Top 10 Favourite Movies (No 5 to 1)

5. Gladiator (2000)

• Director:

  Ridley Scott

  
  
• Actors:

  Russell Crowe (Maximus), Joaquin Phoenix (Commodus), Connie Nielsen (Lucilla), 
  Oliver Reed (Proximo), Richard Harris (Marcus Aurelius), Derek Jacobi (Gracchus), 
  Djimon Hounsou (Juba), David Schofield (Falco) etc. 
  

  
  
• Filming Location:

  Ait Benhaddou, Ouarzazate, Morocco 
  Alabama Hills, Lone Pine, California, USA 
  Bourne Woods, Farnham, Surrey, England, UK 
  Italy 
  Malta 
  Tuscany, Italy   

  
  
• Favourite Quote:

  
  Commodus: How dare you show your back to me! Slave, you will remove your helmet and tell me your name. 
  Maximus: [removes helmet and turns around to face Commodus] 
  My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the
  Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions,
  loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius.
  Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife.
  And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.  

  
  
• Favourite Scene:

  The duel scene between Commodus and Maximus.    

  
  
• Synopsis:

  Upon the sudden death of Roman emperor Marcus
  Aurelius, his trusted and successful general Maximus
  Meridas is unlawfully imprisoned and condemned to the
  gladiator games by Marcus' twisted son Commodus. As
  the new emperor, Commodus fears Maximus could use his
  heroic stature to depose him and become leader
  himself. But Maximus gains fame as a gladiator and
  uses his celebrity to cause further damage to
  Commodus' tenuous hold on the susceptible Roman
  people, hoping to inspire them to rediscover their
  lost values and overcome the corruption that is
  eating away at them. These actions prompt Commodus to
  square off mano a mano with Maximus in the Colisseum
  with the fate of Rome at stake.         

  
  


4. Braveheart (1995)


• Director:

  Mel Gibson

  
  
• Actors:

  Mel Gibson (William Wallace), Sophie Marceau (Princess Isabelle), Brendan Gleeson (Hamish),
  James Cosmo (Campbell), Brian Cox (Argyle Wallace), Patrick McGoohan (Longshanks, King Edward I), 
  Peter Hanly (Edward, Prince of Wales), Angus Macfadyen (Robert the Bruce), 
  Catherine McCormack (Murron MacClannough), Tommy Flanagan (Morrison), Sean Lawlor (Malcolm Wallace), etc  

  
  
• Filming Location:

  County Wicklow, Ireland 
  County Kildare, Ireland 
  County Meath, Ireland 
  County Dublin, Ireland 
  Highlands, Scotland, UK 

  
  
• Favourite Quote:

  
  William Wallace: Every man dies, not every man really lives.  

  
  
• Favourite Scene:

  The 'Freedom' scene.    

  
  
• Synopsis:

  William Wallace is a Scottish rebel who leads an
  uprising against the cruel English ruler Edward the
  Longshanks, who wishes to inherit the crown of
  Scotland for himself. When he was a young boy,
  William Wallace's father and brother, along with many
  others, lost their lives trying to free Scotland.
  Once he loses another of his loved ones, William
  Wallace begins his long quest to make Scotland free
  once and for all, along with the assistance of Robert
  the Bruce.         

  
  


3. Lion of the Desert (1980)


• Director:

  Moustapha Akkad

  
  
• Actors:

  Anthony Quinn (Omar Mukhtar), Oliver Reed (Gen. Rodolfo Graziani), Rod Steiger (Benito Mussolini),
  Irene Papas (Mabrouka), John Gielgud (Sharif el-Gariani), Raf Vallone (Diodiece), etc 

  
  
• Filming Location:

  Libya   

  
  
• Favourite Quote:

  
  Omar Mukhtar: We will never surrender, we will only die. And don't think it stops there, we will
  have the next generation to fight and then the next
  and then the next.

  
  
• Favourite Scene:

  The battle scene in which the mujahideen hid under the desert and attacked the Italians.    

  
  
• Synopsis:

  The Italians invaded Libya in 1911 but by 1929, had
  been unable to conquer and subdue the land held by
  Bedouin tribesman. Benito Mussolini, convinced that
  expansion was the opiate of the people, wanted to
  recreate the Roman Empire in North Africa. The only
  man standing in his way was Omar Mukhtar, a teacher
  and scholar transformed into a guerrilla leader. Lion
  of the Desert is an operatic film photographed,
  acted, and orchestrated in the grand manner of
  Lawrence of Arabia. The cinematography of Jack
  Hidyard (The Bridge Over the River Kwai) is handsome
  and rich in its variety of landscapes and panoramas.     

  
  


2. The Message (1976)


• Director:

  Moustapha Akkad

  
  
• Actors:

  Anthony Quinn (Hamzah), Irene Papas (Hind), Michael Ansara (Abu Sofyan), 
  Johnny Sekka (Bilal), Michael Forest (Khalid), Ahmed Abdelhalim (Uriqat),
  Habib Ageli (Hudayfa), Mohammad Al-Gaddary (Money Lender), Nicolas Amer (Suheil), 
  Bruno Barnabe (Umaya), John Bennett (Salool), Martin Benson (Abu-Jahal), etc 

  
  
• Filming Location:

  Libya.
    Morocco.  

  
  
• Favourite Quote:

  
  Bilal: There is no compulsion in religion. A
  man may take many years, or only need minutes. It is
  God who decides the time.   

  
  
• Favourite Scene:

  The scene when Hamzah retaliated when he heard of Abu Jahal's action against the Prophet.    

  
  
• Comment:

  Lately, we are informed that some of the historical
  movies are misleading and false in terms of
  presenting the real facts about the stories it tries
  to tell. Well, this truly masterpiece of Moustapha
  Akkad is an exception. The whole movie tries to tell
  and portray the last of the prophets of the Muslims
  (Muhammad PBUH) as the man he is. And from the
  lessons that i learned about the prophet, it conforms
  to what i have watched in the movie. In this aspect,
  i think all the film makers of any historical movies
  should have followed the footsteps of this kind of
  film maker in making a well thorough research before
  presenting their so-called historical features. This
  is very important because we know that in every
  historical event that has happened, it carries with
  it a generation of people who are touched and
  affected by it. And it is very important to tell the
  truth about it since the effects are so much felt by
  the one who are involved.
  
  In terms of the movie itself, in my own personal
  opinion, it is one of the best movie i have ever
  watched. It is unique in style since the main
  character is not even spoken any words or showing any
  physical gestures. It is indeed an epic of a holy
  man. The acting, no doubt about how great it is. The
  talented actors such as Anthony Quinn and Irene Papas
  really do their jobs well. If you are interested to
  know a brief biography of this man who are followed
  by about one-fifth of the people in this world, well
  look no further than this movie...          

  
  


1. Kingdom of Heaven (2005)


• Director:

  Ridley Scott

  
  
• Actors:

  Orlando Bloom (Balian), Ghassan Massoud (Saladin), Jeremy Irons (Tiberias),
  Liam Neeson (Godfrey), Edward Norton (King Baldwin), Brendan Gleeson (Reynald),
  Marton Csokas (Guy De Lusignan), Alexander Siddig (Nasir), Eva Green (Sybilla),
  David Thewlis (Hospitaler), Velibor Topic (Almaric), Michael Sheen (Priest), etc 
  

  
  
• Filming Location:

  Loarre, Huesca, Aragón, Spain 
  Morocco 
  Segovia, Castilla y León, Spain 
  Sevilla, Andalucía, Spain 
  Ávila, Castilla y León, Spain 

  
  
• Favourite Quote:

  Saladin: I pray you pull back your cavalry and
  leave this matter to me. 
  King Baldwin IV: I pray you retire unharmed to
  Damascus. Reynald of Chatillon will be punished. I
  swear it. Withdraw or we will all die here.   

  
  
• Favourite Scene:

  All scenes with Ghassan Massoud (Saladin) in it.    

  
  
• Synopsis:

  After years of seeing Muslims depicted as cardboard
  villains or nasty terrorists in American movies,
  we're pleased to see them comes across in a more
  positive light in this well-intentioned blockbuster
  about the Crusades. Ridley Scott ("Gladiator")
  directs from a screenplay by William Monahan. The
  story is about the adventures of a French blacksmith
  who journeys to Jerusalem and finds his destiny as a
  knight, a military leader, and a compassionate man.
  His Crusader father (Liam Neeson) gives him the credo
  that will animate his life: "Be without fear in the
  face of your enemies. Speak the truth, always even if
  it leads to your death . . . Safeguard the helpless
  and do no wrong."
  
  Balian (Orlando Bloom) is a blacksmith whose wife has
  just committed suicide following the death of their
  infant son. A group of Crusaders rides into his
  village, and Godfrey of Ibelin claims to be his
  father. Recognizing that there is nothing to keep
  Balian in France, he challenges the young man to come
  to Jerusalem to serve Baldwin IV (Edward Norton), the
  Christian king who has forged a precarious peace with
  Saladin (Ghassan Massoud), a great Muslim warrior.
  Wounded in a skirmish, Godfrey makes his son a knight
  before dying.
  
  After more traumas, Balian arrives in Jerusalem and
  is summoned by the King, who wears a silver mask to
  cover his leprosy. Tiberias (Jeremy Irons), the
  king's military advisor, has dedicated his life to
  making Jerusalem a city shared by Christians, Jews,
  and Muslims. But this kingdom of peace is about to
  end with the emergence of the Knights Templars, a
  military/religious order of Christians. They are
  fired up by Guy de Lusignan (Marton Csokas) and his
  bloodthirsty right-hand man, Reynald of Chatillion
  (Brendan Gleeson), who leads an attack on a caravan
  of peaceful Saracens. In fact, all of the Christians
  in the story come across as arrogant and unlikable
  human beings. The heroes claim to be agnostics, and
  the others spend all their energy on power games,
  never darkening the door of a church. Their Muslim
  counterparts, on the other hand, are seen doing the
  ritual prayer; in one impressive scene this involves
  Saladin's entire army.
  
  Every moment that Syrian film star and director
  Ghassan Massoud is on the screen as the legendary
  Muslim leader Saladin only shows by comparison how
  Orlando Bloom is not up to the challenge of making
  Balian a memorable or stirring figure. In scenes with
  Liam Neeson and Jeremy Irons, he comes across as an
  idealistic boy but surely not a hero of great
  conscience. Other subplots -- Balian's love-affair
  with Guy's wife Sibylla (Eva Green) and the death of
  the king -- spin the wobbly plot out of control as
  the French blacksmith is overnight transformed into a
  military leader. "Kingdom of Heaven" scores points
  for its balanced depiction of Muslims but founders
  badly on Orlando Bloom's wan and uninspiring
  depiction of Balian.        

  
  

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