Watch The Wind and the Lion

The Wind and the Lion is an exciting action adventure drama starring Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith and John Huston and is loosely based on the Perdicaris incident of 1904. In Morocco in 1904, Imperial Germany, France and the British Empire are trying to make a foot hold in the desert country and Morocco is in turmoil. Mulai Ahmed er Raisuli (Connery) is the leader of a band of Berber rebels opposed to the current regime which is sympathetic to the European invaders. During a raid he kidnaps Eden Pedecaris (Bergen) and her children in an attempt to secure a large ransom demand. However, he is not after the money but trying to create an international incident with the kidnapping to embarrass the regime and spark civil unrest. Meanwhile in America, then President Theodore Roosevelt decides to use the incident to fuel his re-election campaign and ultimately decides to send the South Atlantic Squadron after peaceful negotiations fail. Despite his initial usage of Raisuli as a propaganda gimmick, Roosevelt begins to gain admiration for the rebel realizing that they are not so different.