Rating: 
Summary: Rousing Adventure with a Touch of Romance
Review: Well, I wait patiently for this movie to be released on DVD. In the meantime, I keep the VCR so I can watch this movie for the umpteenth time. In many ways, this screen adaption of actual events seems more appropriate to be viewed in these times. The movie is a VERY loose depiction of actual events: the kidnapping of an American businessman in Morocco. Look beyond that and you will find a story that reflects admirably on the antagonists. Candice Bergen plays the (subtle) potential love interest of the Raizuli, and well, Sean Connery, is Sean Connery, in the best tradition of a Scostman playing an Arab. Anyway, Brian Keith's portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt makes you wish he were still alive so you could vote for him in the next election. This is one of my all time favorites and it makes you feel good to be an American (not wanting to be jingoistic or anything). The movie does depict an era when international politics was not so seemingly complicated as they are now. The portayal of Arab Muslims is fair: good and bad traits, as in all people on this planet. The depiction of the Marines coming ashore, is well, one of the best (unintentional) recruiting tools for the USMC. I understand these scenes use (still?) to be shown at USMC Officer Candidate School. This is a truly enjoyable film.
Rating:
Summary: the wind and the lion
Review: A sweeping epic of action, romance (unfulfilled, which is sometimes the best kind), and GREAT character acting. Sean Connery, in what I think is his greatest swashbuckling role as Rizuli. Candice Bergen, a fine actress and simply gorgeous in this film is joined by Brian Keith in what is unquestionably his greatest role as Teddy Roosevelt. The plotline is based on facts that occurred at that time in history. The ending is perfect and leaves you satisfied and yet still thinking of what might have happened to the characters in the end with a little different circumstances. I agree with many others.......WE WANT A DVD!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: A great adventure although bad history.
Review: The Wind and the Lion is a film that is greater than the sum of it's all star cast. Brian Keith, Sean Connery, John Huston and Candice Bergen are the principle figures in the film but they are supported by a very capable second team of character actors
that gives even more depth to the film. The actual events portrayed are only somewhat accurate. This might be viewed as a "what if" type of film.Sean Connery as Rizuli, the "Lord of the Rif" is outstanding and quite different from his mostly James Bond casting up until that point. While classes as a bandit, he is also the uncle of the Sultan of Morocco - a quite immature young man as portrayed. in the film who has great memories of his times with his "uncle". It was an early, and possibly unintentional example, of the convoluted nature of Mid-East and African politics. Connery portrays a man of great dignity and personal honor who, in a way, although classified as a bandit, is likeable and charming. He grows on you - from the first scene all the way until the voice over narration at the end. He exhibits and exudes majesty. John Huston as John Hay is another exceptional portrayal. He is shown doing his best to prevent an all out war but I think one can see the grandstanding going on for the sake of the diplomatic corps then in Washington. He makes the typical "Ugly American" mistake of assuming that the Japanese Military Attache' does not speak English and is put in his place quite nicely by the attace' at a luncheon. Brian Keith is terrific as Theodore Roosevelt and gives not only a fine perfromance of the man, but captures the spirit of America then and now. The analagy to the grizzly bear is quite effective and moving. His problems with the fitting of his rifle are quite amusing as well as his difficulty in getting them resolved. One would think that even in the 1900s the President could get better customer service than was portrayed. His problem with his vision is portrayed in a very interesting way and depends on the young girl playing Alice Roosevelt to make it work. Roosevelt and the family at the rifle range is well done - musical selections played by the Marine band to the accompaniement of rifle fire makes a nice contrast and could be seen as pointing out the contradictions in Roosevelt as a person. Candice Bergen is fine as Eden Pedicaris, even though historically 100% wrong. The person she portrayed was actually a man who was a naturalized American citizen who was Greek originally. She is a bit of a Murphy Brown charecter even in 1975, but does it well. Yet what makes her role work is the fine performances by the young boy and girl who represent her children. The children give Bergen greater scope to show her charecter. The children even start to undergo something of a "Stockholm Syndrome" as they start to become comfortable with their captors - the boy is given a dagger by one of the guards and looks at Connery as something of a father figure. The hurly-burly of Moroccan politics is protrayed quite well. The German cavalry and French infantry are shown in great force. The US intervention is one of those moments that makes you want to sit and cheer as the Marines take on first, the Moroccan Army and then later the German cavalry. The meeting between the US diplomats in Morocco and the Navy and Marine representatives is an excellent portrayal of diplomats wanting a military sloution without getting into any fighting. This is a movie that has just about something for everyone, even for those who viewed or view the United States as less than benevolent power, but, for the vast majority of us, it was an entertaining film that portrays versatility of Connery, Bergen, Houston and Keith in a way not usually seen. I recommend it for everyone but bearing in mind that its actual relation to history is tenuous at best - Theodore Roosevelt, John Hay and Rizuli existed but this portrayal is totally fictional. But still it is worth several viewings.
Rating:
Summary: A CLASSIC ADVENTURE STORY
Review: My enormous family simply loves this movie - it's up there with Errol Flynn's "Robin Hood" as an unforgettable adventure story. The look on the little boy's face towards the end of the movie when Raisuli bends toward him as he races by is magical. And Brian Keith's portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt is one for the ages. The critics were lukewarm about this film - what dopes.
PLEASE BRING THIS OUT ON DVD - I'D BUY A BUNCH RIGHT AWAY!!!
Rating:
Summary: We need "The Wind and the Lion" in DVD now!
Review: This movie is super! Great acting and scenery and story, so WHEN IS IT GOING TO BE IN DVD. All of Connery's others have been made into DVD. To us this is considered "one of his best".
Rating:
Summary: My All Time Favorite
Review: I saw this movie when it originally came out in 1975 and it has been my favorite film ever since. The score is sturring, the vistas are stunning, the cast is superb. Not to mention the memorable lines, "You're a lotta trouble". I would truly recommend this film to anyone that likes action-adventure that is not over done and with just enough flirtatious overtones to give it a bit of humor. Definately a must if you are a Sean Connery fan! My only concern is when will this film be released on DVD?
Rating:
Summary: Why isn't this movie on DVD?
Review: On of Connery's best and the only one not offered on DVD. It's to bad because the story's every bit as good as "55 Days At Peking", and the action and acting is much better!
Rating:
Summary: Finest Films Ever
Review: Connery carries the film in a very accurate recounting of history. It gives us a small insight into the plight of the Berbers. The music score of Jerry Goldsmith is simply, moving. If you do not love this film, please, check your pulse.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorites
Review: I've been a fan of this movie since I saw it in 1975 at the age of seven. A nod to the great old movies of the forties and thirties with Douglas Fairbanks Jr. and Errol Flynn. Only with some modern sensibilites added in. It's a great adventure movie. Sean Connery is perfect as the rebellious tribal leader who is also a brave and honorable man. Brian Keith has a field day as Teddy Roosevelt and Candice Bergen is the right mix of feisty heroine and vunerable leading lady Additionally,there is some outstanding support work done by John Huston and others. For those who are military history buffs and collectors of old firearms this movie is a visual treat.It's also a real slam bang action/adventure movie, a bit of a romance and even a political commentary piece. While it may be true that it plays fast and loose with historical fact it's a forgivable sin. This movie isn't trying to recreate the actual events, instead it's trying to recreate the mythical aspects of the late Imperial age. A time period which has taken on larger than life aspects. People were no more capable, evil or heroic a century ago than people are today, but somehow we think/remember them being that way. That's why I think this film still appeals to so many, I know that's what it is for me.
Rating:
Summary: Sean Connery kidnaps Murphy Brown. Can you imagine?
Review: In 1904, a Greek-American businessman named George Pedicaris was kidnapped by a Moroccan tribal chieftain named El-Rasaouli. This became one element in a wider international spat over Morocco involving the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and Germany. It also provided President Theodore Roosevelt the opportunity for one of his most famous one-liners: "Pedicaris alive, or El-Rasaouli dead!" In 1975, Hollywood scriptwriters turned this historical footnote into THE WIND AND THE LION, wherein Sean Connery, at his roguish best, is cast as the desert kidnapper, and, in a gender flip-flop of reality, Candice Bergen plays (Mrs.) Pedicaris. (After all, Connery couldn't be seen snatching a man. Puleeze!!) Bergen, the perfect foil to Connery's machismo, gives the audience a preview of her Murphy Brown persona long before TV's MURPHY BROWN. Abducted along with the silver screen version of Pedicaris are her two children, a boy and a girl, who provide a perspective of their own on the subsequent adventure best illustrated by the severed tongue incident. This film is first-rate, swashbuckling adventure, and one of my all-time favorite movies. Besides the enormously appealing performances of Connery and Bergen, between whom there is great chemistry, Brian Keith brilliantly portrays President Theodore Roosevelt at his Bully!-best. John Huston does a stand-up job as the American Secretary of State, the dour and pragmatic John Hay, himself a foil to Teddy's over-the-top and let's-take-that-hill ebullience. Representing America in Morocco are an admiral, a diplomat and a Marine officer, who, with flag-waving patriotic fervor, collectively adopt a plan of action that implements Teddy's philosophy of the Big Stick with a jingoistic exuberance that would satisfy even Rush. Needless to say, Connery's El-Rasaouli is not any one of the films several villains. Bad guys there are, however. At the conclusion, the contrast between them and the square-jawed, clean-cut nobility of the U.S. Marines will make an American irrationally proud to live under the Stars and Stripes, even while realizing that the era of kick-butt American foreign policy is long gone, and perhaps was never so simplistic.
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