Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Sahara Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2025

Zoltan Korda's "Sahara" (1943) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include exclusive new audio commentary by novelist and screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner; two short films; new program with critic Ehsan Khoshbakht; and vintage promotional materials for the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

The year 1942 saw some of the most consequential battles of WWII. The most famous was the great Battle of El Alamein, where the Axis had their most significant defeat in North Africa. After that, the balance of power changed dramatically and the Axis had to rethink their entire military strategy. A lot of people believe that because the Axis could not take control of the Suez Canal, the great Battle of El Alamein was as significant for the progression of WWII as the legendary Battle of Stalingrad.

Zoltan Korda’s film Sahara is set in the year 1942 and chronicles the misery of several very different and very interesting soldiers who get stuck in the desert after the fall of Tobruk. They come from various places. A few operate an American tank and follow the orders of Sgt. Joe Gunn (Humphrey Bogart), a veteran who wants to get his men to a safe area as quickly as possible. A few more are stranded British soldiers, who join Gunn and his men after being made to realize that they cannot survive on their own. The remaining ones are French, Sudanese, Italian, and German soldiers. As the scorching sun and enemy bullets force everyone into a brutal battle for survival, it quickly becomes obvious that despite their many differences, they are all the same – mortal men gambling their lives in the name of distant ideas.

While an impressively looking film, Sahara is a memorable film for a couple of reasons that have nothing to do with its visuals.

The first is Korda’s ability to humanize its characters, including the bad ones, and create an authentic environment where their moral superiority and inferiority quickly become irrelevant. This is rare in war films from the same period. The overwhelming majority of war films from the same period produce a great deal of messaging that relies on contrasts created by the actions of characters whose moral superiority and inferiority are crucial for their stories. As a result, they are not realistic war films.

Sahara isolates the significance of the concept of war. However, this development is present in all good war films because it is how real soldiers fight real wars. They make progress by prioritizing their survival in evolving situations, very few of which, if any at all, have something to do with the concept of war. Indeed, they are engaged in a game of instincts, where the ones with the better instincts make better choices and keep moving on. Gunn and the men around him are engaged in a battle of instincts, too. They are focused on staying alive another day, another hour, not winning the war.

The final reason is the easiest to identify because it is the most obvious. Sahara has a great cast. While Bogart frequently leads with authority, various actors do great work and ensure that Sahara is not a one-man show. For this reason, Sahara reminds of another great film about survivors in the desert that Robert Aldrich will direct many years later, The Flight of the Phoenix. Bogart is joined by such fine actors as Lloyd Bridges, Dan Duryea, Louis Mercier, Patrick O’Moore, Bruce Bennett, Rex Ingram, and Kurt Kreuger.

Korda shot Sahara with the great cinematographer Rudolph Mate in several desert regions in California and Arizona. The locations are fantastic and create quite a special atmosphere. The area where the decisive battle takes place, in particular, looks terrific and could quite easily fool one that it is somewhere in North Africa.

An appropriately dramatic score from Miklos Rosza does a lot to create plenty of excitement as well.

In 1995, Australian helmer Brian Trenchard-Smith directed a remake of Korda’s film starring James Belushi. While stylistically different, this remake is a surprisingly solid film and is very much worth tracking down.

Sahara Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Sahara arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

The release is sourced from an old master supplied by Sony Pictures. This master produces visuals whose quality is decent, at times even good, but there is a lot of room for meaningful improvements. For example, in most darker areas shadow nuances can be better, and if they are, depth will be improved. Most visuals tend to look slightly sharper than they should as well. To be clear, there are no troubling anomalies, but if you have a large screen, you will easily conclude that grain could and should be more natural. The grayscale is good. However, I am quite certain that if the film is fully restored in 4K, there will be meaningful improvements, especially in areas where some of the grays now appear slightly uneven. Finally, there are quite a few blemishes, cuts, and nicks, so the film can look cleaner and healthier. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Sahara Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is excellent. I had the volume of my system turned up quite a bit and liked everything that I heard. Not only does the action footage sound great, but Miklos Rozsa's dramatic score creates some quite impressive dynamic contrasts. All exchanges are crystal clear and easy to follow, too. I would be genuinely surprised if in the future a better audio track emerges.

Sahara Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by novelist and screenwriter C. Courtney Joyner. It is a predictably excellent commentary, with plenty of terrific information about the unusual circumstances under which Sahara was made at Columbia Pictures, the big and very impressive cast that was gathered for the film, the military equipment that was used in the California desert, Zoltan Korda and Humphrey Bogart's interactions during the shooting process, etc. If you enjoy Sahara, find the time to listen to the commentary in its entirety.

• Small Miracles - in this new program, critic Ehsan Khoshbakht discusses Sahara. In English, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage trailer for Sahara. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a collection of original promotional materials for Sahara.

• Short Films -
  
  1. Building a Tank (1942). In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (20 min).
  2. The Siege of Tobruk (1942). In English, with optional English SDH subtitles. (18 min).

• Booklet - a 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 technical credits.

Sahara Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you have been reading our reviews for a while, you probably know by now that I have a soft spot for 'desert films'. Sahara is one such film, and an even better war film. I am a bit surprised that it took this long for it to transition to Blu-ray because it is one of the best films Humphrey Bogart made, too. This upcoming release is sourced from an old and a bit rough master supplied by Sony Pictures, but currently it has the best presentation of Sahara. If you choose to pick it up for your collection, I suggest that you bundle it with Ice Cold in Alex. Both releases are Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.