Brian Keith as Teddy Roosevelt - The Wind and the Lion

The intro to Theodore Roosevelt as played by Brian Keith in John Milius's The Wind and the Lion. One of my favorite films, and Keith gives a brilliant portrayal of one of our greatest Presidents. "Why spoil the beauty of the thing with legality?"

Sorry for the crappy quality of these videos, but that's what happens when you're bored on a Tuesday night with nothing to do but homework...

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Film & Animation

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• Roosevelt
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• Milius

[rinnerrich]

Brian Keith Wins !



[AllenbysEyes]

@free2contemplate You may have a point in terms of comparing two Presidents who were very different, but I'm not certain I follow the logic. Arguing history and traditions equate with Presidents learning from experience would infer that our last few Presidents have been better still.

[free2contemplate]

@AllenbysEyes How do you compute greatness using a number scale? It seems illogical to compare two presidents who were in office 100 years apart, especially one of the first to one in the 20th century. Roosevelt had the luxury of over 100 years of history and traditions to help guide him as president. Jefferson had very little history and tradition to guide him, so he perhaps made more mistakes.

[AllenbysEyes]

@free2contemplate When Jefferson was actually President he had few qualms about exercising Presidential prerogative (eg. the Louisiana Purchase, the Barbary Pirate Wars, the Embargo Act). He was an extraordinary man but not half the President TR was.

[AllenbysEyes]

@enochsneed Morris's books are excellent. I can thank this movie for getting me interested in TR though.

[enochsneed]

@hemming57 Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the US end up fighting in Indochina anyway?

[hemming57]

@enochsneed TR wanted the US to become a colonial power like England and France. More a 19th Century notion than a 20th. By the middle of the 20th Century both those countries were fighting bloody wars trying to keep their colonies. Remember the Viet Minh of Indochina or the Mau Mau in Kenya?

[enochsneed]

@free2contemplate I see your point, and I think it is becoming evident in the last volume of the Morris books that TR increasingly felt *he* knew better than anyone what was good for the USA. Some say it's a pity he died before he could win another term in 1920. I'm not so sure. I don't think he would have been in step with the 1920's. This is not to detract from his achievements when he was in his prime - it's a typical fault of ageing men.

[free2contemplate]

@enochsneed Yes! TR was immensely gifted in courage, intelligence, and physical abilities. Oddly, he detested the other American president equally talented, Thomas Jefferson. In political philosophy, Jefferson preferred limited government while TR preferred a strenuous one. On this point, I differ strongly with TR. He fell into a trap many intellectually gifted people do in thinking that government in the hands of smart people, like himself, could solve all our problems.

[enochsneed]

@free2contemplate I am reading Edmund Morris's 3-volume biography just now. What man! Wrote 40 books, ranched out West, got the Panama Canal built, stood up to big business, went on safari in Africa, explored the Amazon, gave a 90 minute speech after he'd been shot., won the Nobel Peace Prize (and *deserved* to, unlike some we could mention!), pioneered the conservation movement and consumer protection... the list goes on. For me, TR embodies the best in Americans.