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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.

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 am Orthodox Christian, but I must acknowledge this masterpiece. Allegedly, the movie is historically precise, and if it really is, then there's no essential difference between Christianity and Islam. Trouble does not lie in opposition of two religions, it lies in the existence of greedy, blood-thirsty politicians who incite religious fanaticism and abuse basically peaceful religions to accomplish their political and economic goals. Anyway, if you're not Muslim, you just have to put your prejudice aside (if you have any) and you'll enjoy this excellent piece of cinematography.

10/10

This is a great film. I'm a history major who took several courses in the history of the Middle East and Islam, so nothing is going to be good or accurate or trivia filled enough for me, but it certainly didn't contradict anything I'd learned (for cinematic purposes or otherwise), and that's more than I can say for any historical epic I've seen in several years.

This film starts with Muhammed receiving the Koran from the angel Gabriel and ends at his death. It was filmed in accordance with Islamic political correctness, so The Prophet himself is never depicted, visually or vocally. While this is well affected, it unfortunately removes him from a lot of the story. I would like to have known a lot more about his life from the film, not his mannerisms or speech as depicted by a particular actor, but at least the major events of his life, his children, his wives, and so on.

Having said that, however, the film is still a very good depiction of the birth of Islam. The plot focuses on the historical events rather than the Koran itself, which contains almost no history from its own period, and is therefore different from a lot of Biblical epics which present the historical events IN the Bible. It's accurate in that it tries to present the birth of Islam as most people today probably learn it. Definitely not a propaganda piece, but it's not a movie filled with facts, truth or fiction, more a movie of character and tone. It's more similar to Braveheart than it is to Ben Hur or the Gospel of John. The movie presents a decent snapshot of the times and the attitudes and lifestyles under which Islam developed.

The acting is fantastic, the music is good (won an academy award), and the cinematography, filmed in Morocco and Libya, is beautiful. Costumes are cool, and there's a few scenes with a set of ancient bagpipes for you Celtic history buffs.

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).