Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5617 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-08-22
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Dubbed, PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Italian, Spanish
• Dubbed in: Italian, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 119 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It took more than 25 years for another Clive Cussler novel to come to the screen after the financial and critical disaster of Raise the Titanic. Based on Cussler's oddly landlocked adventure, Sahara finds the author's hero, Dirk Pitt (Matthew McConaughey)--a sort of all-American, high seas variation of James Bond--in Africa looking for a Confederate ironclad ship that impossibly might have ended up there. Soon he and his faithful sidekick Al Giordino (Steve Zahn) are lost in another adventure, discovering a deadly contaminate being tracked by a beautiful doctor (Penelope Cruz). The results are checkered: there's no one outstanding sequence, but the action is enjoyably varied, while the thrills are mild yet not bombastic or gratuitous. The cast are all adept in their roles, yet the only one who sparkles is the scene-stealing Zahn, cast against type; McConaughey, who also produced, knows he might be starting a franchise character and plays it safe. He's never as dangerous as Cussler's hero is on the page (except in his introduction), and in fact, the whole movie plays towards comedy, infused by a soundtrack of 70s FM radio monsters. Cussler fanatics may not like this lighter fare, especially with the archeological portion (a Cussler strong point) not fully embraced, but with a very, very likable cast and colorful settings, Sahara is a kindler, gentler action film that has all the elements in place for a better, more memorable franchise if anyone cares to attempt it. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Dirk (Matthew McConaughey) and Al (Steve Zahn) have been friends since kindergarten, having also gone through college and the Navy together. The two now work for a former admiral travelling around the world and salvaging treasures from the sea with the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA). In his spare time, Dirk is obsessed with the 150-year-old mystery of the Texas, an Ironclad battleship that reportedly disappeared from Richmond, Virginia during a Civil War battle and turned up in Africa. When a Confederate coin--allegedly one of only five minted--surfaces in Mali, Dirk and Al plan to travel there from Lagos, Nigeria on the admiral's yacht to investigate. Meanwhile, in Lagos, Dirk meets Eva (Penelope Cruz), a doctor for the World Health Organization (WHO) who believes that there is a plague building in Mali. Since the WHO is unable to find another way into the war-torn country, Dirk and Al give Eva and her colleague a lift up the river. Once in Mali, Dirk, Al, and Eva quickly find themselves embroiled in trouble as she pursues the source of the disease. Meanwhile, Dirk and Al search for the Texas. Based on a novel by Clive Cussler, SAHARA is a rollicking thrill ride through exotic locales, including everything from high-speed boat chases to helicopter pursuits to jeeps racing through the desert to camel rides. A warlord and a greedy French businessman prove to be formidable villains for the trio. McConaughey fits the bill as gentleman and adventurer Dirk, while Zahn holds his own as likeable sidekick Al. Cruz is feisty as independent Eva. Director Breck Eisner's theatrical feature film debut also features William H. Macy as the admiral.

Customer Reviews

Indiana Jones meets Bond in leave your brain at home fun!
I don't mind a bit of Cussler now and again. He writes entertaining if undemanding page-turners, that are perfect fare for a long flight or lounging around on a beach.
I was therefore curious to see how this Cussler yarn transferred to the big screen.

Well, Sahara is certainly undemanding - the goodies and boo-hiss baddies are all very clearly demarcated early on. It has to be said though that Matthew McConaughey as our hero Dirk Pitt, bears only a passing resemblance to Cussler's creation. In the novels, Pitt comes over as far more mature and with a hint of military or secret agent about him. Let's face it, Pitt is James Bond-lite. The designer-stubbled, longish haired medallion man that McConaughey gives us, simply didn't feel like Pitt and will probably annoy the Cussler purists no end!

No matter! Let's discuss the plot in some detail now. Pitt saves the world from environmental disaster, discovers a hoard of Civil War gold and gets the girl. Errrm ... that's about it!

Doesn't sound like much does it? And yet, the movie still kinda works, if you're in the right frame of mind. Just go with the flow and you will have to acknowledge that Sahara is beautifully filmed, amidst spectacular landscapes and with expertly selected dynamic camera angles. The high-speed boat pursuit and the action atop the solar tower, although somewhat derivative, were undeniably spectacular. The improbability of some of the stunts is such that they would probably make Indiana Jones gulp with disbelief! What the hell though - this has no pretensions to be oscar material and the 110 minutes flew past in a blur of sumptuous colours, action and amiable camaraderie between McConaughey and his wisecracking sidekick Steve Zahn.

Great rocking soundtrack too! Oh and Ms Cruz is certainly rather decorative!

If you don't expect too much, you may well be pleasantly surprised.

Fun film, well acted too.
The fact that the leading three parts are played by excellent actors, gives this all-action film a boost. There is also a depth to it that you don't get from other similar action/adventure movies. I don't understand why it's classed as a flop - maybe financially it was? But it's an enjoyable film to watch a few times on DVD.

Bond meets Indianna Jones
Bring on Dirk Pitt! Here is a movie that wants to have fun, the cast wants to have fun. The audience ends up having fun. Steve Zahn is hilarious. Matthew McConaughey handles the limited demands of his role quite well. Penelope Cruz brings her ever-present charm and beauty to a role which is notable for being one of the few action-adventure roles written for a female that is not obnoxious in recent memory. You can't take your eyes off William H. Macy whenever he is on screen in ANY movie. He's that good.

The villains are one dimensional, but who cares? We are here to follow the exploits of our heroes. If we have to suspend our disbelief, we do it willingly because we are grinning ear to ear.