| Al-Mas'ala Al-Kubra | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Mohamed Shukri Jameel |
| Produced by | Saddam Hussain |
| Written by | Ramadan Gatea Mozan, Lateif Jorephani & Mohamed Shukri Jameel. |
| Starring | Oliver Reed John Barron James Bolam Helen Ryan Sami Abdul Hameed |
| Music by | Ron Goodwin |
| Cinematography | Jack Hildyard & Majid Kamel |
| Editing by | Bill Blunden |
| Distributed by | Iraqi Film Corporation |
| Release date(s) | 1983 |
| Running time | 184 minutes |
| Country | Iraq |
| Language | Arabic / English |
| Budget | $24 mil |
Al-Mas'ala Al-Kubra (aka Clash of Loyalties and The Great Question) is a 1983 Iraqi movie focusing on the formation of Iraq out of Mesopotamia in the aftermath of the First World War.[1]
The film was financed by Saddam Hussain, filmed in Iraq (mainly at the Baghdad Film Studios in Baghdad's Mansour neighbourhood and on location at the Tigris-Euphrates marshlands, Babylon and Kut) at the height of the Iran–Iraq War and starred Oliver Reed as Gerard Leachman, Marc Sinden as Captain Dawson[2] and Helen Ryan as Gertrude Bell, with a stirring score by Ron Goodwin.[3]
Notorious for being the last film made to use the now banned "Running W" technique, invented by the great stuntman Yakima (Yak) Canutt, which was a method of bringing down a horse at the gallop by attaching a wire, anchored to the ground, to its fetlocks and so launching the rider forwards spectacularly at a designated point. It invariably killed the horse, or at best it was unrideable afterwards. The British actor and friend of Yak Marc Sinden and stuntman Ken Buckle (who had been trained by Yak) performed the highly-dangerous stunt three times during the huge cavalry charge sequence.[4]
Both Arab and English versions of the film were produced.[1]
The movie was nominated for the Golden Prize at the 1983 Moscow International Film Festival.[5]