|
|
|
The Wind and the Lion: Imprint Collection #422
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - Australia - Via Vision Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (7th September 2025). |
|
The Film
 John Milius’ "The Wind and the Lion" is a fascinating hybrid of Hollywood spectacle, revisionist history, and mythmaking. Released in 1975, the film dramatizes—loosely and often fantastically—the 1904 “Perdicaris Affair,” in which a Greek-American expatriate was kidnapped in Morocco. Milius reshapes the event to serve his own brand of muscular, romanticized storytelling: the victim becomes Eden Pedecaris, played with patrician resolve by Candice Bergen, and her captor is the charismatic Berber chieftain Raisuli, brought to life with commanding gravitas by Sean Connery. From the outset, Milius frames the film less as a faithful history lesson and more as a fable about power, imperialism, and cultural identity. Connery’s casting as a Berber leader—complete with a Scottish burr—has long been a point of contention. While it undercuts the film’s authenticity, his sheer screen presence compensates to a degree, giving Raisuli an aura of nobility and tragic grandeur. Bergen, meanwhile, strikes a careful balance between being a figure of aristocratic restraint and a woman discovering a fierce independence amid her captivity. Their unlikely rapport, tinged with both tension and admiration, provides the film’s emotional center. Cinematically, the film is undeniably lush. Shot in Spain, the landscapes are captured in sweeping, painterly compositions by cinematographer Billy Williams, whose work accentuates the contrast between imperial might and the stark beauty of the desert. Jerry Goldsmith’s Oscar-nominated score elevates the adventure with one of the composer’s most evocative blends of Eastern motifs and rousing orchestral passages. These elements contribute to the sense that the film exists somewhere between pulp adventure and mythic opera. Yet the film is not without contradictions. Milius’ politics—his celebration of martial valor and disdain for compromise—permeate the narrative. President Theodore Roosevelt (played with energetic bluster by Brian Keith) is presented as a larger-than-life parallel to Raisuli: both men embody strength and conviction, albeit in different cultural registers. This symmetry creates an ideological fable rather than a nuanced political drama. The Moroccans are too often filtered through an exoticizing lens, their portrayal shaped to reinforce the narrative of noble warriors versus pragmatic Westerners. Despite its dated and sometimes problematic approach to representation, "The Wind and the Lion" remains compelling as a product of its era. It exemplifies the kind of sweeping, old-fashioned adventure film that was waning in the wake of New Hollywood’s more cynical, character-driven works. At its best, it captures a mythic clash of ideals, buoyed by strong performances and a stirring visual and musical presentation. At its weakest, it betrays its own limitations, reducing complex geopolitical realities into romanticized East-versus-West binaries. Ultimately, Milius’ film endures less as a history lesson than as an artifact of Hollywood’s ability to reshape history into legend. "The Wind and the Lion" is both thrilling and troubling, a work whose contradictions continue to spark debate about spectacle, representation, and the enduring allure of cinematic mythmaking.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 mastered in HD 1080p 24/fps and using AVC MPEG-4 compression, the transfer here looks incredible. Detail is brilliant right down to the sun drenched cracking skin of the berbers, skin tones look natural, colors are rich and vibrant. The image is wonderfully sharp and clean or dirt or specks or any blemishes that tend to be an issue with films of this age. Overall this is a fantastic image that could only benefit from a 4K upgrade.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included in either English DTS-HD 5.1 surround or an English LPCM 2.0 mono, fore the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its 5.1 audio and was quite impressed with the overall sound quality. Dialogue is crystal clear, surround channels are active with the sounds of horses, gun shots, and a rousing score. No complaints here. Optional subtitles are included in English.
Extras
Imprint has released this film with a bountiful collection of supplements, below is a closer look. First up is the audio commentary by film historians Lee Pfeiffer, Tony Latino, and Paul Scrabo, here the historians take us back through the production process of this film, the challenges of shooting in Spain, on stories from the set, among other trivia on the making of the film. Next we have an audio commentary by filmmaker John Milius, Milius always provides excellent tracks as the boisterous filmmaker takes us through the entire process as he shares his memories from the making of the film, on working with the actors, the challenges of shooting in Spain, as well as on the real life story this film is based on. "Scene and Heard" interview with actress Deborah Baxter (11:19) in this clip she comments on how she got the job and on her experience working on it and on sharing screen time with John Huston among other recollections from the production. "Riding With the Lion" interview with actor Simon Harrison (21:33), in this clip the actor comments on his involvement in the film and on being just right for a part in the film, on meeting John Milius, on being offered the part without having to audition, he also reminisces about his time in Spain, on riding horses, and working with the other cast members among other things. "The Wind and Billy" interview with director of photography Billy Williams (28:00), he comments on the script and how amazing the story is, meeting the producer and his collaboration with him and Milius, especially dealing with his "big" prescience on set. He also comments on Connery's Scottish accent, and shooting a film on a similar scale to "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), he also comments on his shooting style and creating the look for the film. "Behind the Scenes" featurette (9:41) this is a typical EPK clip that takes a brief look at the production process in Spain as we get a peek at the filming of some scenes. Theatrical trailer (3:34)
Packaging
Packaged in a keep case housed in a cardboard slip-case. Limited edition of 1500 world-wide.
Overall
|
|||||
|