1981 film by Moustapha Akkad
Lion of the Desert (alternative titles: Omar Mukhtar and Omar Mukhtar: Lion of the Desert) is a 1981 American-Libyan-British epic historical war film about the Second Italo-Senussi War, starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Regio Esercito (Royal Italian Army), and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who defeated Mukhtar. It was directed by Syrian-American director Moustapha Akkad.
Released in May 1981, the film has received positive reviews from critics, but performed poorly at the box office, gaining revenues of US$1.5 million worldwide despite having a $35 million budget. The film was banned in Italy in 1982 and was only shown on pay TV in 2009.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.