Lion of the Desert is a 1981 Libyan historical action film starring Anthony Quinn as Libyan tribal leader Omar Mukhtar, a Bedouin leader fighting the Italian army in the years leading up to World War II and Oliver Reed as Italian General Rodolfo Graziani, who attempted to defeat Mukhtar. It was directed by Moustapha Akkad and funded by the government under Muammar Gaddafi. Released in May 1981, the film was liked by critics and audiences but performed poorly financially, bringing in just $1 million dollars net worldwide. In 1929, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini is still faced with the... 20-year long war waged by patriots in Libya to combat Italian colonization and the establishment of 'The Fourth Shore' - the rebirth of a Roman Empire in Africa. Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani as his sixth governor to Libya, confident that the eminently accredited soldier can crush the rebellion and restore the dissipated glories of Imperial Rome. Omar Mukhtar leads the resistance to the fascists. A teacher by profession, guerrilla by obligation, Mukhtar had committed himself to a war that cannot be won in his own lifetime.
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| Release date: | April 17, 1981 |
| Directed by: | Moustapha Akkad |
| Rated: |  |
| Runtime: | 206 Minutes |
| Producer: | Moustapha Akkad |
| Screenplay by: | H.A.L. Craig |
| Estimated budget: | $35,000,000 |