Sahara - Wüste des Todes

Acceptable adventure drama set in Libyan desert during WWII dealing with an Allied lost patrol battling Germans . Wartime film with powerful direction including scenarios set in Lybia desert but filmed in Outback desert , being based upon an incident in the Soviet film ¨The Thirteen¨ directed by Mikhail Romm and made about six years prior to this movie . "In June, 1942, a small detachment of American tanks with American crews, joined the British Eighth Army in North Africa to get experience in desert warfare under actual battle conditions. History as proved that they learned their lesson well" . While the WWII raged in Europe American/British troops were fighting in a far part of the world , North Africa . Small solitary patrols from all nations moved over the vast Libyan desert that seemed on fire with the sun . The molten sky gloated over them . The endless desert wore the blank look of death . Yet these men marched on without a murmur , fighting an unseen German enemy who always struck in the dark . Sergeant Joe Gunn (James Belushi , while classic version played by Humphrey Bogart) and his tank (called Lulubelle" ) , crew pick up five British soldiers . The group of Allied stragglers (all of them played by Alan David Lee as Bates , Simon Westaway as Williams , Mark Lee as Doyle , Jerome Ehlers as Halliday), a Frenchman (Michael Massae, an American actor, who was born in Kansas City to French parents, Masse convinced director at the audition) and a Sudanese man (Robert Wisdom , formerly played by Rex Ingram) with an Italian prisoner (D'Angelo) crossing the Libyan Desert to rejoin their army after the fall of Tobruk . A brave group of American and British soldiers rides a tank (it is an M3 Lee, but has features of the variety used by the Australian Army during WW2 , the standard US commander's cupola was deleted from the 37mm turret and a pintle mounted) across the Sahara in search of water and lost in the desert , being shot by Germans , one by one and some battered fighting men battle it out to the finish . They find it among desert ruins , only to realise that 500 Nazi troopers converging on them need it even more . Dead the official commander they are ruled by the sergeant , then arise boiling passions in the burning sands . The bunch works together to vanquish a much larger Nazi army that wishes the same water well that they have .

This dusty-looking remake of the Bogart classic gets brief psychological remarks about diverse characters , and although is completely developed on the wide desert , the tale results to be a little claustrophobic . The flick displays fierce action , drama , dominating performances , excitement , contrived heroic deaths and the most entertainment and thrilling scenes come fast in the last reel . Philip MCDonald (story's author being based the movie) had been recruited in the British cavalry during WWI (1917) and he ulteriorly wrote an intrigue and suspense tale , adding his war memories and taking an incident based on the Soviet Photoplay "The Thirteen" . The film contains a powerful and moving musical score . Glimmer and sunny cinematography from Port Stephens , New South Wales, Australia . Nearly all the extras in this film were from the Royal Australian Air Force and The Royal Australian Army. For authenticity, the director made them shave off their mustaches which apparently weren't allowed in the German army in WW2.

Good direction by the Australian Brian Tenchard Smith who transfers the action of the story with great effect and fine interpretations make this an entertaining film . This particular story was former and subsequently remade and reworked several times , being originally seen as a Russian movie titled ¨The thirteen¨ . Subsequently by John Ford in ¨The lost patrol¨ with Victor McLagen and Boris Karloff ¨ set in Mesopotamia ; ¨Bataan¨ by Tay Garnett with Robert Taylor in Philippines jungle ; ¨Last of Comanches¨ made by the same studio about a decade later , was loosely based on this movie , realized by Andre De Toth with Broderick Crawford in Califonia desert ; and even part of ¨Flight of Phoenix¨ by Robert Aldrich in Sahara desert . Britain also made a variation on the story titled ¨Nine men¨ . Rating : 6'5/10 . The motion picture will appeal to warfare moviegoers .

Too bad that this movie isn't any better known and appreciated. Perhaps it has to do that never hit cinemas or because that it's a remake of the 1943 Humphrey Bogart movie but fact still simply remains that this a good and entertaining little action flick.

The movie benefits from its great story. It didn't changed must in regard to the 1943 original but still it changed a couple of sequences and left out the more propaganda like aspects of the original but still leaving in the exaggerated heroism and toughness of the characters, which aren't all very likely but help to make the movie an entertaining one nevertheless. The concept of 9 men standing their ground against an army of 500 is always something that should get your testosterone running.

In terms of its acting and visual look it isn't a too impressive looking movie. You feel that with a much bigger budget the movie could had truly turned into a fantastic one, without now calling the movie bad or a disappointment.

Its action is simply good. The second halve of the movie gets action filled when the Germans start to attack the ruins that hold the only well within the wide vicinity in it. They don't know however that the well has dried up and the Allies are using it as a decoy so that the Germans can't march on to El Alamien and flank the British stronghold there.

It's nothing too impressive, it's simply just a good and entertaining unknown little WW II action flick.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This was, IMO, one of Belushi's better portrayals. The subject is a part of history seldom touched upon by American movies (the American participation in the African theater against Rommel)and includes the Grant medium tank...a forgotten piece of equipment that shows just how unprepared America was to fight WW2.

The movie is well acted. The scenery is excellent and the action flows nicely. The soldiers don't come across as cartoon superheroes or Rambo clones. The rift between the Italian and German forces is portrayed rather nicely too.

The equipment is portrayed nicely and the tactics are sound.

Although I am generally against remaking classic movies, I must admit that this TV-movie starring Jim Belushi was very well done and was far better than I expected. And Belushi's fine acting was a delightful surprise, too. I recommend that you see the original with Humphrey Bogart and compare. You'll enjoy both.

Sahara is a cinematic pleasure. For fans of Bogart and of James Belushi, this film will excite you. The story may be a little hard to believe that a hand full of men hold off so many Germans, but Hollywood was part of the war effort 1943 and that is to be expected. Besides, whats wrong with wanting to kick a little Nazi butt every now and then? Anyway, the cinematography alone is worth the watching of this movie. Not unlike the desert scenes in Star Wars - Return of the Jedi and those of more recent films like the Mummy and the Mummy Returns, the richness of color and warmth and the brutal sun make for a heightened experience. If you have a chance to watch this film I highly recommend it so you might form your own opinion. After all, it's has to be better than most of the junk out there lately.