---
title: 'Lion of the Desert (1980)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Moustapha Akkad'
released: '1980-12-19'
runtime_minutes: 206
genres:
  - 'War'
  - 'History'
countries:
  - 'United States'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/lion-of-the-desert-1980'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081059/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# Lion of the Desert (1980)

1980 · 206 min · War, History · United States


## Synopsis

Lion of the Desert is a 1981 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, and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who defeated Mukhtar. It was directed by Syrian-American director Moustapha Akkad, and financed by the Libyan government under Muammar Gaddafi.

## Credits

- **Director:** [Moustapha Akkad](https://cinepixo.com/people/moustapha-akkad)
- **Producer:** [Moustapha Akkad](https://cinepixo.com/people/moustapha-akkad)
- **Screenplay:** [H.A.L. Craig](https://cinepixo.com/people/h-a-l-craig)
- **Original Music Composer:** [Maurice Jarre](https://cinepixo.com/people/maurice-jarre)
- **Director of Photography:** [Jack Hildyard](https://cinepixo.com/people/jack-hildyard)
- **Editor:** [John Shirley](https://cinepixo.com/people/john-shirley)

## Cast

- [Gastone Moschin](https://cinepixo.com/people/gastone-moschin) as Tomelli
- [Claudio Gora](https://cinepixo.com/people/claudio-gora)
- [Pietro Tordi](https://cinepixo.com/people/pietro-tordi)
- [Filippo De Gara](https://cinepixo.com/people/filippo-de-gara)
- [Alec Mango](https://cinepixo.com/people/alec-mango)
- [Franco Fantasia](https://cinepixo.com/people/franco-fantasia) as Graziani's Aide
- [Mario Adorf](https://cinepixo.com/people/mario-adorf)
- [Pietro Brambilla](https://cinepixo.com/people/pietro-brambilla)
- [Gianfranco Barra](https://cinepixo.com/people/gianfranco-barra)
- [Raf Vallone](https://cinepixo.com/people/raf-vallone) as Diodiece
- [Rod Steiger](https://cinepixo.com/people/rod-steiger) as Benito Mussolini
- [Oliver Reed](https://cinepixo.com/people/oliver-reed) as Rodolfo Graziani
- [Sky du Mont](https://cinepixo.com/people/sky-du-mont) as Prince Amedeo, 3rd Duke of Aosta
- [Luciano Catenacci](https://cinepixo.com/people/luciano-catenacci)
- [Irene Papas](https://cinepixo.com/people/irene-papas) as Mabrouka

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/lion-of-the-desert-1980
Film facts: Wikidata (Q471362); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.