Lion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical epic battle film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal chieftain Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader opposing the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army), and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who defeated Mukhtar. It was directed by Moustapha Akkad and funded by Colonel Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.
The movie, which was released in May 1981 and earned great reviews from critics, did poorly at the box office, grossing only US$1.5 million worldwide despite a $35 million budget. In Italy, the film was banned in 1982, and it was only screened on pay television in 2009.
Lion of the Desert was banned in Italy in 1982 because it was ‘damaging to the honor of the army,’ according to Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. The government’s final act of opposition to the film occurred on April 7, 1987, in Trento, following which MPs from Democrazia Proletaria requested that the film be shown in the Chamber of Deputies.
On June 11, 2009, during Libya’s then-leader Muammar Gaddafi’s official visit to Italy, the film was ultimately broadcast on Italian television by Sky Italy. Stefania Del Monte’s book Staging Memory, published in 2015, devotes an entire chapter to the film.
This epic tale centers on Libyan commander Omar Mukhtar and is set during Mussolini’s reign. Omar, an Arab Muslim rebel, confronts an Italian attack aimed at conquering Libya.
