Review: Sahara
Blu-ray: Sahara (1943)
I’ve only recently watched the 2014 movie Fury (very good by the way) and was pleasantly surprised to discover that Sahara is also a war movie about a tank crew, this time swapping out Brad Pitt for Humphrey Bogart as the leader of the group.
Synopsis: “Separated from his unit following the fall of Tobruk, Master Sergeant Joe Gunn (Bogart) and his crew flee in a tank across the Sahara, picking up a variety of stragglers and prisoners along the way. With their survival entirely dependent on the water from a depleted well, the group must defend it against a whole German battalion”.
Bogart is great as the firm but fair Master Sergeant, while supported by a hugely watchable and enjoyable cast of characters played by Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Rex Ingram, a very young Lloyd Bridges, and many more…including the entire US Army division as extras, adding to the film’s gritty sense of realism.
Shot under harsh conditions in the unforgiving landscape of the Colorado Desert, the heat is palpable and adds to the sense of urgency when the soldiers (on both sides) are getting desperate to find water.
The narrative is fairly simplistic, but the dialogue between the characters and the slow build-up of tension, which culminates in a tense final battle, kept me glued to the screen throughout its entire 97 minute running time.
A fantastic release from Powerhouse Films, delivering a great movie that otherwise would probably have passed me by.
INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES
- High Definition remaster
- Original mono audio
- Audio commentary with screenwriter and novelist C Courtney Joyner (2025)
- Small Miracles (2025, 13 mins): in-depth appreciation by Ehsan Khoshbakht, curator, filmmaker, and editor of The Lady with the Torch: Columbia Pictures 1929–1959
- Building a Tank (1942, 20 mins): documentary short on the work of the Detroit Tank Arsenal, and the manufacture and testing of the M3 Lee tank which prominently features in Sahara
- The Siege of Tobruk (1942, 17 mins): documentary short produced by the UK’s Army Film Unit detailing the World War II military campaign in the North African port of Tobruk during 1941, which preceded the events portrayed in Sahara
- Original theatrical trailer
- Image gallery: promotional and publicity material
- New and improved English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Limited edition exclusive 40-page booklet with a new essay by Imogen Sara Smith, an archival on-set profile of Humphrey Bogart, an archival interview with actor Kurt Kreuger, a look at how the film’s promotion assisted the war effort, new writing on the short films, and film credits
- UK premiere on Blu-ray
- Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK
Release Date: 20th January 2025.
Review by Dave from a Blu-ray kindly supplied by Powerhouse Films.
