Or, A Boy and His Tank. Humphrey Bogart trades in his gumshoes for sergeant stripes in Zoltan Korda's 1943 war classic about a ragtag bunch of Allied stragglers beating a retreat from the Tobruk routing across the North African Sahara desert in a temperamental tank nicknamed "Lulubelle." Stuck in the middle of a ramshackle fortress surrounded by sand, Sergeant Joe Gunn (Bogart) decides to take a risky gamble, luring a German battalion with the promise of water, while praying that British reinforcements will arrive in time to save their collective butts. Co-starring Dan Duryea and Lloyd Bridges, Sahara (whose story, interestingly, was also the basis for the British film Nine Men, released the same year) still packs a relatively solid suspenseful punch nearly 60 years later. Released with no extras (beyond the standard production notes, trailers and subtitles--including Korean and Thai, but neither German nor Russian), the DVD has been struck from a mildly scratchy but otherwise quite serviceable print (with some fairly grainy spots, especially during a sandstorm), and features reasonably crisp Dolby Digital stereo sound. Sure to appeal to classic film aficionados, Bogart fans, and WWII buffs, this is recommended. (R. Pitman)
Sahara
Columbia TriStar, 97 min., not rated, DVD: $19.95 April 22, 2002
Sahara
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