The Wind and the Lion

I saw The Wind and the Lion at least 3 times in the theater when it was released; now it's here, on DVD!

Watched it last night with Ed, who is finishing his book on Henry Stanely. He'd never seen the whole movie, just scenes, and he loved it. We stayed up 'til 1 am listening to John Milius' commentary after the film ended -- fabulous! (Reminded me why I thought it was a good idea to get a Ph.D. in film studies).

Milius says the movie is meant to be a Victorian adventure story: a tale from Kipling. This was fun to hear because that was Ed's experience of the film. He's reading a Kipling novel at the moment, in fact. (Have forgotten the title.)

Milius also says that the film is hugely popular throughout the Islamic world. Everyone from "our staunchest allies" to Bin Laden is probably a fan.

And Sean Connery never makes a mistake. He doesn't blow lines; he doesn't miss his mark; if something changes while a scene is being filmed he knows where the light is. That's exactly what we would have said about Connery, but we had no idea we were right. We thought we were just fans.

We're watching again tonight with Christopher. Wind and the Lion is a family movie that works, and probably the best adventure movie for children I've ever seen.





A Complete Collection of Poems by Rudyard Kipling
The Kipling Society