Take equal parts Lawrence of Arabia, James Bond and Lincoln, shake them up with a 1975 era macho mentality and you end up with the very good film, THE WIND AND THE LION.
Sean Connery is terrific as the last of the middle eastern pirates, desert chieftain Raisuli.
As the early 1900's ushers in a stronger European presence, Raisuli is determined to make things difficult for them, so he kidnaps wealthy, recent widow Eden Pedicarus (Candice Bergin) and her two children from their seaside estate and heads off into the desert with them.
President Theodore Roosevelt (Brian Keith) is rolling toward a successful second term when his path crosses with the Raisuli and the battle of wits between them is respectful and fun to watch. The two come to realize they have a lot more in common that you might expect.
Connery is excellent, managing to be menacing and charming at the same time, Keith is powerful as the President but Bergin gets blown off the screen by the two leading guys. She is supposed to be reserved and stately, but she is just plain wooden in the role until the script calls for her to loosen up, then you see glimpses of the actress she would blossom into in the 80's.
Really well written and directed by John Milius (Conan the Barbarian) The Wind and the Lion is a quiet, historical film blended with an old fashioned adventure film that roars its way to a B.
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