Qeysar

Masoud Kimiai wrote and directed the 1969 Iranian film Gheysar (also spelled Qeysar, Gheisar or Kaiser, and meaning “Caesar”). A blend of drama and crime, it was shot in Persian and runs about 100 minutes. It is regarded as a landmark of Iranian cinema, credited with launching a trend of brooding noir dramas in which outraged family honour is avenged, and it is now considered a cult film.

Behrooz Vossoughi stars as the title hero Qeysar, a role that made him a legendary actor in Iranian cinema. The cast also includes Pouri Banai, Naser Malek Motiee, Bahman Mofid, Gholam-Reza Sarkub, Jamshid Mashayekhi, Jalal Pishvaian, Iran Daftari, Shahrzad and Mir-Mohammad Tajaddod. It was the top-grossing Iranian film of its year and played a major part in forming the Iranian New Wave.

Abbas Shabaviz produced the film at Aryana Film studio, and Abbas Kiarostami designed its title sequence. In 1980, after the revolution, the cleric and politician Sadegh Khalkhali spoke openly of the film no longer being shown. It was remade in Turkish in 1972 as Alın Yazısı, starring Cüneyt Arkın.