October 6 - Sadat

Today’s movie is a biographical drama with a scene that happens on October 6. Watch it tonight and enjoy.

SADAT

Captain Sadat is arrested and jailed during World War II for involvement in anti-British activity. As part of a British effort to shore up support after they have to call for an end of the Palestine Trusteeship, Sadat and all other jailed Egyptian officers are released. Sadat then meets and marries his wife Jihan. After a meeting with Gamal Nassar, Sadat is arrested, but released when he agrees to become a mole inside the Free Officers. However, Sadat and Nassar plot a revolution.   Sadat contacts the Muslim Brotherhood, which agrees to support the coup, but tells the government they said no. The Free Officers launch the coup. Later Nassar nationalizes the Suez Canal, provoking the 1956 War. The Americans pressure Israel, Britain and France to end the war after Nassar lies about agreeing to let Israel use the Suez Canal. Nassar unites Egypt with Syria and sends troops to Yemen.  Then Nassar orders UN peacekeepers out of the Sinai, which leads to the Six Day War. Israel occupies the entire Sinai peninsula. After the Israelis start to win, the Soviets want the Egyptian army put under their control, but Nassar refuses. After Nassar dies, Sadat becomes president. Forces on the right and on the left try to squeeze him out, but he successfully thwarts them. He survives a bomb blast. Sadat expels all Soviet troops and advisors.  Sadat launches the October War. While initially successful, Israeli counter attacks cross the Suez Canal and cut off Egyptian troops.  His brother is killed in action. Israeli prime Minster Begin warns Sadat of an attempt to assassinate him by Libya. He offers to go to Jerusalem and he does. This leads to the Camp David Accords and peace with Israel. This annoys many in the Arab world and some inside Egypt. Sadat is assassinated on October 6, 1981. [3:04:47 to 3:08:15]

A mostly truthful biopic. Gossette does a good job portraying Sadat as a visionary.  A film that is well worth watching.

A History of Egypt from Earliest Times to the Present by Jason Thompson (Anchor Books, New York, 2008) at page 338 and the film at 3:05:05 give the date

Producer – Daniel H. Blatt and Robert Singer

Director – Richard Michaels                  

Screenplay – Lionel Chetwynd                              

Runtime – 3 hours 15 minutes         

Released – October 31, 1983                      

Starring –

Louis Gossett Jr. as Anwar al-Sadat

John Rhys-Davies as Jamal Nasser

Madolyn Smith Osborne as Jihan Sadat

Jeremy Kemp as Thompson

Barry Morse as Menachem Begin

Nehemiah Persoff as Leonid Brezhnev

Thaao Penghlis as Amer

Anne Heywood as Mrs. Raouf

Ferdy Mayne as Mullah

Pepe Serna as Atif Sadat

Paul L. Smith as King Farouk

Jeffrey Tamboras Sharaff

Hugh Gillin as American Ambassador

George Morfogen as Salem

Copyright by Ivan Walters in 2014.