Sahara
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Movie Reviews of Sahara
Movie Review: Sahara - Bogie
Summary: 5 Stars
Wonderful movie. Husband loved it for Bday. Arrived on time in great condition.Movie Review: Sahara
Summary: 5 Stars
We had this movie on vhs and wanted it on DVD. We were very pleased with it !!!!Movie Review: A rouser of a war film, with messages for the home front and a first-class performance from Humphrey Bogart
Summary: 4 Stars
If anyone wants to see how effective a WWII propaganda movie can be, I'd recommend Sahara. It's the story of a small group of Allied soldiers, led by Sergeant Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart), lost in the Libyan desert, who are determined to defend a small outpost against a battalion of Germans. The outpost has a well, but the well is almost dry. It produces only drops of water. Joe and his comrades will use the promise of water to delay the Germans, fighting them off in an almost hopeless battle, to give the Allies after the fall of Tobruk a chance to regroup. Please note that elements of the plot are discussed.
Sahara hits its marks to get all of us civilians back home a reason to be proud of our fighting men, to be resolute in the fight against the Germans, and to dedicate ourselves to do what we must to win. Let's see. We've got Humphrey Bogart leading us. His Joe Gunn is sympathetic, tough and smart, a natural leader, and at heart Gunn is just an average guy. The men he winds up leading are his tank crew and a collection of men from other countries he encounters in the desert. They come from Brooklyn, of course, and from Texas, from London, South Africa, Dublin, France, the Sudan. We have the black Sudanese portrayed as a resourceful and brave man, not as comedy relief, who not only develops a friendship with the Texan but who twice saves the day for his comrades. We have an Italian prisoner who represents an Italy which is oppressed by the Germans, and a Nazi prisoner who is arrogant and vicious. We have a battle in which ingenuity and bravery manage to hold off brutal frontal attacks. We have good men dying for a cause which is larger than they are. And we have two quiet but effective speeches which establish why we fight and why the fight is worth the cost.
Sergeant Gunn calls everyone together in the blazing sun just outside the mud-brick outpost to explain what he wants to do against the oncoming battalion of Germans. He intends that they will fight to hold off and delay the enemy. He has fewer than ten men. The Germans have several hundred. "I look at it this way," he tells the group. "Because it is a 100-to-one shot, because it is so much more than line-of-duty, because there's so little chance of us coming out of it, I felt I ought to put it up to you. You've all got families at home, wives, mothers, sweethearts. I ain't got none, so it doesn't matter about me. I know how you feel about 'em...maybe havin' none I know even better. What you decide, you'd better decide quick." One British soldier speaks up, "Well, nobody minds giving his life, but this is throwing it away. Why?" "Why?" Joe answers, "Why did your people go about their business when the Germans were throwing everything in the book at 'em? Why did your little boats take the men off the beach at Dunkirk? Why did the Russians make a stand at Moscow? Why did the Chinese move whole cities thousands of miles inland when the Japs attacked 'em? Why Bataan? Why Corregidor? Maybe they were all nuts but there's one thing they did do. They delayed the enemy and kept on delayin' 'em until we got strong enough to hit 'em harder than they were hittin' us. I ain't no general, but it seems to me that's one way to win."
Joe and the others start digging in. They only have a few hours before the Germans, with no water of their own, arrive. Joe bluffs the German commander. "Water for guns!" He knows they won't give in, and he knows he has almost no water himself. The Germans attack and keep attacking. One by one, Joe's men die. The lone British officer, a medical man who has backed Joe up, is with Joe in a shallow trench. "We've got to do it," Joe tells Doc. He sounds tired. "It looks like somebody's gotta work a miracle." Doc looks at him. "It seems to me," he tells Joe, "the four of us holding off several hundred of them is nothing short of a miracle. You know why we're able to do it? Because we're stronger than they are." Joe looks at him. "What do you mean, stronger?" he asks. "Oh, I don't mean in numbers," Doc says, "I mean in something else. You see, those men out there have never known...well, the dignity of freedom." "Dignity? That's a funny way to put it," Joe says, "but maybe you got something there." "We've all got something," Doc says quietly.
Soon, we're down to two men. Then that miracle happens. See the movie and find out. Yes, the speeches are obvious, but they work in the context of the movie. The first third is Joe, his tank and his crew, trying to find their way back to their lines and slowly gathering up the others. They are attacked by a German fighter and have to keep moving through a scouring sandstorm. The middle of the film is spent watching their struggle to collect the few drops of water coming from the well. More importantly, now we get to know most of the men as individuals. We also get to know just how dangerous the Nazi prisoner is. And the last third is a rouser...the preparation for what appears to be a hopeless battle, the dedication of the men as they fight and die, and then the final victory.
For a film that isn't especially well known, this is, in my opinion, one of Bogart's best roles. There's no false heroics about Joe Gunn. He's just a gritty sergeant who rises to the occasion. With the exception of J. Carrol Naish, who gives one of his over-played little-man Italian performances, the actors all do fine jobs. I particularly liked Dan Duryea, Rex Ingram and Louis Mercier. One other thought. If you're ever in a battle, never show your pals a photo of your sweetheart or your child. You'll soon be dead if you do.
The DVD transfer is just fine. There are no significant extras.
Movie Review: A classic war film from WW II
Summary: 4 Stars
In 1942 Humphrey Bogart had finally become a major star. After accidentally establishing himself as a leading man in HIGH SIERRA, and the unexpected brilliance of THE MALTESE FALCON, his star turn in CASABLANCA proved that these two prior successes were not flukes and that Bogart was the real deal. SAHARA was, therefore, the first film to be released after Bogart had become Bogart. In the aftermath of December 7, 1941, the studios turned out a plethora of war films in an attempt to rally public opinion in support of the war (as if that were necessary). Most of these films are forgettable. All of them today have an odd appearance, for the simple fact that the military was so short of equipment that it was unable to lend and the films were made with outdated equipment. One of the things that is striking about SAHARA is how much they manage to achieve with virtually no equipment at all. We usually imagine war films as involving epic struggles between contending armies, but SAHARA instead focuses on a lone tank crew and the few stragglers that they pick up along the way. They use the small scale of the film to their advantage, with the unseen but threatening enemy more omnipresent by their absence.Given the absence of equipment and armies, the emphasis in the film is on the relations between the members of the tank crew and the individuals they encounter. Bruce Bennett, who first came to fame as an Olympic shot-putter in the 1920s, is excellent as one of the crew members. And there are a host of other veteran supporting actors. Also in a significant role is one of my favorite 1940s actors, Rex Ingram, who was one of the very, very few black actors before Sidney Portier to carve out a career as an actor despite refusing to play in any degrading or stereotypical "negro" roles. Ingram never played a cook or a red cap or a house servant, but instead portrayed soldiers as in SAHARA, genies (THE THIEF OF BAGHDAD, also directed by Zoltan Korda), the devil (CABIN IN THE SKY), and even God (GREEN PASTURES), as well as a very memorable performance in THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN as the escaped slave Jim.
Many of the films of 1942 with war themes are embarrassing today with their jingoistic patriotism or-in the case of the Japanese-borderline racism. That is certainly not the case with SAHARA. The director, Zoltan Korda, was a dedicated leftist (a source of conflict with his more conservative brother Alexander, the producer of most of the top films Zoltan worked upon), and there is a liberal optimism that under girds this film that would be far rarer only there years later in Hollywood. I think this lack of jingoism has helped prolong the life of SAHARA beyond many of the other war films of 1942.
Movie Review: Good old-fashioned war adventures with Bogie
Summary: 4 Stars
Sahara is a very good WWII adventure that is a worthy addition to any war buff's DVD collection. Sgt. Joe Gunn and his tank crew have been separated from their unit in the North African desert with little water. Gunn and crew head across the desert picking up British, French and Sudanese troops along the way, all the while heading for the nearest wells. But soon they discover an equally thirsty German motorized battalion is following them. Sgt. Gunn and his assortment of men decide to hole up at the only well with any water for hundreds of miles and hopefully hold off the German battalion until help can arrive. Sahara is just a good old-fashioned movie that is entertaining and action-packed. The plot is straightforward, and it's clear who the good guys and the bad guys are. Made during the war, Sahara can be a little preachy, but that was intentional, the movie is propaganda for a country fighting in Europe and the Pacific. But don't let this one pass you by, Sahara is a highly exciting WWII adventure.
Sahara features an excellent ensemble cast, all the actors get their moments, but Humphrey Bogart leads the way as Sgt. Joe Gunn, a tough tank commander who must lead this rag-tag crew of nine soldiers in holding off a German battalion of 500 men. Bogie is very good in the part, but when was he bad? Bruce Bennett and Dan Duryea play Waco Hoyt, the machine gunner, and Jimmy Doyle, the radioman, Gunn's surviving tank crew. J. Carroll Naish is also very strong in an Oscar-nominated part as Guiseppe, an Italian soldier who comes to respect his captors. The rest of Gunn's rag-tag team include Lloyd Bridges as Clarkson, the soldier who misses his wife, Rex Ingram as Tambul, the 20-year veteran Sudanese soldier, Richard Nugent as Halliday, the Irish medic, Carl Harbord as Williams, the "professor," Patrick O'Moore as Bates, the jokester, Louis Mercier as Leroux, the French soldier who has a strong hatred for the Germans, and Guy Kingsford as Stegman, the veteran from South Africa. Kurt Krueger and John Wengraf play two stereotypically evil Nazis. It is a very strong ensemble cast and one of the, if not the, reason the movie is so enjoyable.
The DVD is well worth the price. It offers a beautiful looking B & W standard presentation, a trailer along with several other WWII movie trailers, star filmographies for some of the cast, and a montage of original poster art from the film's initial release. Sahara is not the most well known WWII movie, which is a shame, but don't let that scare you away. It is a highly-enjoyable WWII movie with Bogie leading a strong ensemble supporting cast. Don't miss Sahara!