Ottoman Empire Based Movies

There is a huge demand for more Ottoman Empire based movies in Hollywood today. It could be because any subject relating to the Ottoman Empire has great selling potential. One can go crazy with the sets and since the Empire was full of intrigue and mystery, the plot can be scintillating as well. The fact that some of the most celebrated movies produced by Hollywood are Ottoman Empire based movies bears testimony to this.

Lawrence of Arabia

Who can forget Peter O'Toole's piercing blue eyes as Lawrence? In fact, this is the very movie which made Peter O'Toole a superstar. The movie deals with the mid-eastern campaign carried out by the Allied forces during World War I. Lawrence, initially a bored general staffer manages to get a transfer to Arabia and once there he teams up with Omar Sharif's character to help the Arab people to revolt against the Turks.

Unfortunately Lawrence doesn't quite manage to accomplish his goals and becomes more or less a pawn used by the Allies. After this he is captured by the Turks but fights his way to freedom in the next battle

Pascali's Island

This Ottoman Empire based movie was much more recent and starred Ben Kingsley. It was based on the novel of the same name by Barry Unsworth. This novel is basically set on a Greek Island at the periphery of the Ottoman Empire. Kingsley's character - Basil Pascali- is a spy who regularly reports what the local people are up to, to Constantinople.

Pascali expects to be found out and captured any minute. Things get complicated and perilous when an Englishman archaeologist lands up at the island. To make matters worse, his involvement with the woman who Pascali loves makes things difficult.

Harem

Yet another Ottoman Empire based movie is Harem. In this movie, Jessica, a young girl who is British, goes to Arabia with her father so as to be with her fiancée, who had to suddenly go there because of diplomatic concerns. Unfortunately for her, she is kidnapped by a Beduoin tribe and is finally sold into the Harem of the Sultan.

It is later revealed that the person who kidnapped her is not really a Beduoin but an elite Oxford educated revolutionary who traded her for the release of his friends. Ironically, her fiancée hires this very same man to get her out of the harem!

These are just some of Hollywood's Ottoman Empire based movies, but people are hungry for more!