Edited byRobert L. Wolfe
Music byJerry Goldsmith
Production
companies
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Herb Jaffe Productions
Distributed by
Release date
  • May 22, 1975 (1975-05-22) (New York City)
Running time
119 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$4.5 million[1] or $4.2 million[2]
Box office$9.2 million (rentals)[3]

The Wind and the Lion is a 1975 American epic historical adventure film written and directed by John Milius, and starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, and John Huston. The film is loosely based on the real-life Perdicaris affair of 1904. Connery plays Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli, a Moroccan Berber rebel and anti-imperialist leader, and Bergen plays his hostage Eden Pedecaris, a fictional character inspired by Ion Hanford Perdicaris.

Milius' second feature film, it was produced by Herb Jaffe for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and distributed in the U.S. by United Artists and internationally by Columbia Pictures. It received generally positive reviews from critics, and was a moderate commercial success. Jerry Goldsmith’s film score received Academy Award, BAFTA Award and Grammy Award nominations. John Milius was nominated for a Writers Guild of America Award for his screenplay.

  1. ^ Ken Plume, "Interview with John Milius" IGN, 7 May 2003 Retrieved 5 January 2013.
  2. ^ Gallagher, John (1989). Film Directors on Directing. ABC-Clio. pp. 174–175.
  3. ^ "All-Time Film Rental Champs", Variety, 7 January 1976, pg 48.