Sahara
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Movie Reviews of Sahara
Movie Review: SAHARA, Bogart's Desert War Classic now on DVD !
Summary: 5 Stars
It was 1943 and the United States was at war. Humphrey Bogart had just finished "Casablanca" (considered the #2nd greatest Movie of the last 100 years by the American Film Institute (AFI)1998) with Ingrid Bergman at Warner Brothers.As the war effort continued Hollywood began to use the power of their stars with patriotic themes, against all odds stories to give Americans and the world hope for victory.
Warner Brothers having the greatest stable of stars lent the services of Humphrey Bogart to Columbia Pictures for the making of the Classic Desert War story "Sahara".
This movie had a great ensemble cast which included a very young Llyod Bridges, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish and Dan Duryea. Filmed in the Mojave Desert near the great Salton Sea in Southern California. The filmed was endorsed by the War Department and the extras were supplied by the United States Army (playing the Germans, Americans and Allies).
"SAHARA" became Columbia Pictures top grossing film of 1943 at a whopping $2.3 million and a very effective propaganda war vehicle.
Summary: Sgt Joe Gunn (Bogart) a WWII tank Commander and his crew (Bennett & Duryea) are surrounded by Germans in the Sahara desert. Their only escape is south into the desert with only their tank "Lullabelle". The race is against time, finding gas, water & their allies before the Germans find them.
This DVD quality is outstanding !! (remasterd video & audio.) FullScreen (before Widescreen) and Black/White presentation. Extras include a picture montage of original lobby poster art, trailers from other WWII movies and star film chronoligies.
This is a "WWII Sleeper Classic Bogart Film". Bogart is a master craftsman, an American Icon Hero. You become very attached to this cast of desert marooned characters in a grand story about unsummountable odds and the pure devoted attitude to succeed!! Enjoy.
Movie Review: Bogey's favorite role
Summary: 5 Stars
Even more than Rick from _Casablanca_, Bogart, at the end of his career, recalled Joe Gunn as his favorite role. Everything comes together in this movie: a great cast, a well-written script (okay, kinda cribbed from the Russians, but if you've got to crib from someone's literature, Russia's a great place to start!), and wonderful performances. Rex Ingram, famous for being very selective in his roles--he refused to do any demeaning or racist roles--gives us a dignified and heroic Tambul; Carroll Naish does such an over-the-top Italian that even Italians like myself can't help but love him.
The bad guys are mustache-twistingly evil--stabbing each other in the back, glaring with supercilious contempt at everything--the good guys are your international melting pot of Just Plain Folks. It's not a 'historical' war picture; it's really more of a morality play, where God just happens to be on the side of the Allies. Sure, it's simplistic, and to audiences familiar with modern war films (in which the military is seen variously as corrupt or incompetent or both), this might seem a bit...jingoistic. It was released, after all, during the war, and under the auspices of the War Department's agreement with Hollywood to produce motivating films. Propaganda? You bet. Entertaining? Absolutely! It's cheezy like a good bowl of nachos. Yum!
Military buffs may be upset that some of the equipment isn't authentic. Yeah, well, Korda had his crew paint sand dunes. He was trying, but there was a war on, so the German plane is really a repainted American one, and the parachute footage is cobbled together from some grainy stock footage. What can you do?
If you see only one mid-war WWII film, this should be the one! (If you want to see two, see _Bataan_ as well, which is a historicaly pic with a very different ending).
Movie Review: GREAT WAR FILM!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very realistic war film,with a great cast.It is the kind of a movie that makes one feel GOOD about being an American.Humphrey Bogart leads with cast in this story of rag-tag bunch(of mixed nationalities) of soldiers on a retreat mission from Tobruk and their search for water,where they are joined by a shot down(nasty) Nazi pilot Kurt Krueger,who tries to spread discord in the ranks,especially with the Italian prisoner(J.Carroll Naish-who steals the film)but Guiseppe(Naish) who is now anti-fascist will not fall for Krueger's tricks,and he delivers a very eloquent speech against fascism.Rex Ingram lends geat dignity to the proceedings with his excellent portrayal as a Sudanese officer AND he is treated with respect by his fellow soldiers,except of course Krueger.This is truely a FINE PATRIOT ,anti-fascist,and anti-racist film.Directed by Zoltan Korda,with the screenplay by Korda and Marxist John Howard Lawson,who latter a foul of HUAC-HUAC won and Lawson went to prison. See this film!Movie Review: One of my favorites
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of my all-time favorite movies. It also stars one of my favorite tanks, the M3 Lee Medium. The movie has a great cast that obviously put everything they had into their characters. From a history standpoint, it allows buffs to see early WWII equipment in use. It was shot out at the CAMA using training equipment that was available. An early P-51 serves as a German fighter. An American half-track serves as a German "scout car". The German 'soldiers' are all using WWI German equipment. At the end of the movie, we get to see a M3A1 Medium and some M3 Lights. The story line has plausability although it is a stretch. There were U.S. Army tankers in Egypt fighting alongside the British for combat experience. Yes, it is early war "propaganda" but well done and as realistic as it could be under the circumstances. This new DVD is nothing special but it is nice to have a good copy of the old movie.Movie Review: Bogie at his best
Summary: 5 Stars
In the early years of World War II, Americans and our allies were seeing one defeat after another by powerful enemies who had schemed for years before declaring war on us. In spite of our distain for war and feelings of hopelessness, we did not quit. Right was on our side, as it is today. American values of persistence and diverse tolerance are the messages in this darn good war flick. There are some familiar "stock" faces and a new actor, Lloyd Bridges who had a stellar career of his own. I guess a movie buff could imagine that after leaving Casablanca, Rick answered his county's call and joined the Army to fight in North Africa. This is a good measure of the emotions of America in those dark early days of WWII. Enjoy what patriotism was when Americans understood that being at war meant sacrifice.