The Message (1976)

(Arabia, 7th Century A.D.)
IMDb

Unsatisfying and uninvolving epic about foundational events in the history of Islam, through the conquest of Mecca. The films producers aim for a reverent, respectful approach (even boasting in the opening credits that their presentation was deemed acceptable by an Egyptian university and a prestigious sounding Islamic organization), and in so doing honor Islamic custom in not representing the prophet Muhammad on film. This is something of a liability dramatically in that we never really get a sense of who Muhammad was as a person, and we are subjected to quite a few scenes in which characters address the camera as if the audience were Muhammad. The film mostly concentrates on the trials of various inner-circle followers of the prophet, including the warrior figure Hamzea (played by Anthony Quinn, the only real star in the cast), and an abundance of battle scenes. It's a slow going feature, which tells us close to nothing over its three hour running time.

Some would accuse the film of soft pedaling the faith, as aside from willing to do battle for there cause, you see little that would indicate any basis for the violent acts associated with radical Islam (of course the same is true of Christianity in relation to its historic abuses). The Islam presented here sounds pretty good, pretty tolerant and progressive, it is no doubt the Islam of Cat Stevens. The villains of the picture are cruel, greedy, polytheistic idolaters, no Jews are shown, and the one real Christian character ultimately comes off well. I really can't comment beyond that in terms of the religious and political dimensions of the film, I know relatively about the Muslim faith. A montage at the end of the movie, showing then present day Muslims around the world in prayer, strives to emphasis the universality of the faith, a theme that gets a fair bit of emphasis in the film itself. I wanted to like this movie but I didn't, mostly I was board. Most any documentary on the subject would be a vastly better way to learn about the Islamic faith.