Plot In 1929, Italian Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (Rod Steiger) is still faced with the 20-year-long war waged by patriots in the Italian colony of Libya to combat Italian colonization and the establishment of "The Fourth Shore"—the rebirth of a Roman Empire in Africa. Mussolini appoints General Rodolfo Graziani (Oliver Reed) as his sixth governor to Libya, confident that the eminently accredited soldier and fascist Grande can crush the rebellion and restore the dissipated glories of Imperial Rome. Omar Mukhtar (Anthony Quinn) leads the resistance to the fascists. A teacher by profession, guerrilla by obligation, Mukhtar had committed himself to a war that cannot be won in his own lifetime. Graziani controls Libya with the might of the Regio Esercito (Italian Royal Army). Tanks and aircraft are used in the desert for the first time. The Italians also committed atrocities: the killing of prisoners of war, destruction of crops, and imprisoning populations in concentration camps behind barbed wire. Cast Anthony Quinn as Omar Mukhtar Oliver Reed as General Graziani Irene Papas as Mabrouka Raf Vallone as Diodiece Rod Steiger as Mussolini Sir John Gielgud as El Gariani Andrew Keir as Salem Gastone Moschin as Tomelli Stefano Patrizi as Sandrini Adolfo Lastretti as Sarsani Sky du Mont as Prince Amedeo, Duke of Aosta Takis Emmanuel as Bu-Matari Rodolfo Bigotti as Ismail Robert Brown as Al Fadeel Eleonora Stathopoulou as Ali's Mother Luciano Bartoli as Captain Lontano Claudio Goro as Court President Giordano Falzoni as Judge at Camp Franco Fantasia as Graziani's Aide Ihab Werfaly as Ali Music The musical score of Lion of the Desert was composed and conducted by Maurice Jarre, and it was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra. Soundtrack Track Listing for the First Release on LP SIDE One Omar the Teacher / Italian Invasion / Resistance / The Lion of the Desert (19:12) SIDE Two The Displacement / The Concentration Camp / The Death/March of Freedom (19:33) Track Listing for the First Release on CD Omar the Teacher (04:26) Prelude: Libya 1929 (02:24) The Execution of Hamid (05:04) Desert Ambush (01:46) Omar Enters Camp (04:15) The Empty Saddle (01:49) March to Demination (05:19) Ismail's Sacrifice (02:36) I Must Go (02:27) Graziani's Triumph (01:41) Entr'acte (02:19) Concentration Camp (03:15) Italian Invasion (01:32) Starvation (00:53) The Hanging (01:27) General Graziani (03:00) Charge (01:23) Phoney Triumph (04:38) Omar's Wife (03:22) Omar Taken (02:38) The Death of Omar (01:38) March of Freedom (With Choir) (03:59) Censorship in Italy The Italian authorities had banned the film in 1982 because, in the words of Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, it was "damaging to the honor of the army".[4] The last act of the government's intervention against the film was on April 7, 1987, in Trento; afterward, MPs from Democrazia Proletaria asked Parliament to show the movie at the Chamber of Deputies.[4] The movie was finally broadcast on television in Italy by Sky Italy on June 11, 2009, during the official visit to Italy of Libya's then leader Muammar Gaddafi.