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Released by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Released on: November 12th, 2013.
Director: Moustapha Akkad
Cast: Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, Rod Steiger
Year: 1981
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The Movie:
Benito Mussolini's colonialist adventures in Libya and North Africa from the turn of the last century through to WWII are the stuff of bungled military legend. Often battled by far more poorly equipped Bedouin tribesman and fighters, the Italians earned a reputation in those days for having their asses often handed to them on very hot platters.
Moustapha Akkad's other great "epic" after THE MESSAGE is another paean to the glories of Islam though in this case it is couched in the less problematical confines of the "war" film. Akkad also has the undeniable truth of history on his side. The Italian campaigns in Arab lands were both despicable (the foolish Duce himself referred to them laughably as the start of "The second Roman Empire") and usually inept. Much like the earlier American revolutionaries that adapted terrain-based guerrilla warfare from the Native American Indian population, the Bedouins knew how to use the land to their advantage. Interestingly however there were some successes on the Italian side relatively speaking. Which leads us to Oliver Reed as Gen. Rodolfo Graziani.
Graziani was that special kind of prick that you brought in when you needed to bring the natives to heel without the bothersome hangups against brutality. It is 1929 and things are getting bogged down in the expansionist push in North Africa for Mussolini's army. The principle roadblock is an increasingly obstinate and successful rebel force led by devoutly religious schoolteacher Omar Mukhtar (Anthony Quinn). Mukhtar is the classic reluctant warrior but he has Allah on his side and he'll be damned if he will allow his people to be enslaved. Graziani is his polar opposite morally but equally intelligent. He'll pile on the pressure and happily let a few atrocities go down along the way.
LION follows a fairly predictable course but handles the well-traveled road with aplomb. As both these men battle each other and their respective forces with increasing intensity they develop a grudging but mutual respect. Reed sweats a little less than normal here but he's quite good. Quinn - one of the greatest and most beloved pieces of ham steak the biz ever produced - is a bit subdued but as compulsively watchable as ever. You'll always be on Quinn's side but Reed does manage to at least make you understand his thought process. Sort of.
Overall scope here is on par with THE MESSAGE. Akkad shoots big - the location work is cut rate but still impressive Cecil B. DeMille. Be manages his large cast well and aside from the stars everyone has nothing to be ashamed of. Keep an eye out for John Gielgud in a small but pivotal role.
While LION OF THE DESERT is a war film it is really about a battle of wills between two men, and that is the true strength of the film. But the window dressing is quite appealing too, and it offers some dramatic insight into a less covered aspect of 20th century military history.
Video/Audio/Extras:
As noted in the review of LION's companion Akkad piece THE MESSAGE this transfer is an unholy mess. It seems these two films came from the same batch of flawed transfers. Improper framing (2.39:1 cropped to 1.78:1), an interlaced transfer that is incorrectly listed as progressive on the case, and crummy black levels kick things off. From there we have some motion jitter - thanks no doubt to the interlacing - and event be dreaded compression artifacts at points. Detail is disappointing. Focusing on fabric patterns is a good way to judge the failings here. Landscapes don't "pop" and the overall image is dull. Need I go on?
Audio is a throughly average DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless track. It isn't awful but the surround activity is timid and the battle scenes lack any potency. LFE is pretty much AWOL. Dialog is moderately clear and the music is ok but suffers the tinny effect when the volume climbs high.
Extras are not present. Any.
The Final Word:
An interesting and unjustly overlooked film LION OF THE DESERT deserves far better than it got here. Hold out for a future improvement with hopefully some extras because there are a lot of fascinating aspects to this film.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
