The Message

Director Mustapha Akkad thought the Islam is misrepresented and there is a right way to present it. He thought the most effective way to present was a creating a movie.

So he moved on to USA with just a Holy Quran to guide him.

Besides the great movie he make, he make it with two different cast for a different language. That is one of the specialities of the project.

The movie is teaching Islam with the best way to present it. The story is saying that Christianity and Islam is not that different, the movie just teaches the truth. Before Internet this was the best way to present the Islam with the right way. There was sadly more Islamafobi than today, there was misunderstanding to Islam. This movie can't fix all that but it was quite amazing project. All the box office earnings were donated by the way.

This wasn't the only reason why he made this movie. He made an amazing movie that inspires so many people. The story of our Prophet Muhammed (S. A. V.) that we all should know. Not the whole life story of course but at least the major events.

Cinematography is quite amazing, I wasn't aware of that because there was no wide-screen version of the movie until 4K Blu-Ray. The 4K makes the visual quality so much better. Also sound quality is improved but it could be better.

The Academy Award nominated Original Scores by Maurice Jarre is just beyond perfect. I don't know how to describe it, It's so inspirational. Composer Maurice Jarre said "I lived in the middle of the desert for three months to get inspiration." He's so brilliant composer, he made one of the most iconic Original Scores of all time.

The Art Direction & Set Decoration is also perfect. Makes you feel that you're living that scene. Costume Design and Makeup is also quite good. These are brings more reality to a Historical movie.

This film is about how Islam began from the beginning until its establishment. Anthony Quinn stars as the uncle of Prophet Mohammed (p.b.u.h) Hamza who is the leader of an army of a few loyal men against an army of thousands. The film is not about offence but about defence and ends with peaceful armed less walk into the city of Mecca after many years of suffering.

This film explains how the Prophet Mohammed start his message with a few men and eventually gaining thousands and as you can see today millions. The film talks about the establishment the spread of Gods message and the story of the men who had to give away there lives for the sake of Gods words including the sacrifices that are made is the death of Hamza (Anthony Quinn).

This is a truly excellent movie. It is quite long, but has a beautiful score and engaging story.. Anthony Quinn is terrific.. The movie also provides a short overview of the early years of Islam and the story of its prophet Mohammad.

If you are a muslim, you must see this, if you are interested in Islam, you must see this, and all others should still see this. It's an experience of a lifetime! It shows the true meaning of Islam, its roots, its basic beliefs, and so much more... When I first saw this film, it left me in tears and speechless for quite some time after. When I watch it today, it still does! I don't believe anyone can watch this film and not become moved or even shaken by what he/she sees and hears! If the movie has one shortcoming, it's that the main character, prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him), is never actually seen or heard, as it would have been a deadly sin to have an 'imposter' playing Him in the movie. Although this takes some getting used to and creates some lengths (i.e. dialogs which are rather more monologues with pauses), the rest of the movie compensates in full! Watching this movie will probably not make you go out to become a muslim (although I have read that most of the cast/crew involved did so), but certainly put some thought and understanding into you. One of the must see movies or all time!!!

I don't think this movie has been shown in the United States for about twenty years, it was shown in theaters, then on the limited cable systems of the time, and then poof, haven't heard much about it. I'd be curious if it is continued to be played in other parts of the world. As I recall, it was difficult to follow, though Quinn is almost always entertaining to watch. It seemed a minor epic, though taking on a tough topic.

The sad part about this movie is that some Islamic extremists engaged in some terror attacks in protest of the film -- protesting that one should never show the likeness of Mohammed, Islam's tenets deeming it blasphemous. They never bothered to find out that the film didn't show him at all.