Sahara (2005)

Director:

Breck Eisner

Writers (WGA):

Clive Cussler (novel)
Thomas Dean Donnelly (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

8 April 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy

Tagline:

Dirk Pitt. Adventure has a new name.

Plot:

Master explorer Dirk Pitt goes on the adventure of a lifetime of seeking out a lost Civil War battleship known as the "Ship of Death" in the deserts of West Africa while helping a UN doctor being hounded by a ruthless dictator.

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Doctor | Treasure | Africa | Tyrant

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Matthew McConaughey	...	Dirk Pitt
Steve Zahn	...	Al Giordino
Penélope Cruz	...	Eva Rojas
William H. Macy	...	Admiral Jim Sandecker
Rainn Wilson	...	Rudi Gunn
Delroy Lindo	...	Carl
Lambert Wilson	...	Yves Massarde
Lennie James	...	General Zateb Kazim
Robert Cavanah	...	Captain Tombs
Jude Akuwidike	...	Imam
Mark Aspinall	...	Lawyer
Rakie Ayola	...	Mrs. Nwokolo
Christopher Bello	...	Train Driver
Nicholas Beveney	...	Gunboat 1 Officer
Empotoe Bosage	...	Pick Up Truck Guard

Also Known As:

Sahara (Spain)
Sahara - Abenteuer in der Wüste (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence.

Runtime:

124 min

Country:

UK | Spain | Germany | USA

Language:

English | French | Arabic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Taiwan:PG-12 | Netherlands:12 (DVD rating) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:12 | South Korea:12 | Sweden:11 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Czech Republic:12 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Ireland:12A | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | USA:PG-13 | Hong Kong:IIA | UK:12 (video rating) | UK:12A (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Delta del Ebro, Tarragona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The cast had a US Navy SEAL adviser for action sequences and weapon trainings.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Dirk swings from the camels neck, a "hobble" or rope limiting the camels movements is seen pulling out of the sand. It is attached to his right rear leg stretching to a point "off camera" beyond the left side of the frame.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Sailor Who Drops Gold: Sorry, captain.
Pilot, Ironclad: It's all right son, just keep moving. That's the future in your hands.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Across the Sands of Sahara (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

Stay with Me

No cinematic drought after all

It had been proposed by some that the only reason Eisner Jr. (Breck) was allowed to make this film was his relationship with Eisner Sr. (Michael). While there is no proof for such an argument either way, Breck has proved to be not much worse than other directors. In fact he did better than most and worse than some. Sahara is best described as a typical entertaining adventure in the vein of Indiana Jones or perhaps National Treasure. It has a tough good guy (McConaughey), a funny sidekick (Zane) and admirable eye-candy (Cruz). Now I admit that most things are quite shallow, but if you mix all of the above mentioned ingredients with a decent story, good action sequences and throw in the fact that there isn't one nanosecond of corniness in this movie, you inevitably end up with a crowd pleasing blockbuster.

7,25 out of 10