The Message

The Message (1976)

Timing: 2:58 (178 min)

7.276/10
333

All about film

Video 2

Photo 14

Actors and characters

Release date

1976-03-09

Country

Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United Kingdom

Production

Filmco International Productions

Genre

Adventure, Drama, Action, History

Budget

$10 000 000

Revenue

$15 000 000

Website

Director

Moustapha Akkad

Actors

Anthony Quinn, Irene Papas, Michael Ansara, Johnny Sekka, Michael Forest, Garrick Hagon, Nicholas Amer, Damien Thomas, André Morell, Martin Benson
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

H.A.L. Craig, Tawfiq Al-Hakim

Producer

Harold Buck, Moustapha Akkad

Operator

Composer

Artist

Audition

Editing

John Bloom
All team (15)

• Two versions of the film were released simultaneously: in Arabic, with Arab actors, and in English, with actors from the United Kingdom playing the main roles. The Arabic version premiered in 1976, and the English version a year later, although filming for both films took place concurrently.
• Mustafa Akkad received a rejection from Hollywood regarding filming the movie in Morocco.
• During the creation of the film, the director consulted with Islamic clerics and sought to be respectful of Islam and its views on the image of the Prophet Muhammad. He received approval from Al-Azhar in Egypt, but it was rejected by the World Muslim League in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The governments of Kuwait, Libya, and Morocco promised financial support for the film, but when it was rejected by the World Muslim League, Kuwait withdrew its funding. The late King Hassan II of Morocco gave him full support for the production of the film. The production of The Message took one year. 6 months of filming took place in Morocco, but Akkad was forced to halt production when the Saudi Arabian government put significant pressure on Morocco. Akkad went to Libyan leader Gaddafi in search of support to complete the project. Gaddafi allowed him to complete the remaining 6 months of filming in Libya.
• Akkad saw the film as a way to bridge the gap between the Western and Islamic worlds, stating in a 1976 interview: “I made this film because it is personal to me. Besides its value as a film, it has its story, its intrigues, its dramas. Beyond all this, I think there is something personal in it, being a Muslim living in the West, I felt it was my duty to tell the truth about Islam. It is a religion that has 700 million followers, but so little is known about it, and that surprised me. I thought I should tell a story that would become a bridge across the gap with the West.”