The Wind and the Lion 1975

     I have seen this movie before but I forgot about that when I selected this to watch.  This story is based on a historical incident involving the kidnapping of Ion Perdicaris.  She’s an American expatriate living in Tangier.  Ion is a man in the incident but the story was changed with Ion as a woman for this movie.  Another change is in an American attack on the Bashaw’s palace in Tangier. Two children and the battle between the American and German forces were all invented by Director John Milius.  The setting is the beginning of the 20th century.  An American woman is abducted in Morocco by Berbers.  The Berbers are a group of indigenous people of North Africa.  The majority of Berbers are settled farmers or migrant workers.  Today some Berbers identify as Arabized Berbers and they live in Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia Northern Mali and Northern Niger.  The attempts to free Ion range from diplomatic pressure to military intervention.
     The Marines began as the dominant power when they marched in but then they are outnumbered after Raisuli is captured?  The scene shows how unexpected their arrival was and how fast they move.  This is because they came in unopposed and no one was expecting them.  Even the American Ambassador was not informed they would arrive?  In this time period, the US was far from a world power despite the Spanish American War and our presence in China.  Even so, we dared to play the imperial game the way the British or French would!!  Actually, the entire business of the rescue is fiction and not historically accurate.  American Consul Pedicaris wasn’t an American, he was British.  This is common because America didn’t always have a presence in places where a consul was needed.  The leaders are are acting in a manner reflecting only their personal agendas and not the attitudes of the world at large?  3* (This movie is OK)

119 min, Action directed and written by John Milius with Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston, Geoffrey Lewis, Steve Kanaly, Vladek Sheybal, Nadim Sawalha, Roy Jenson, Deborah Baxter, Jack Cooley, Chris Aller, Simon Harrison, Polly Gottesman, Antoine Saint-John.

Note:  Imdb 6.9 out of 10 with 7,741 views, Rotten Tomatoes 63% with 16 critics 70% audience with 4,901 user ratings, Amazon 4.6* out of 5* with 359 reviews, Letterboxd 3.3* out of 5*.

Special Note:  Filmed in Real Alcazar, Seveill, Andalucia, Madrid, Huelva, Spain.  A list of BBFC (British Board of Film Classification, in charge of ratings from universal (age 4+ and 18 adults only) requests to remove horse falls caused Director Milius to withdraw this movie from an intended UK video release in 1990.  He claimed that no animal cruelty had taken place concerning horses?  His claim was supported by stuntman Terry Leonard.  Milius threatened to sue the BBFC for besmirching his professional reputation?  Twenty U.S. Marines were using in the making of this movie and several Special Forces troops came from the Spanish Army.  The military scenes are used as training films for the U.S. Marine Corps.