The Message (1977)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Sorry, this movie sucks

Pretty Good

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

A highly ambitious film, capturing the life of Muhammad. Due to the nature of the subject, director Moustapha Akkad had to thread his way between many restrictions. Not only did the film have to be accurate in its depiction of Muhammad, as anything short of this would be sacrilegious, but, in order to reach a wider audience, it had to appeal to non-Muslims too. Furthermore, his main character could not be shown at all!Despite these requirements and limitations, Akkad ultimately made a fine movie. Epic in scale, lavish in production and engaging in plot. It clocks in at a touch under three hours but doesn't feel like it, it moves along so smoothly. Akkad gets around the inability to show Muhammad through some clever devices, often concentrating on his senior aides rather than the man himself, and when he does have to have him present, doing it from a first person perspective. Not as engaging as if we actually had the main character visible, but I can't think of a better way he could have made the film, given that restriction.As a person who does not know much about the history of Muhammad and Islam, quite edifying.Good cinematography and battle scenes. Decent performances too.

It is important to preface this review with the confession that I am largely ignorant of the stories of the Quran and was viewing the film as my first introduction to these stories.The Message was visually very similar to the famed epic "Lawrence of Arabia" however it failed to resonate like "Lawrence of Arabia" because despite its striking visuals, beautiful score, and epic nature, it lacked captivating characters. This was because the main characters, Mohammed and his family could not be portrayed in accordance with Islamic tradition. This left the director, Moustapha Akkad, in a difficult position, how do you tell as story without ever showing the protagonist? He does as good as a job as could be hoped for, having characters repeat what Mohammed says to them and speak directly into the camera when addressing the Prophet. But they were forced to have Mohammed's uncle, Hamas, played by Anthony Quinn, serve as a de facto protagonist. While he does well, it is like telling the story of the Gospels without showing Jesus and having John the Baptist as the main character.The film was also clearly make with a Muslim audience in mind, as it was not overly accessible to someone who was not familiar with the story or characters. It took almost half of the film for me to be figure out who all of the characters were and how they were connected. By the ending and the final battles, it really felt like "Lawrence of Arabia" but without the central character that the audience could connect to and rally around.

This great achievement which shows the message of Islam and of the best technical achievements ever it shows the true image of the Islamic yen demonstrates how Islam spread that Islam is a religion of peace.I cannot Sawa say that this film is the best cinema produced is the true message and the image of the clear terms the religion of Islam Al Akkad Director thanked for this effort by also technical crew and all artists who were quickly whisked this fine art, physician.I wish this presence of the film in the list of the best 250 film because he deserves that exist in the list so that all know this work presented by US contended Al Akkad.

Firstly, please note this is mostly a review for the English version of the film, because, ladies and gentleman, the maker of this movies shot this film twice, once with Arabic actors and once with English speaking actors. That is the kind of dedication that was put into this project. From the start of the film there is a note that Al-Azhar University approves the historical value of the movie. People took this job seriously and it shows in the final product.I expected the film to be in Arabic with English subtitles and was disappointed to see a large amount of exceedingly white "Arabs" in the main role. But that did not detract from the quality of the film or its message. The English speaking actors are not well known, but all give good performances.There is a certain Greek actress, Irene Papas, who plays the wife of one of the tribe leaders and she is something fierce. She has a beautiful wrathful gaze and with those acting skills and face her name should really be bigger in the West.I eventually briefly viewed the Arabic version of the film and it looks of equal quality. The acting is different but still good.Because the makers were not allowed to show Mohammed, the prophet, it gives the movie a unique angle but also a unique awkwardness. The first time the story introduced the presence of Mohammed it was confusing. You stare and wonder what is going on until you realise that, oh OK, these people were just reacting to his presence.People speaking to Mohammed are often speaking to the cameraman, and thus to the viewer. Mohammed does not speak, even though people speak to him. So it feels like you are the silent protagonist in an adventure game. You must agree, it is a bit odd to have a main character who does not appear in his own movie even once. I mean it is pretty cool that these guys think that I am Mohammed, but I would prefer not to get dragged into the whole birth of Islam thing if you do not mind.Please note that this film cannot avoid being a religion pusher, just like any Jesus film would be, but of course any viewer already knows that going in, and if you can make peace with that idea, what awaits you is a pretty epic movie, with clashes of character, faith and sword. It is a very coherent, well shot movie, rival to the best of Christian epics.