GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

jessicacoco2005 A brilliant, sweeping historical masterpiece based on the true story of Omar Mukhtar, a teacher, who earned the nickname "the Lion of the Desert". Intelligent script, Magnificent acting, directing, and cinematography make this film one of the best anti-imperialist war films; depicting the great bravery and intelligence of one man and of one country's resistance against imperialist designs.The story depicts post-World War 1, but pre-WW2 era. Mussolini decides to use Libya as an "easy stepping stone" to carving up the Middle East. Libya turns out to not be such an easy stepping stone. The Italians may have had machine guns, planes and tanks; while the Libyan peasants had nothing, but old rusted rifles. However the Libyans had something the Italians didn't, conviction: They were willing to die to save their land and keep their independence. When Italian General Graziani asks "and you cared nothing for the ruination of your country?" Omar Mukhtar replies: "You are the ruination of my country. What would you do if someone occupied your land? Though brutal, there were conscientious objectors in the Italian army and one of the fascinating features of this film is their depiction from the soldier unwilling to serve to the Officer who defends him. The director captures the horrific methods the Italians used from concentration camps, setting fields and homes on fire to raping innocent women. However, what is shown is only a small fraction of the ruthless brutality used by Gen. Graziani against the civilian population. He was responsible for the slaughter of over 120,000 civilians in these concentration camps. To this day, this film is still banned in Italy. In fact, Graziani served only 2 years for his crimes after the fall of Fascism, and even became honorary president of the (legal) neo-fascist party.

Lee Eisenberg Col. Muammar Qaddafi's suppression of a popular movement, resulting in a NATO bombing campaign (at least that was the ostensible reason) makes Moustapha Akkad's "Lion of the Desert" all the more relevant. The movie tells the story of religious teacher Omar Mukhtar (Anthony Quinn), who led a resistance movement against the Italian occupation in the early 20th century.Along with Quinn as Mukhtar, Oliver Reed plays Gen. Rodolfo Graziani, whom Benito Mussolini (Rod Steiger) sends to try and stop the resistance movement. Listening to what the Fascist forces keep telling the Libyans, I could see all sorts of analogies to more recent events. Namely, the Italians insist that they have as much if not more right to Libya as the native people do, just because it was a Roman colony 2,000 years ago (hmm, now what does that sound like?). Also, the movie leaves little to the imagination in showing what the Fascist army did to the Libyan people.The movie had sort of a bad reputation when it came out due to Qadaffi's having co-financed it. Regardless of where the money came from, "Lion of the Desert" is still a really good movie. There are a lot of great shots of the Libyan desert and mountains. But most important is how it relates to events today. Mukhtar's likeness now graces the Libyan 10-dinar bill, while the country's rebel forces have used his memory as a rallying call. Graziani, meanwhile, was later a major player in Italy's invasion of Ethiopia.Definitely a movie that I recommend. Also starring John Gielgud, Irene Papas and Raf Vallone. Director Akkad is best known as the producer of the "Halloween" series. He and his daughter got killed in a terrorist attack in Amman, Jordan, in 2005.

Jonathon Dabell Despite being one of the most financially disastrous films ever made (costing a lot to make, and making very little back), Lion Of The Desert is a surprisingly good epic film about the Italian occupation of Libya in 1929. The film focuses on two of the key players on each side – the Italian forces are marshaled with ruthless iron-like discipline by their notorious Colonel Graziani, while the Libyans defend themselves under the guidance of spiritual guerrilla freedom fighter Omar Mukhtar (a.k.a the Lion of the Desert). It's an interesting clash of ideals and personalities which makes for a worthwhile – if never truly outstanding – historical epic.In 1929, the Italians grow desperate as their occupation of Libya reaches crisis point. The Libyans simply refuse to accept that another country has any rights to their homeland and reject all attempts by the Italians to justify their presence there. Mussolini (Rod Steiger) sends one of his most promising and fearsome soldiers to resolve the tension – Colonel Rodolfo Graziani (Oliver Reed). Graziani's approach is one of ruthless and merciless force – he has Libyans executed in front of their families for working with guerrillas; he sets up concentration camps in the desert where Libyans are frequently hanged or starved to death; he orders his tanks to wipe out villages and towns with the aim of total annihilation. Yet somehow, against this modern army armed with their tanks and machine guns, the Libyans manage to fight back under the guidance of an elderly freedom fighter named Omar Mukhtar (Anthony Quinn). Mukhtar continually embarrasses his mighty opponent by leading cunning Arab attacks against them. They come from the desert like lightning, strike at the Italian soldiers and communication lines, then fade back into the landscape before they can be caught or killed. It is nearly two years before Graziani finally captures and hangs Mukhtar in front of his people, hoping to finally crush the spirit of the Libyan resistance.Lion Of The Desert has plenty to admire. Quinn's performance as Mukhtar is certainly very convincing, and Reed belies the fact that he was making one terrible film after another at this point in his career by turning in a very menacing portrayal of Graziani. Both of them almost have the film stolen from under their noses by Rod Steiger's immense cameo as Mussolini – exuberant acting by an exuberant actor. The film is also strong during the battle sequences – the size of the forces involved is impressively captured in some genuinely epic-scale clashes, and we are spared nothing of the unpleasant reality of combat. People are shot to pieces, tanks roll over legs and bodies crushing the lifeblood from them, and none of it is hidden or glamorised for the viewers. We certainly get to glimpse the full horrors of a battlefield. There are still flaws with Lion Of The Desert, one being the unfathomable decision to have several well-known British actors play Libyan freedom fighters. With their too-proper Queens' English accents, blue eyes, and fake-tanned skin they look foolish rather than convincing. Poor John Gielgud suffers most of all in this manner. Also the film's narrative is not always as clear as one might hope, with some characters and events that don't feel as if they've been developed properly and come across as rather hard to follow. Generally-speaking Lion Of The Desert is a good film though, certainly worth a look.

stefano-bigliardi I am Italian and I was first given the opportunity to watch it during an Arabic class in Egypt. It was so weird hearing the Duce speaking in Arabic (...yes, they did dub it and the result is sometimes very clumsy). I could then understand how do Germans feel nowadays anytime they watch movies about Nazism. As it sheds light on a very dark chapter of our colonial period (just take, for example, the use of chemical gases), I would suggest it to Italian history teachers. The fact itself that the movie was banned tells you something about our contemporary mentality. From an artistic point of view I would say that the movie is not that good (take for example the battles, and some characters are too stereotypically displayed). The execution of the 'Lion' was a very touching moment, though.