Watch The Message online, on Blu-ray or DVD (1977)

The Message

1977

Overall rating: 3.5 out of 5

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Available on LOVEFiLM Instant for 11 more days

This handsomely-mounted historical epic concerns the birth of the Islamic faith and the story of the prophet Mohammed -- who, in accordance with the tenants of Islam, is never seen or heard (any physical depiction of the prophet is considered a heinous sin within the faith). In Mecca in the 7th century, Mohammed is visited by a vision of the Angel Gabriel, who urges him to lead the people of Mecca to cast aside the 300 idols of Kaaba and instead worship the one true God. Speaking out against the corrupt political and military leaders who rule Mecca, Mohammed and his followers struggle to worship God as they see fit, which eventually leads them into exile in Medina. However, one day God gives Mohammed a message to return to Mecca and take up arms against their oppressors -- while recruiting as many followers as they can along the way. With the help of his uncle, a brave warrior named Hamza (Anthony Quinn), Mohammed and his followers return to Mecca to liberate the city in the name of God. The Message (originally screened in the U.S. as Mohammed, Messenger of God) proved to be highly controversial during its production and initial release. Unfounded rumors had it that Mohammed would not only be depicted in the film, but that he was to be played by Charlton Heston or Peter O'Toole. This resulted in angry protests by Muslim extremists, until director Moustapha Akkad hired a staff of respected Islamic clerics as technical advisors. The advisors butted heads with Akkad, and they quit the production, which led the Moroccan government to withdraw their permission to film in their country. In time, Akkad ended up shooting on location in Libya under the sponsorship of Muammar Qaddafi, which presented a whole new set of political and practical problems for the filmmakers. Finally, when the film was scheduled to premier in the U.S., another Muslim extremist group staged a siege against the Washington D.C. chapter of the B'nai B'rith under the mistaken belief that Anthony Quinn played Mohammed in the film, threatening to blow up the building and its inhabitants unless the film's opening was cancelled. The standoff was resolved without explosion or injuries, though the film's American box office prospects never recovered from the unfortunate controversy. The Message was shot in two versions, one in English and one in Arabic (entitled Al-Ris-Alah), with different actors taking over some of the roles due to language requirements.~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The Message details

Formats:	PG DVD, Blu-ray, LOVEFiLM Instant
Starring:	Johnny Sekka, Andre Morell, Anthony Quinn, Michael Ansara, Martin Benson, Irene Papas
Director:	Moustapha Akkad
Genres:	Action/Adventure - Epic, Historical, Drama - Comedy
Studio:	ANCHOR BAY HOME ENTERTAINMENT
Collections:	Almighty Movies

Title	Runtime	Certificate
The Message	2hrs 50 mins	PG

LOVEFiLM Instant Information

Run time:	2 hours 50 minutes
Rental release:	To be confirmed

Name	Discs
The Message - English Version	TBC Disc 1
The Message - Arabic Version	TBC Disc 2

DVD Information

Run time:	2 hours 51 minutes
Rental release:	24 Feb 2003
Main languages:	English

Name	Discs
The Message	PG Feature

Blu-ray Information

Run time:	2 hours 51 minutes
Rental release:	02 Jul 2012
Main languages:	English

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Most helpful review The Message

The Message disc 2

By a customer from Teesside , 11 Mar 2005

[Highly rated reviewer]

The second disc of The Message is the same as the first, but in Arabic. You may just want the first one...
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Superb account

By Borhan (1 review) , 11 Apr 2013

Superb film, probably the only one that describes some of what happend at the time of the prophet Muhammed, really good information for non muslims, and muslims who are new to islam
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Blu-ray version is decent quality, but only in English with no subtitles

By mediajens (1 review) , 05 Apr 2013

When first released in 1976, this film was certified historic accuracy by Cairo's al-Azhar University. The impossibility of showing the main protagonist makes for interesting viewing and results in vaious efforts of getting around this, e. g. by putting the viewer in Mohammad's place through POV shots moving through crowd scenes. But the film is a welcome counter-balance to the canon of epic films focusing on Christian, Greek & Roman 'historic' events. The Blu-ray version is of decent HD quality (the film grain has been left undisturbed), but I wonder why no subtitles or Arabic language tracks were included as they clearly do exist for the DVD format.
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con job

By ramjam25 (1 review) , 20 Mar 2013

Mo sees a good money making operation people selling gods he takes over an sells his own god ... The end. And he does it without showing his face.
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most recommended to All humans

By eve79 (1 review) , 17 Mar 2013

never seen film like this. it is a master piece and a million dollar project truly awesome . must watch !!!
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Seemingly educational and well made

By a customer , 16 Mar 2013

For those of us who are not Muslim and indeed for Muslims who are not well informed, this film is highly informative. From what I can see it also attempts to be sensitive and was written with a lot of care and advice from scholars.
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