Clash of Loyalties survived wartime production, controversial incidents and logistical setbacks before disappearing from public view
Saddam Hussein’s ambitious attempt to establish Iraq as a major international filmmaking hub produced one of the Middle East’s most expensive films, Clash of Loyalties. However, despite a reported $30 million budget and years of production, the film largely disappeared after only a handful of screenings.
The historical epic, completed in 1983, portrayed Iraq’s 1920 uprising against British rule and was designed to promote Iraq’s national image through a Hollywood-style production. Iraqi-born British producer Lateif Jorephani later recalled that Hussein envisioned Baghdad becoming a global filmmaking centre capable of attracting international audiences.
Production faced repeated disruptions after the Iran-Iraq War erupted in 1980. Several cast and crew members were called into military service, filming briefly stopped, and transporting World War I-era props through neighbouring countries became increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, authorities ordered production to continue to project an image of normality despite the ongoing conflict.
Production faced war, controversy and constant setbacks
The project also encountered controversy involving British actor Oliver Reed, whose behaviour reportedly angered Iraqi officials during filming. Producer Jorephani said he successfully persuaded authorities not to remove the film’s leading star, avoiding costly reshoots.
Meanwhile, the production filmed an exploding train sequence near the Iranian border, prompting inaccurate reports that an actual Iraqi military train had been destroyed during the conflict.
Several actors also described heightened security concerns, including military escorts, blackout landings and interrogations by Iraqi authorities during the three-year production.
Film vanished despite international ambitions
After premiering at the Moscow Film Festival in July 1983 and receiving an award, Clash of Loyalties was screened only a limited number of times before political developments halted its distribution.
Following Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and subsequent international sanctions, the film disappeared from cinemas. Hussein’s broader vision of transforming Iraq into a centre for international filmmaking never materialised, leaving Clash of Loyalties as the only completed project from the ambitious initiative.
