The Message (1976)
There are not many films that can claim to have caused a diplomatic incident before they even opened. The Message, released in 1976 under the alternative title Mohammad, Messenger of God, prompted a hostage siege at the Washington D.C. headquarters of B'nai B'rith, carried out by a Hanafi Muslim group who had incorrectly assumed the film was blasphemous (they had not seen it). The episode underlines just how charged the territory was that director Moustapha Akkad had chosen to enter. The film itself, it should be said, is a sincere and reverential account of the founding of Islam, tracing Muhammad's first revelations in sixth-century Mecca through to the open declaration of his prophecy and the brutal opposition mounted by the city's ruling class. It is a project born of genuine conviction rather than commercial calculation, and that distinction matters when you are sitting down to watch something that runs to nearly three hours.
Akkad was a Syrian-born filmmaker who had studied at UCLA and cut his teeth on American television before turning his attention to the kind of large-canvas historical cinema that Hollywood had largely abandoned by the mid-1970s. The Message was his feature debut, financed through a genuinely unusual international arrangement involving Libya, Kuwait, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom, with Muammar Gaddafi's government providing substantial early backing. The budget was considerable for its era and it shows on screen: the film was shot partly in Morocco and partly in Libya, with the production company Filmco International assembling the kind of logistical operation more associated with the previous decade's sword-and-sandal epics. Akkad would return to similar ground four years later with Lion of the Desert (1980), another Libyan-backed historical epic on a grand scale, and the two films share a recognisable ambition and aesthetic. The screenplay, by H.A.L. Craig, carefully navigates the central religious constraint: Islamic tradition strictly prohibits any visual depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, meaning the film had to find a structural solution to telling a story whose principal figure could never appear on camera.
The cast assembled around that absence is, on paper at least, a polished but occasionally eclectic mix. Anthony Quinn, never a man to underplay when overplaying was available, takes the role of Hamza, the Prophet's uncle and one of the early faith's most formidable protectors. Quinn had form with the region: he had already played Arab and North African figures across a long career, and his physical presence carries real weight here. Opposite him, Irene Papas brings a controlled ferocity to Hind, the wife of the Meccan ruler Abu Sufian and one of the story's primary antagonists. Papas was, by 1976, already established as one of European cinema's most commanding screen presences, not least through her work in Costa-Gavras's political thriller Z (1969), and she does not waste the material. Michael Ansara and Johnny Sekka round out a supporting ensemble that is broadly capable, even if the sheer scale of the production occasionally flattens individual characterisation. For viewers who came to the film via Capernaum (2018) or other examples of Middle Eastern cinema produced in more recent decades, the register here will feel markedly different: this is epic filmmaking in the old Hollywood tradition, transposed onto an Islamic historical canvas.
Moustapha Akkad’s 1976 historical epic The Message (also widely known as Mohammad, Messenger of God), is a remarkably ambitious piece of cinema.
The film transports us back to sixth-century Mecca, chronicling the birth of Islam as the Prophet Muhammad receives his first revelations and begins his public calling, facing fierce opposition from the city's rulers, Abu Sufian and his formidable wife Hind. Tackling such an extremely sensitive subject is no small feat, especially given that the Islamic faith strictly forbids any visual depiction of the Prophet. Fair play to Akkad, who handles this restriction with immense dignity and care, employing brilliant camera tricks, POV shots, and clever perspective changes to make the Prophet’s presence deeply felt without ever breaking religious law.
In terms of sheer scale and spectacle, it genuinely feels like the Ben-Hur of Islamic films. Watching the massive battle sequences and the sweeping desert cinematography, I was immediately reminded of Lion of the Desert, another brilliant historical epic with Libyan ties that Akkad directed. In fact, The Message shares that film's legendary leading man, the iconic Anthony Quinn, who brings massive, scene-chewing gravitas to the role of Hamza, the Prophet’s uncle. He is brilliantly matched by Irene Papas, who delivers a wonderfully fierce and nuanced performance as Hind. The ensemble cast does a cracking job of grounding this massive, sprawling historical tapestry in genuine, relatable human emotion, making the persecution of the early followers feel incredibly visceral.
If I have one major critique that keeps this from reaching absolute masterpiece status, it’s the sheer, unadulterated length of the picture. Clocking in at nearly three hours, it is far too long for its own good, and the pacing undeniably drags during the middle act. It can feel like a bit of a slog to get through the heavier, more dialogue-driven political manoeuvring before the spectacular, large-scale clashes finally kick in. It’s a massive commitment of your time, and a slightly tighter edit in the editing room would have easily elevated the narrative drive and kept the momentum going.
However, despite the bloated runtime, it remains a deeply respectful, visually stunning, and historically fascinating endeavour. Akkad clearly poured his heart and soul into this project, and the result is a monumental achievement in international cinema that handles a profound religious history with the utmost reverence.
The Message is a highly watchable, beautifully crafted epic that is well worth your time, even if it asks a bit too much of your patience and your bladder.
The Message occupies a genuinely unusual place in world cinema. It remains, decades on, one of very few large-scale productions to have treated the origins of Islam as worthy of the full epic treatment, and Akkad's commitment to doing so with religious sensitivity rather than spectacle-first showmanship gives it a dignity that outlasts its considerable runtime. The film is not without its frustrations, and patience is a prerequisite rather than a bonus. But as an act of cross-cultural filmmaking, produced across multiple nations and aimed at audiences who rarely saw their history reflected on screen at this scale, it represents something more than the sum of its occasionally uneven parts. Akkad, who was tragically killed in the 2005 Amman bombings, never stopped believing that cinema could build bridges between worlds. The Message is the clearest proof of that belief, flaws and all. Some films earn their length; this one is still working on it.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1976 | Watched: 2026-07-08
Trailer
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