The actual incident was settled through a peaceful ransom payment by the Sultan, whereas the movie depicts a climactic battle involving U.S. Marines and German forces.
The film is a highly fictionalized "romanticization" of the real-life of 1904. subtitle The Wind and the Lion
Despite the major plot changes, much of Raisuli's dialogue was taken almost verbatim from historical accounts and Rosita Forbes' 1924 biography, The Sultan of the Mountains . Key Cast and Characters The actual incident was settled through a peaceful
U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt , seeking re-election, uses the incident to demonstrate American military power, coining the phrase "Pedecaris alive or Raisuli dead!". subtitle The Wind and the Lion