The first Sultan of Egypt and Syria leads the Muslim military campaign against the invading Christians from Europe during the Third Crusade.
Direction
Chahine stages battle scenes like political theatre, not action sequences.
Production
Massive crowd scenes on a budget Hollywood would laugh at.
Writing
Richard and Saladin's verbal duels outshine any sword clash.
Director
Youssef Chahine
Ahmed Mazhar
Saladin
Nadia Lotfi
Louisa de Lusignan
Salah Zulfikar
Issa El Awwam
Laila Fawzy
Virginia, Princess of Kerak
Hamdy Ghaith
Richard the Lionheart
Laila Taher
Queen Berengaria
Omar Al-Hariri
King Philip of France
Hussein Reyaad
Issa Hikari
Mahmoud El Meligy
Conrad, Marquis of Montferrat
Zaki Toleimat
Duke Arthur
Tawfiq Al-Deqen
Prince of Akka
Mohamed Hamdy
El-Adel
Mohamed Sultan
Hossam Al Deen
Ibrahim Emara
القاضي الفاضل
Salah Nazmi
القائد الصارم
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during the peak of pan-Arab nationalism under Nasser, this was Egypt's answer to Hollywood Crusades epics — and explicitly funded to counter Western historical narratives.
Chahine originally wanted Omar Sharif for Saladin; when that fell through, Ahmed Mazhar's more theatrical performance became iconic across the Arab world. The film's budget was roughly 1/50th of contemporaneous Hollywood epics.
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