Review of Lion of the Desert

Although I strongly disagree with the ban issued by Italian authorities (which represents an infringement upon the filmmaker's freedom of expression and the viewers' freedom of documentation), I cannot help but think that the film is pure negative propaganda against the Italian army and the Fascist colonial policy. Moreover, it is propaganda boarding on caricature. Rod Steiger as Mussolini is not much different from Charlie Chapling (or Mel Brooks) imitating Hitler. Antony Quinn, as Omar Mukhtar, is.....too good to be true. The film is certainly highly professional; the reconstruction of Palazzo Venezia (Mussolini's headquarters) stunning and the accuracy in re-creating the 1922 weapons very credible. Colonialism was definitely a sad page in Western History, but it cannot be judged with the 21st Century mentality. By depicting the Italians "all bad", and the Muslims "all good", I am afraid we open the road to a future film where the Westerners will be, once again, "all bad", whereas the "all good" will be Osama Bin Laden