Sahara

Today I watched this movie for the very first time. Back in the 80's this movie never made it to my home town, I guess because of the poor critics, and that was a shame because i really wanted to watch it, I had such a big crush on Brooke Shields during the early 80's. I knew that the movie was probably just a lame excuse to expose her sex appeal and popularity, and there were probably little to none substance in the movie it self. After reading the reviews I thought that this was probably a horrible fiasco of a movie I still wanted to watch it, but like i said I was never able until today. What a surprise... the movie is indeed not a big deal at all, but by far boring, it was rather entertaining, I mean not every piece of cinema has to be a master piece, but as long it is entertaining it will be alright, and this one it is alright. The rating is 4 out of 10, my self out of watching it and enjoying it and being able to watch again young Brooke in her prime it was worth it. I would give it a 5 out of 10.

It's a shame that everybody knocks this movie, because it really is good. Sure, it is cheesy in parts, but hey it's a 1983 Brooke Shields movie, what do you expect? The best way to describe this movie is probably that it is very much like a Harlequin romance in many ways. Brooke Shields gives a very good performance, as does movie veteran Sir John Mills. It seems with this movie you either like it or you don't. Personally, I liked it and do recommend it. So go ahead, get some junk food, and a friend who likes romance flicks, and watch it on a rainy day.

I'm a pushover for the Saharan setting, but discovering Lambert Wilson was the best surprise. He made the whole movie. His eyes, voice, stature......just wonderful. I liked the adventure of the movie.......much like the Great American Race.

Dale Gordon (Brooke Shields) is the falpper heiress to an American car company in the 1920s who upon her father's death takes it upon herself to enter an auto race across the Sahara dessert to prove the mettle of her father's car. Once there Dale and her two companions become embroiled in a tribal war between two factions and a sheik (Lambert Wilson) who becomes infatuated with her.

Sahara was one of a number of attempts by b-movie production company Golan-Globus to break out of their profitable but derided niche and break into the mainstream. Many of these films (Lifeforce, Superman IV, Over the Top) were big budget attempts to compete in the blockbuster field of the big 6 studios but all were failures (though Lifeforce has come to appreciate a cult following). Sahara was one of Golan-Globus' earliest attempts at trying a blockbuster and was inspired not only by popular adventure film Raiders of the Lost Ark but also the 1921 silent drama The Sheik of which producer Menahem Golan was a fan. The movie tries to be part rousing adventure, part romance, and part comedy and it fails at all three.

Easilly the biggest drag on the film is Brooke Shields. Shields exploded onto the scene with the hits The Blue Lagoon and Endless Love, but Shields unfortunately is not a good actress. She cannot carry an adventure film because she can't bring the needed enthusiasm and investment needed to bring in the audience investment. But even if Shields were replaced with a more competent actress, they'd still be dragged down by a script that is equally parts messy, unfocused, and jarring. The movie is allegedly about a cross country road race, but the race is really only used as a book end since the majority of the movie involves a feud between two desert tribes that are both violent and sadistic, but one's slightly less sadistic than the other one meaning they're this movie's "heroes". Why we the audience are supposed to care about the sheik falling in love with dale or defeating the rival tribe is anyone's guess as the romance feels cringey and the tribal warfare lacks any stakes or reason to care.

That said, the movie does have merit to it. John Rhys Davies and Lambert Wilson are genuinely good even if they are unsympathetic despite the movie's attempts to make us think otherwise. The movie is also well shot with some beautiful shots of the Sahara as well as a genuine sense of scope and scale in the racing and battle scenes. The movie's budget was $25 Million (of which it made back $1 Million) and you can see the money in the movie, it's just a shame it's for a movie that is lacking in character or story.

Sahara is a bad movie made well. It's about as good as a bad movie can be made. While the performances range from good to bad, and the story is a cluttered unfocused mess, there is entertainment value to be had from the technical aspects on display. It's not good, but it is watchable.

i don't understand why this film has been given so much stick.it is a corny 1983 adventure like all the others in the eighties and does a good job as a film of it nature and genre. there's lots of cheese,granted,but isn't that what these kind of films are suppose to be full of? Brooke Shields looks absolutely stunning through out,and although her gender bending sequence was a bad idea,its not her fault.how can you make such a stunning woman pass for a man.the water fall scene makes up for it all though. Brooke's performance was fine,as were the performances of her co stars though nobody stands out.

this was a fun and enjoyable adventure film,just as it was made to be and deserves a lot more credit.