Babek (film)

Babek
Directed byEldar Guliyev
Screenplay byAnvar Mammadkhanli
StarringRasim Balayev
Hasanagha Turabov
Amaliya Panahova
CinematographyRasim Ismayilov
Music byPolad Bülbüloğlu
Production
companies
Release date
  • December 2, 1979 (1979-12-02)
Running time
137 minutes
CountrySoviet Union
LanguageAzerbaijani

Babek (Azerbaijani: Babək) is a 1979 Azerbaijani historical drama film directed by Eldar Guliyev. A joint production between Azerbaijanfilm and Mosfilm, Babek is the most expensive film produced in Azerbaijan SSR. It stars Rasim Balayev in the title role with Hasanagha Turabov playing Abbasid general Afshin. The screenplay was written by novelist Anvar Mammadkhanli.

The film is based on the life of revolutionary leader Babak Khorramdin, whose rebellion against the Abbasid Caliphate spread throughout Iran and Azerbaijan, spanning more than two decades. Under the leadership of Babak, the Khurramiyyah movement strived for an end to despotic foreign rule. However, the rebellion was suppressed with military force by Iranian general Haydar ibn Kawus al-Afshin.

Babek is widely considered to be one of the greatest films of Azerbaijani cinema. The film's cultural impact and legacy still endures in Azerbaijan.