The Lion Man (Kılıç Aslan)

Kılıç Aslan is a 1975 Turkish historical action film directed by Natuk Baytan and written by Duygu Sağıroğlu. The story opens in 1217, when the Seljuk Sultan Süleyman Şah crushes the Byzantine forces in Anatolia and compels the defeated knights and commanders to accept a treaty drawn up on his own terms. Refusing to swallow this humiliation, the knight Antuan secretly vows revenge, scheming to drive the Turks out of Anatolia and claim the land with the backing of the Christian world. Although the Greek princess Maria, the Sultan's companion, tries to stop the plot, Süleyman Şah is lured into a trap and murdered. Yet the son born of Maria's union with the Sultan grows up to become the warrior Kılıç Aslan, who takes up arms against the Byzantines to avenge his father. Cüneyt Arkın appears in the dual role of father and son, with Yıldırım Gencer, Bahar Erdeniz, Aynur Aydan and Aydın Haberdar rounding out the cast.