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The Wind and the Lion | 
 enlarge | Director: John Milius
Actors: Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, John Huston, Geoffrey Lewis
Studio: Fox Video
Category: Video
List Price: CDN$ 15.98
Buy New: CDN$ 7.99
You Save: CDN$ 7.99 (50%)
New (4) Used (4) Collectible (1) from CDN$ 6.49
Rating:  67 reviews
Sales Rank: 4001
Format: Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: VHS Tape
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.3 x 4.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 630197803X
UPC: 027616066237
EAN: 9786301978033
ASIN: 630197803X
Release Date: February 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships within 1 - 2 business days
Condition: Original packaging unopened
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From Amazon.com
The up-and-down career of director John Milius had no finer moment than IThe Wind and the Lion/I, a dandy adventure tale. It's based on fact: An American (played by Candice Bergen) and her two children were kidnapped in 1904 Morocco by a Berber tribe, an international incident settled by President Theodore Roosevelt's "big stick" military muscle. The film's sweep and swagger are unabashedly old-fashioned, even as Milius occasionally pokes fun at the grand characters. Some of the peripheral material is sloppy, but as long as Milius keeps his sites locked on the two powerful protagonists, he's dead-on: Brian Keith makes a gutsy Roosevelt, and Sean Connery is in splendid form (with Scots accent in place--got a problem with that?) as the dashing Berber chieftain. Perhaps overshadowed by John Huston's IThe Man Who Would be King/I the same year (Huston plays advisor John Hay in this one), IWind/I makes a marvelous companion piece. I--Robert Horton/I
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| Customer Reviews: Read 62 more reviews...
 The DVD ruined the best scene July 13, 2004
klownboy (Minnesota - Where if its not mandated, its prohibited.)
First the good stuff. This is a pretty enjoyable movie. Connery's casting as the barbary pirate / lord of the Riff starts out as rather unbelievable, but it grows on you. Brian Keith is perfect as Theodore Roosevelt. Keith and the script do a great job of showcasing this man's beliefs, pretenses, and genuine nobility. My only complaint about the performances; It would've been nice if Candice Bergin had picked one accent and gone with it. The romance is a little forced, but hey, it's a movie.pLOOSELY based on a historical incident, it remains relevant even in today's world. The contrast between a slumbering but decisive America that is willing to negotiate to a point, but go it alone if it must to protect it's citizens, versus a self-absorbed charismatic leader who uses religion to justify his own desires for power and place. Sound familiar?pBased on the above, I'd give the movie itself a weak 4 star rating, but the DVD fumbles.pThe pinheads in charge of subtitling this better than average film managed to screw up one of the finest depictions of 1900's era small unit actions in the history of cinema. This piece of film is (or was until recently) used in the training of US Marine Corps officers. They obviously used historical and technical experts to get the movie right, why couldn't they have talked to even an ROTC cadet to make sure that the command verbage in the subtitles was correct? Very shoddy, and unfortunately it is becoming typical of the level of quality in the DVD market. A minor point for most, but a notable and easily avoidable flaw.
 Absolutely Fantastic July 7, 2004
Richard Bamberg (Huntsville, AL)
I saw this movie at the theater, many years ago, and was taken by the fantastic story of Theodore Roosevelt vs the Sheik. The main stars of this movie perform splendidly and the rest are just as entertaining. As someone who studied Teddy in school and later in life, I must add that I thought Brian Keith's portrayal was far and away the best likeness of Teddy that has ever been done in a movie. Sean Connery plays the Sheik masterfully and nobly and in this current time it is nice to see a balance approach to the barbaric Islam tribes. Connery plays the Sheik as honorable and worthy of respect. Definitely a must see movie.
 FABULOUS FILM THAT STILL HOLDS UP June 7, 2004
Steven R. Travers (CALIFORNIA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Wind and the Lion was a beautiful John Milius film and story, with a pulse-pounding sound track. Brian Keith plays Teddy Roosevelt, who orders U.S. troops to Morocco to protect U.S. interests, as well he should have. Candice Bergen is an American socialite, kidnapped by a roguish Arab sand pirate, played by Sean Connery. The film is much more story, character rivalry and romance than history, but it does not hand us any of the usual garbage portraying the U.S. as racist exploiters. Instead, America under Roosevelt is portrayed as a modern power, unafraid to flex its muscles, but not willing to go overboard. brMilius writes and directs to this day. He has a tremendous love of history, a conservative trait. The reason for this is simple. History is the accurate description of great things done by conservatives. No wonder we love history. He is not the household name that Speilberg, Coppola or Lucas are. He says he is comfortable with the decisions he made, which were to be up-front about his politics regardless of whether it cost him. He freely admits that his conservatism indeed did prevent him from the kind of greatness that he was capable of.pSTEVEN TRAVERSbrAUTHOR OF BARRY BONDS: BASEBALL'S SUPERMANbrSTWRITES@AOL.COM
 Saved from the bargain bin by history April 21, 2004
Daniel Friedman (Harrison, NY USA)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Once a while a film re-surfaces or is come upon that proves to be somewhat effective and powerful through no fault of its own, not because of any specific aspect of its plot or characters, but because during the passage of time history has proven the film to be either prescient or an eerie parallel to current events and it resonates with a new audience.pThe Wind and the Lion, produced in the mid-1970's, when viewed through the prism of today is practically a mirror image of certain goings-on in the Middle East. The film, written and directed by John Milius, tells a dubiously proclaimed true story (with some adjustments) of an American woman, Candice Bergen, and her children who are abducted in Morocco by a Berber chieftain played by Sean Connery. This act leads to an overblown military response by the Americans, led by President Theodore Roosevelt and Secretary of State John Hay played incredibly effectively by Brian Keith and John Huston respectively. Keith in particular captures the personality traits of Roosevelt to a tee and Huston shows some of the dry wit he has used in his various forays in front of the camera over the years. pIn their desire to assert the power of America across the globe in a re-election year for Roosevelt, the Marines invade Morocco and take over. Insert Bush for Roosevelt and Osama bin Laden for the Connery character and it's downright creepy to watch. It's unintentionally to the film's benefit that modern viewers can draw these parallels, because there are a lot of holes that are covered over by them. Bergen's character goes through a change that requires an enormous suspension of disbelief and Connery as the chieftain loses some authenticity every time he opens his mouth and sounds like James Bond in a bernoose, speaking with his usual Scottish accent. pIt all gives off the aura of a sort of low-budget epic. The sets and costumes are all impressive, but the overall look of the film seems muted. The ending in particular is rather memorable and Milius puts dialogue in the mouths of his actors that send chills down the spine when one is reminded that this particular piece of history is more or less repeating itself. Roosevelt, one of my favorite presidents, comes across as the epitome of the ugly American, which I find very hard to believe was Milius's intent.pIn a different world, this would have been a minor bit of interesting work at best.
Great movie combined with great actors, story and actions... April 6, 2004
lordhoot (Anchorage, Alaska USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a movie where most people would have a hard time not liking it. Its has everything anyone wants, unspoken romance, actions and intelligent script. I did have some problem with Sean Connery as the Berber chieftain but he played the role well and if a Berber were taught English by a Scotsman, he would sound just like Connery. Brian Keith played Teddy Roosevelt to a perfection. I think Keith had all the best lines of the movie and many of things he said about our nation sounds more real today then ever before. Candice Bergan was wonderful as well and there was a definite chemisty between Bergan and Connery that make the movie work. pThere might be one stick that get stuck in many people's throats and that is that Sean Connery plays a very honorable man of Islam. When his character stated that Raisuli don't make war on women and children, he sounded bit insulted that a true warrior of Islam might be considered to scooped so low. A true patriot in his own eyes, Connery's portrayal of an Islamic leader run contarary to what many Americans see today, especially after 9-11 and many Islamic terrorist attacks directed at women and children. (I was told that this movie is quite popular in Islamic nations for Connery's portrayal of a true and honorable warrior of Islam.)pThe DVD of this movie proves to be a must-buy for me. Its in anamorphic widescreen and at least for my basic TV, it looked very good. The audio is in 5.1 DD but its not very active as you hope to be. Still the sounds are pretty clear and background material are separated nicely. There are your director's commentary and making of the movie feature included but that is all from the extra feature department.pConsidering that this movie was made in mid-1970s when America's power was ebbing after the Vietnam War and we were in an anti-pro-active stage, this story of Berber chieftain kidnapping an American woman and her children which generated a pure imperialistic response from the United States, must have been a rarity to hit the screens at that period.
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