Sahara

This is a remake of a 1943 Bogart movie of the same title. I was pleased to see they followed the original story almost to a T. Very well acted for a TV movie & Belushi was great as Joe Gunn. And the other actors were good as well. On the whole an enjoyable remake, which doesn't happen very often. I guess what I am saying is that as a very big Bogey fan I was expecting to be let down by this movie, but surprise surprise, I wasn't. It was reasonably well acted, interesting story this time around as well, followed the original movie very closely, surprisingly well directed & well photographed for a TV movie and once again Belushi does a crack job. I'll be buying the DVD.

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.

Sometimes 'remakes' aren't; they take liberties with the original. This movie didn't do that, they stuck with a good, simple story of men in war. The original started out as a "allied microcosm" propaganda flick, but turned out to be a good solid war movie. The makers of this version don't mess with what works. Jim Belushi provides a good solid focus as the Humphrey Bogart character ("Joe Gunn"), and is ably assisted by the rest of the cast. Not a grand war movie, to be sure, but a good one.

This remake is better than I expected. It sticks pretty close to the original but does change a few details here and there. Belushi is surprisingly effective in the Bogart role. The rest of the cast perform well. It's no substitute for the original but it is an interesting alternative take on the story.

I don't see this as anywhere near the debacle described by the other reviewer, who was obviously put off by elements of the story that were repeated from the 1943 original. Those were different times. And this film chose to honor those conventions rather than trying to rewrite history to kowtow to current thinking. Whether that was the right move or not is, I suppose, debatable. But I was expecting to hate this film, yet I found myself pleasantly surprised.

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.