The Wind and the Lion

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The Wind and the Lion

promotional poster for The Wind and the Lion
Directed by John Milius
Produced by Herb Jaffe
Phil Rawlins (associate)
Written by John Milius
Starring Sean Connery
Candice Bergen
Brian Keith
John Huston
Music by Jerry Goldsmith
Cinematography Billy Williams
Editing by Robert L. Wolfe
Distributed by - USA -
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
- non-USA -
Columbia Pictures
Release date(s) 1975
Running time 119 min.
Country USA
Language English
Budget $4,000,000 (estimated)
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Wind and the Lion is a 1975 adventure film. It was directed by John Milius and starred Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith and John Huston. It was based somewhat on the real-life Perdicaris incident of 1904.

This movie blends historic facts into a fictional adventure in which an American woman, Eden Perdicaris (played by Bergen), and her two children are kidnapped by Berber brigand Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli (Connery) prompting American President Teddy Roosevelt (Keith) to wield the "Big Stick" of American diplomacy to launch an armed invasion and rescue mission. (The real Perdicaris incident involved the kidnapping of a middle-aged male and his stepson, who were not harmed.)

The film was a co-production between MGM (which handled US distribution) and Columbia Pictures (which handled international distribution). Coincidentally, Columbia's current parent company Sony Pictures Entertainment currently owns a stake in MGM, although the US rights to this film are now with Warner Bros./Turner Entertainment.

Contents

[edit] Plot

In 1904, Morocco is the source of conflict by the powers of Imperial Germany, France, and the British Empire, all of whom are trying to establish a sphere of influence in that country. Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli (Sean Connery) is the leader of a band of Berber insurrectionists opposed to Sultan Abdelaziz (Marc Zuber) and his uncle, the Bashaw (Pasha) of Tangier (Vladek Sheybal), whom Raisuli sees as corrupt and beholden to the Europeans. He kidnaps Eden Perdicaris and her children, William (Simon Harrison) and Jennifer (Polly Gottesman) from their home, after murdering Sir Joshua Smith (Billy Williams, the film's cinematographer), a British friend of Eden's. Raisuli then issues an outrageous ransom, deliberately attempting to provoke an international incident in order to embarrass the Sultan and trigger civil war.

Back in the United States, President Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Keith) is struggling for re-election, and decides to seize the kidnapping as both a political tool (coining the phrase "Perdicaris alive or Raisuli dead!") and as an effort to flex America's military muscle as a new power - despite the protests of his cautious Secretary of State, John Hay (John Huston). The American Consul to Tangier, Samuel Gummere (Geoffrey Lewis), is unable to negotiate a peaceful return of the hostages, so Roosevelt sends the South Atlantic Squadron, under the command of Admiral French Ensor Chadwick (Roy Jenson), to Tangier, either to retrieve Perdicaris themselves or to force the Sultan to give in to Raisuli's demands. Over the course of the story, however, Roosevelt finds himself gaining more and more respect for Raisuli, thinking him an honorable man who just happens to be his enemy.

The Perdicarises are held as hostages by the Raisuli in the Rif, far out of reach of any potential rescue. Though her children seem to admire Raisuli, Eden finds him "a brigand and a lout", and the two engage in much verbal banter, as well as several chess matches. The Perdicarises attempt an escape, helped by one of Raisuli's men, but they are betrayed and turned over to a gang of desert thieves. Luckily, Raisuli has tracked them and kills the Perdicarises' kidnappers. He then reveals that he has no intention of harming the Perdicarises, and is merely bluffing. Eden and Raisuli then begin to fall in love as Raisuli reveals his backstory - that he was once betrayed and captured by his brother, the Bashaw, and held in inhuman conditions in a dungeon for several years.

Finally, Gummere, Chadwick and his aide, Marine Captain Jerome (Steve Kanaly), tire of the Sultan's perfidy and the meddling of the European powers and decide to engage in "military intervention" to force the Sultan to negotiate. Jerome's company of Marines, supported by a small detachment of sailors, march through the streets of Tangier, much to the surprise and chagrin of the European legations, and overwhelm the Bashaw's palace guard, taking the latter hostage and forcing him to negotiate.

Under such coercion, the Bashaw finally agrees to give into the Raisuli's demands, but during a hostage exchange, Raisuli is double-crossed and captured by German and Moroccan troops under the command of Von Roerkel (Antoine Saint-John), while Jerome and a small contingent of Marines are present to secure the Perdicarises. While Raisuli's friend, the Sherif of Wazan (Nadim Sawalha), organizes the Berber tribe for an attack on the Germans, Eden convinces Jerome and his men to rescue the Raisuli. A three-way battle results, in which the Berbers and Americans team up to defeat the Germans and their Moroccan allies, rescuing Raisuli in the process. Back in the United States, Roosevelt is cheered for this great victory, and the Perdicarises arrive safely back in Tangier. At the end of the film, Roosevelt reads a letter he received from Raisuli, comparing the two men (thus explaining the title): "I (Raisuli), like the lion, must stay in my place, while you, like the wind, will never know yours."

[edit] Cast List

[edit] Inspiration/Sources

Milius stated both in interviews and the DVD commentary that he was consciously echoing a number of classic adventure films and stories. He cites the famous British periodical Boys' Own, as well as the stories of Rudyard Kipling, as inspirations for the film. Milius' inspiration had come from reading an article about the Perdicaris incident in a magazine, and he found the story fascinating; he decided to adapt it into a screenplay once he figured out how to make the story more cinematic - by making Ion Perdicaris a woman, Eden.

In terms of film, '30s adventure films such as Gunga Din and The Four Feathers provided inspiration behind the film's style and storytelling technique. The use of children as protagonists is also inspired by the book and movie A High Wind in Jamaica, while the relationship between Raisuli and Eden is based on Rudolph Valentino's The Sheik. Raisuli's rescue of the Perdicarises on the beach is similar to another mounted sword-fighting scene in Akira Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress, and the scene of Jennifer Perdicaris being cornered by Aldo Sambrell's character and kidnapped is a reference to The Searchers.

Perhaps most noticeably, the film inherits the cavalier attitudes towards imperialism, foreign policy and military intervention present in those movies - views which were highly anachronistic in 1975 America, at the end of the Vietnam War. Perhaps surprisingly, Milius's apparent endorsement of imperialism and warfare was not attacked by critics, largely due to the film's tongue-in-cheek/satiric manner.

However, Milius also drew inspiration from more recent films while making the movie. He based the film's cinematography, use of desert landscapes, and filming of battle scenes on David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia, also using many of the same sets, including the "Aqaba" set which had been constructed for Lean's film, here serving as the setting for the final battle with the Germans. The Bashaw's palace was the Palace of the Americas in Seville, having appeared in both Lawrence and Anthony Mann's El Cid. Another major influence is The Wild Bunch, which inspired the final confrontation between the American and German troops and the scene where the Sultan test-fires his Maxim gun.

[edit] Historicity

Though Raisuli, most of the supporting characters, and of course Roosevelt, are historical characters, the real-life victims were Ion Perdicaris and his stepson Cromwell Varley, and the "rescue mission" shown in the film is fictional, as is the final confrontation between the American and German soldiers. Historically, Roosevelt did send Navy ships and a small contingent of Marines to Tangier, who essentially held the Bashaw under house arrest; but it was pressure from the French and British on the Sultan which caused Perdicaris to be released, and no shots were fired in anger by American Marines or warships. The Marine detachment was not to be sent into combat without express orders from President Roosevelt, and thus the scene where Chadwick and Gummere decide to attack the Bashaw on their own accord (as it is implied) is complete invention. Such an action would likely have resulted in the court-martial of both men, and touched off an international conflict with the European powers as well (although in the original script, the chronology of these scenes was different, implying Roosevelt signed off on the plan before it was implemented).

However, the respectful and even friendly relationship between Eden Perdicaris and Raisuli (if not their implied romance) was essentially factual, as the real Perdicaris and his captor grew to be friends during the incident. While the American ambassador Gummere is depicted as cautious and opposed to military action in the film, in real life he strongly advocated military intervention against the Raisuli, while Roosevelt (despite the film's portrayal) and Hay were more measured in dealing with the situation.

The Bashaw (real-name: Abd-el-Rahman Abd-el-Saduk) was related to Raisuli in real life, but the Sultan bore no direct relation to him. The story of Raisuli's betrayal and capture by the Bashaw was true; the Bashaw had attempted to consolidate control over the Berber tribes, but they had sworn loyalty to Raisuli. The Sherif of Wazan was actually two men in real life; the elder, Mulai ali, spoke fluent English and French and was probably closer to the fictional Sherif's role in the film. Also, the Marine Captain played by Steve Kanaly was also fictional; the equivalent of his character would have been then-Captain (later Lt. General) John Twiggs Myers, a veteran of the Spanish-American War and Filipino-American War, and most famous as the commander of the US legation guard in Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. [1]

Brian Keith's portrayal of Theodore Roosevelt was widely acclaimed by viewers and is often considered (along with Edward Herrmann's performance as Franklin Delano Roosevelt in Eleanor and Franklin) as being among the best portrayals of an American President. The film incorporates many of Roosevelt's favorite activities - boxing, archery, target-shooting, hunting - as well as anecdotes (such as his being blinded in his left eye during a boxing match, though it happened several years after the events of the film). 22 years later, Milius cast Keith as President William McKinley in the cable TV film The Rough Riders, starring Tom Berenger as Roosevelt. It was Keith's last film, as he died in 1997.

For unknown reasons, the setting of the events were moved from May to October, possibly to emphasize its effect on the 1904 US Presidential election. In an early draft of the script (as seen in the theatrical trailer) the film took place in July.

Much of the film's dialogue (at least in the Roosevelt scenes) was inspired by real quotes, for instance John Hay's saying to the Japanese ambassador "Likey forkey?" Roosevelt's line, "Why spoil the beauty of the thing with legality?" was based closely on a quote by Roosevelt's Attorney General, Philander Knox, made about Roosevelt's involvement in the Panamanian Revolution of 1904.

[edit] Production

Milius originally wanted Omar Sharif to play Raisuli, and Faye Dunaway as Eden Perdicaris, but Sharif turned the part down and Dunaway became ill, having to be replaced at the last moment by Bergen. Anthony Quinn was also considered for Raisuli. Milius said wrote the part of Eden with Julie Christie in mind, although she may not have actually been approached for the role.

Filming took place in Spain, with the towns of Seville, Almeria, and Madrid all doubling for Tangier and Fez, and the "Washington" scenes being filmed in and around Madrid. For the deserts of Morocco, Milius used many locations in the Almeria region, some of which had been previously used in historical epics such as Lawrence of Arabia and El Cid, as well as several Spaghetti Westerns, though he claims to have discovered the beach where Raisuli rescues the Perdicarises after their escape. The scene at Yellowstone National Park (where Roosevelt gives his famous grizzly bear speech) was filmed in the Meseta Central, north of Madrid. These latter two locations would each re-appear in Milius's Conan the Barbarian. The U.S. Marines and sailors used in the Tangier attack scene were Spanish special forces troops, along with a handful of USMC advisors, who marched with precision through the streets of Seville and Almeria en route to the Bashaw's palace. According to Milius (on the DVD commentary), the US Marine Corps actually shows this scene to its advanced infantry classes at Annapolis.

According to John Milius, virutally all of the film's stunts were performed by Terry Leonard, who also has a bit part as Roosevelt's boxing opponent early in the film. Milius claims that only four stuntmen were used in the entire final battle scene, and he and Leonard have defended the film against criticism for alleged "animal cruelty", claiming that not a single horse was seriously hurt during filming. While filming this scene, Antoine Saint-John revealed himself to be terrified of horses, and would often hide somewhere on the set when his swordfight with Sean Connery was to be filmed.

Several the film's crew are cast in the movie, most notably the cinematagrapher, Billy Williams (perhaps best known for Ken Russell's film of Women of Love), plays the gun-shooting, white-suited Englishman in the opening scenes at the villa. The special effects supervisor Alex Weldon appears as Roosevelt's Secretary of War, Elihu Root, and Milius himself cameos as the one-armed German officer who gives the Sultan his Maxim gum to test-fire ("Herr Sultan is displeased?").

The Wind and the Lion debuted in New York in May 1975 and Britain in October. It received considerable industry recognition, including Academy Award nominations for best music and best sound. Jerry Goldsmith's score also was nominated for the Grammy and the British Academy Film Awards. Additionally, the Writers Guild of America nominated Milius' screenplay. The film was also a box-office success, though the blockbuster status of Steven Spielberg's Jaws overshadowed it.

The film has also gained considerable recognition in the Islamic world for its accurate, detailed, and sympathetic depiction of Berber and Islamic culture.

Milius' next projects were uncredited dialogue in Jaws (also in 1975) and direction of Big Wednesday, a surfing film released in 1978.

A novelization of the film by Milius was published by Award Books in January 1975. Based on the screenplay, the story is slightly different from the finished film, with several additional scenes (notably, Eden Perdicaris taking a bath at Raisuli's palace and Gummere watching the Atlantic Squadron arrive in Tangier) included, and the story's chronology slightly different. The first printing included a making-of chapter and brief bios of most of the cast and crew.

[edit] DVD releases

In Region 1, Warner Home Video released the film on DVD on January 6, 2004. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a bare-bones DVD in Australia (R4) and in several European markets (Region 2), notably Germany[1], though not yet in the United Kingdom (the Sony release is English-friendly though).

[edit] References

  1. ^ Official entry of the German edition, listing the various soundtracks and subtitles the DVD comes with

[edit] External links