In Desert and Wilderness

Starring:Adam Fidusiewicz, Karolina Sawka, Artur Zmijewski, Andrzej Strzelecki, Krzysztof Kowalewski, Agnieszka Pilaszewska, Krzysztof Kolberger, Konrad Imiela, Lingile Shongwe, Mzwandile Ngubeni, Przemyslaw Sadowski, Ryan Stuart (IV)
Director: Gavin Hood
Studio: Vanguard Cinema
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Raquel Welch in a two-piece fur bikini. That and the title is pretty much all anyone needs to know. If that indeed isn't enough, there are the dinosaurs of technician-artist Ray Harryhausen (along with some superimposed iguanas), and a prologue that tells you all you want to know about this "brutal world." Want more? There are volcanoes, barehanded wrestling with warthogs, and rival, subhuman, cannibalistic tribes--Lord, the list goes on and on! The portrait of humankind isn't the most flattering: we're petty, greedy, we grunt a lot, and we don't play well with others. Welch portrays a cavewoman from the tribe of the Blondes trying to make a life for herself with an outcast from the tribe of the Brunettes, which doesn't sit well with anybody. --Keith Simanton

Description

In this vivid view of prehistoric life, a man from the mean-spirited Rock People (John Richardson) is banished from his home. He soon finds himself among the kind, gentle Shell People and falls in love with one of their loving tribeswomen (Raquel Welch). The twosome decide to face the world together, cut off from all tribal support, alone in a deadly world of hideous beast and earthshattering volcanic eruptions. The film's pioneering special effects have made it a true science-fiction classic.

Customer Reviews:

Cute babes in furry bikinys.......2007-06-11

This is the one that made Raquel Welch a star, no dialog hokey mosters and furry 2 part swimsutes. This was/is/will be a drive in classic. So have a few beers and just let this work of art flow over you. If you are a fan of Raquel this is a must have or if you and your mates and haveing a party in your dorm room this is the movie for you.

One Million Years B.C. the complete version please!.......2007-06-04

When "One Million Years B.C." was released on dvd I couldn't wait to get a copy! Just think, a Ray Harryhuusen and Raquel Welch interview, commentaries, isolated score, making of documentary, boy was I dreaming! Not only did it not have any of those features, which I could sadly accept, the print they used was the CUT VERSION!!! Why the studio would cut any Harryhausen footage in the first place was ridiculous! The picture quality on the dvd is sharp and colorful but it's a shame because it could have been great. I recently purchsed Fox's special editions of "Fantastic Voyage" and Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea", they are super! I just hope Fox reissues "One Million Years B.C. with the same bells and whistles and with the COMPLETE version!

RUN AWAY (from this version).......2007-05-19

I completely concur with cameron-vale's and shonner's reviews : this version is : 1/ edited and 2/ mutilated at top and bottom of screen to make it look widescreen. Among the edited pieces (I can tell because I have both DVDs, though I do plan to get rid of this one...) : Tumak's erring through the desert ; the feast/dance/ceremony at the tribe's cave ; the fight between two apemen and impaling of the loser's skull ; and quite a lot of isolated shots either shortened or deleted. Worse (if at all possible) : top and bottom of screen missing entirely, which is made all the worse yet by the bonus about the restoration process, that compares an admittedly badly scratched but full screen 1993 film version with the truncated 1996 laserdisc version used for this DVD (as regards the 2002 "restored film version" and "restored video version", I can see absolutely no difference between the two). And to make things complete and irrevocable, there is a bad technical problem : on my player and projector at least, I keep getting blurred lines every couple of frames (every time someone moves, actually...). What is "better" about this version, then ? Well, maybe the fact that you get a couple more languages and a lot of subtitles for the 3 or 4 only sentences of the film (at the very beginning) - including the "English for hearing impaired" that is actually quite fun : "HISSES", "ROAR", that kind of thing all the time ! Or the short demonstration of the restoration process (including its shortcomings, then...). This stops mighty short of being worth the buy. So sorry for the extra bucks, folks, but if you do plan to buy this film (if, like me, you are a Ray Harryhausen fan, for instance, and want to own every picture he ever made - which is now possible at relatively low cost -), go by all means for the British version on amazon.co.uk while it lasts, I promise it's worth every extra penny.

Raquel Welsh 1 Million A.D........2007-03-19

Before Tanya Roberts wore loin cloth in "Sheena" 1984 there was Raquel Welsh and the only thing worth remembering in this picture is Raquel Welsh. There is nothing else. You will not learn any sociological aspects on primitive man like you would from watching "Quest For Fire" 1981 nor will you enjoy the special effects because they suck. "Jason and the Argonauts" 1963 had better effects. Raquel Welsh is the only reason to watch this film. If you are not interested in watching Raquel Welsh than you can watch that other caveman movie starting Ringo Star and Barbara Bach.

Don't listen to people who complain about the DVD. just buy it. it's good.......2007-02-13

Although european vversion is longer, but it's a very good release at cost of 5 dollars. It's a dual-layer DVD with good quality, 2 trailers and 10 exciting previws. movie itself is awsome. It's not a B movie. It's one of the best science/fiction classics I've ever seen!

Average customer rating:

A Far Off Place
A beautiful book
Not For Pre-Teens
Postmodern American Teenyboppers meet Shaka Zulu
DVD Review

A Far Off Place
Starring: Reese Witherspoon , Ethan Embry , Jack Thompson , Sarel Bok , and Robert John Burke
Director: Mikael Salomon
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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A Story Like the Wind
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The Lost World of the Kalahari

ASIN: B0001I562S
Release Date: 2004-06-01

Amazon.com

In this 1993 Disney adventure, Reese Witherspoon and Ethan Embry are two young survivors of an African massacre. She is the daughter of a game warden; he is a sulky teen visiting his dad. When poachers do in the adults, the kids hotfoot it across the Kalahari Desert, aided by Witherspoon's young bushman pal (Sarel Bok). They have to cross about 1,000 miles of forbidding territory, all the while chased by nogoodnik Jack Thompson. The kids face down danger, have a few excessively cute escapades, and learn about their capacity for survival--and goodness. The highlights of the film are the lush cinematography and exotic locales of Zimbabwe and Namibia. Though this is a Disney production, it is too violent and intense for young children. It is based on the books A Story Like the Wind and A Far Off Place, by Laurens Van der Post. --Rochelle O'Gorman

Description

Walt Disney Pictures and Amblin Entertainment team up to deliver a thrilling story, action-packed adventure, and breathtaking scenery! Thrown together under incredible circumstances, two strangers must discover courage and strength when they begin a journey across the treacherous African desert! Equipped with only their wits and the expertise of a native bushman who befriends them, they are determined to triumph over impossible odds and reach their destination. But along the way, the trio face a primitive desert wilderness teeming with deadly obstacles, including wild animals, ruthless poachers, and severe weather conditions!

Customer Reviews:

A Far Off Place.......2007-01-10

This is such a heartwarming movie, great for the whole family, yet a love story for all us girls!

A beautiful book.......2006-02-25

This sequel to A Story Like the Wind returns to the same romanticized Africa, but with less grace than the first. The closer that Van der Post's characters come to the outside world, the more difficulties he has reconciling his artistic goals with his political message. The constantly tense circumstances surrounding the characters as they attempt to escape death on a daily basis means that readers will miss the lighter moments that made the first book work so well.

Not For Pre-Teens.......2006-02-12

It is unfair to judge a children's film by the same non-technical standards you would judge a film made for a more mature audience. That said, I had a difficult time figuring out the intended target audience for Disney"s "A Far Off Place", an odd mix of "Alaska", "Walkabout", and "Blue Lagoon". Since each of these films had a different target audience (children for "Alaska", adults for "Walkabout", and teens for "Blue Lagoon"), "A Far Off Place" suffers from a poorly matched and confused mix of story elements, the attempt to appeal to multiple target audiences ultimately makes it unappealing to all audiences.

Despite some positive comments on this database, "A Far Off Place" did not impress audiences at the time of its 1993 release and has generated little interest since. Based on stories by South African writer Laurens van der Post, "A Far Off Place" is the story of three teenagers: Nonnie (Reece Witherspoon as a girl raised on South African game preserve), Harry (Ethan Randall as a visiting American boy) and Sorel Bok (as their young Bushman guide Xhabbo) who attempt to evade a gang of ivory poachers by fleeing into the Kalahari Desert. Ethan Randall is actually Ethan Embry from "Can't Hardy Wait".

Although recommended for ages eight and up, most younger viewers will be deeply disturbed by the early scenes, where the family's idyllic life is ended by a night attack on their home by the poachers. The house is burned and the parents are murdered. And more mature viewers will be deeply disturbed by the next scene where Nonnie turns into Rambo and kills most of gang in a sequence credible only to a horrified eight-year old.

At this point it begins to look like "Walkabout", a story of an Australian girl, her little brother, and a young Aborigine on his ritual journey to manhood. In a significant deviation from the book Xhabbo's wife does not accompany the group into the desert.

"Walkabout's" more adult theme of interracial sexual awakening is replaced by a "Blue Lagoon" romance between the two white teenagers, a reflection of the film's narrower values and more modest ambitions.

The scenes shot in the desert are almost the equal of "Alaska" for scenic beauty but "Alaska"s" more realistic survival challenges are superior to the blend of survival skills and mystic powers that Xhabbo demonstrates to his two companions during their journey. There is an element of "The Gods Must Be Crazy" in this clash of cultures but the film does not go very far (bad pun intended) with the concept.

Both "Alaska" and "A Far Off Place" insert the element of poacher violence into the journey, to the detriment of the basic story. 'Walkabout" did not need this and found sufficient story material in the enormity of the survival experience.

Bok is excellent as the young Bushman and Randall/Embry's performance is solid if unexceptional. Those interested in Witherspoon's early work would be better served checking out her great debut performance in "The Man In the Moon" and avoiding this career misstep. Those looking for a children/family story should stick with "Alaska".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Postmodern American Teenyboppers meet Shaka Zulu.......2005-12-14

Well, this was about as formulaically politically correct as a movie can get, unfortunately: the female teenage protagonist (played by Witherspoon, whose acting powers have increased dramatically since her stilted acting here) acts masculine and heroic, the male teenage protagonist acts craven and flippant. At one ridiculous point, the girl runs around acting like a commando, a veritable one-gal army, blowing up the bad guys, while the boy hides in a cave sniveling. Later, when the boy tries to assert himself by offering to carry the gal's backpack as they cross a desert, the gal snaps at him, Bella Abzug-style, and walks quickly ahead, leaving him in the dust. Clearly a modern radical feminist thing going on here, and what is most unfortunate is that this movie was made for a young audience and therefore is in keeping with the modern radical feminist propaganda which is brainwashing young women into unnaturally behaving like men. Of course, in the real world, the result for such manly girls, once they become women, is that men do not choose them and they remain alone, and therefore become bitter--ironically and inevitably blaming men, of course. In this movie, the wimpy teenage guy falls for the brassy, masculine gal--but that's why they call them movies. When are these post-modern writers, artists, and other culture-shapers with an agenda going to realize that when they tout modern radical feminism, they are touting something unnatural--men simply do not prefer masculine females. Men want someone to COMPLEMENT them, not COMPETE with them. Men crave FEMININITY in females, not FEMINISM. Wow, is there ever a difference in those two forms of comportment! This poor teenage guy depicted in this movie, at least his character does progress a little bit: by the end of the movie, instead of craven and flippant, he graduates to something akin to a metrosexual-type with a wild-boy haircut, if that is even a step upward. But the plucky gal--she's still the one in charge in this fictitious world of upside-down gender relations.
Uh, another problem with this movie--and there are many--is when the kids are going through the Kalahari Desert, something which should be, and for a time is here depicted as, a foreboding and life-threatening task. Yet we see Witherspoon in this desert frolicking with a dog; and we see the boy's flippancy and joviality emerge in a totally out-of-place manner, considering the dire situation they are in. The sense of urgency which had been built up is totally excreted away by these light-hearted, inane scenes.
Look, I dig Disney kid movies--more realistic ones. You know, old style Disney movies. You take "Old Yeller" for example. Now there was a quality kid movie, and quite true to life.
This movie was not. It had a plastic, spoiled-American-materialistic-teenybopper feel throughout. Disney has gone down the tubes. In any number of ways, they've been subverted by radical Marxist agendas (Note: One more of these was the fact that an African Bushman was allowed to evince a pagan ritual from his PC pagan religion--something called "tapping," while the Caucasians were of course not shown evincing any sign of their un-PC Judeo-Christian religion--this is bias, folks, leftwing, PC bias, same as the aforementioned feminist bilge). I am learning to run, not walk, away from Disney stuff, and this movie was further cause for me to do so.

DVD Review.......2005-10-17

I enjoyed this DVD. I would recommend this movie, it was well worth the purchase.

Average customer rating:

You've got to be kidding me!
Like modern art - the bad kind
A HARD CORE attempt at nothing
Pretentious pap is an understatement
Two personalities

Gerry
Starring: Casey Affleck , and Matt Damon
Director: Gus Van Sant
Manufacturer: Miramax Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
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Elephant: A Film By Gus Van Sant
Last Days
Drugstore Cowboy
My Own Private Idaho - Criterion Collection
To Die For

ASIN: B0000CBY1U
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Amazon.com

In Gerry, two young men (Matt Damon and Casey Affleck) wander beautiful, barren, and surreal landscapes, gradually growing more and more lost. This film from Gus Van Sant (director of Drugstore Cowboy, My Own Private Idaho, and Good Will Hunting) has no story, hardly any dialogue, and even less in the way of "action" or "events." Yet the movie is by turns maddening and hypnotic; although few people will agree on which are the maddening scenes and which are the hypnotic ones, you will leave Gerry with one or more stunning images in your head. In fact, Gerry is probably more pleasurable to remember than it is to sit through. Committed performances, flashes of dark humor, and a smattering of visual effects give the movie some shape, but the more you just surrender to the emptiness of the landscape, the more rewarding Gerry will be. --Bret Fetzer

Description

From the groundbreaking director of GOOD WILL HUNTING and FINDING FORRESTER, GERRY stars Academy Award(R) winner Matt Damon (Best Original Screenplay, GOOD WILL HUNTING, 1997; THE BOURNE IDENTITY, OCEAN'S ELEVEN) and Casey Affleck (OCEAN'S ELEVEN, SOUL SURVIVORS) in a suspenseful and highly provocative story of two men pushed to the limit! A pair of best friends (Affleck and Damon), who've nicknamed each other "Gerry," set out on a desert hike. But what begins as a simple daytime adventure turns into an intense life-and-death journey that will test the strength of human endurance and ultimately, their friendship! Written by Damon, Affleck, and Director Gus Van Sant, this uncommonly compelling and starkly visualized film is a must-see motion picture that has earned the overwhelming praise of critics nationwide!

Customer Reviews:

You've got to be kidding me!.......2007-04-28

Wow, no words can describe how awful this movie really is. My wife and I are patient people but we actually fast forwarded this movie so many times it was over in twenty minutes, just in time to plug in another movie. Anyway, did they really think that they had something here?

Unless you count the two individuals they passed early in their journey, Matt and Casey are all you'll see throughout this mess.

NOT recommended...

Like modern art - the bad kind.......2007-02-01

Suffering through this movie is a lot like staring dumbfounded at a canvas painted all white at MoMA. You're trying to find some hidden meaning but it's not there.

It seemed that the director's only goal in shooting scenes was to do so in such a way that was opposite the conventions of any respectable film school. For example, there was a shot of Damon and Affleck just walking. And walking. And walking. And not a word of dialogue. It felt as if it went on for 10 minutes. As I was watching, I couldn't believe the trying-to-be-arty pretentiousness of this scene. It accomplished the exact opposite of what Van Sant was shooting for: it bored me and pissed me off - pissed me off because I realized immediately that there would be several Art School Confidential types who would have mini epiphanies over what they perceived to be "radical" direction.

And what was the deal with that scene early on in the movie in which either one or both actors, the foreground, the background and sometimes all of the aforementioned, are out of focus? Is this an arty experiment, bad camera work or just bad filmmaking? I was completely nonplussed. It seemed like the director did it purposefully to create some sort of mood but what mood exactly that was is anybody's guess. The scene didn't work. It hurt my eyes. You watch it and let me know what I missed.

And what can I say about Casey Affleck? He mumbled his lines, has no screen presence and not a shread of charisma. And his complete lack of talent is all the more amplified because the entire cast is comprised of only Damon and himself. Toward the end of the movie, I didn't care if he lived or died and was actually rooting for the latter - only to put him and myself out of our collective misery.

Ok, I'm not going to rail any further. I just needed to vent a little after wasting 1 1/2 hours of my life watching this glorified nature documentary last night on IFC. For the record, Drugstore Cowboy is one of my favorite movies and Van Sant was on top of his game with that film.

P.S. Sadly, the concept had the potential for a great movie.

A HARD CORE attempt at nothing.......2007-01-30

If you are a "hard-core" viewer of films with intimate knowlege of how they are made then you can get a little sense of why this movie was made. Other than that, you will be left saying "huh?"

This film is just way too over the top and most viewers won't "get it" or even care to. But it does have some delicious work. It explores the bonding of two lost souls in the desert, bound together to die. If ever there was a friendship, this is the very defination of it.

It's intended to be only a character study - nothing more. Not a survial movie. If it was, it would have had them collecting dew in the morning to get water. But none of that is important to this film maker. It's all about character. Given that, it comes off good (but only good) for what it was intended to be.

I'm not sure at all but I bet that this has to be in the record books as one, if not the only, movie to have the least dialoge ever filmed.

If you have the patience (and you'll need a bundle) to suffer thru the long, long periods of inacction, you will see why it was done. Those long, long times represent those long, long moments drawn into days that the two men spent trying to get out. The minutes long silent march of the two together showing only their faces marching on is intended to demonstrate just what any two guys would do - march on trying to survive. It represents, to me, what any two guys would do.

I gave this movie 3 stars because I think it takes the chance to make a movie that only rests on it's characters. It does almost nothing dialoge wise to bring them to life. You simply have to watch them be together and find their love for one-another.

I think this movie, for most, will be a bust. But if ur a HARD CORE movie watcher, this one has it's merrits and if you lean back and watch how it goes, it can be an emotional experience that is interesting.

My complaints:

1) Two much piano when the strongest of the two is sitting in the desert and realizes that they're doomed. The opening theme is good. Especially the doom sounding bass key. The sound of death. Leave it there and finish filming around the guy in silence. Cuz, that's all that there is left. I think that would have been much better and make the hair stand up on ur back.

2) give them at least a little more intelligence. Dont's make them totally stupid even tho this is a character piece. Why don't they know that the valleys may have the best chance for water instead of going to mountain tops?

This is a worthwile movie but you better have a lot of patience. [...]

Pretentious pap is an understatement.......2007-01-26

This only has one star because you can't give none. What a total waste of time and talent by two talented individuals (Damon and Van Zant- Affleck has no evidence of talent and in the rare times he does speak in the movie he mumbles so badly I had to turn on the subtitles). I am only glad I rented this and didn't buy it.

Two personalities.......2007-01-21

I believe the two "Gerrys" are one in the same person. Matt Damen's "Gerry" is the stronger of the two personalities. And throughout the movie he is struggling with his weaker "Gerry", played by Casey Affleck. And without giving away too much of the film; in the scene where Casey is sitting on the rock and hullucinating about talking to Matt Damen on how he's figured out how to get out of the desert; he see's Matt Damen walking towards him. I believe this is the part where the stronger "Gerry" (Matt Damen) takes over. And in the end of the film, Matt Damen's "Gerry" puts an end to his weaker personality (Casey Afflicks "Gerry") for good.

Average customer rating:

By Rose Marie in Roseburg, Oregon
passion in the desert dvd
Haunting, Flawless Mirage
Flawed, terrible beauty
Magnificent, tragic,beautifully profound, slightly bizarre in the most understandable way.

Passion in the Desert
Starring: Ben Daniels , Michel Piccoli , Paul Meston , Kenneth Collard , and Nadia Odeh
Director: Lavinia Currier
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
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ASIN: B000BC8T0U
Release Date: 2005-12-06

Amazon.com

When it was released in 1998, Passion in the Desert was largely dismissed by critics, many of whom derided the film as silly, pretentious, or altogether misguided by first-time director Lavinia Currier. It's a pity, because this is the kind of mesmerizing, mostly nonverbal film that weaves its own particular spell on receptive viewers. Based on a novella by the great French writer Honoré de Balzac and set in Egypt in 1798, the story focuses on Augustin (played by British actor Ben Daniels), a soldier in Napoleon's army who is separated from his unit and lost in the desert. There he encounters a female leopard and, as the title suggests, the film daringly develops a relationship between man and beast--a relationship that may push the boundaries of credibility for many viewers, but which works in the strange, otherworldly context of the story. It's best to accept the film on its own terms--a film about a man reduced to his purest basic instincts, or a parable that should not be confused for any kind of literal reality. Otherwise, the film will surely seem as odd and silly as naysaying critics said it was.

As a rookie director (after directing theater and working for the Merchant-Ivory production team), Currier seems uncertain of precisely what kind of film she's attempting, and the result is uneven in its narrative thrust. But Passion in the Desert is triumphant as a sensual and sensory experience, casting its spell through magnificent cinematography (on locations in Petra, Jordan and Moab, Utah), and the purity of its visual narrative. Obviously chosen for his own feline features, Daniels deserves credit for playing so convincingly with his sleek, spotted co-star (actually, three leopards were used during filming), and the leopard itself is majestically graceful and fascinating to watch. This is a film to be savored not as a rich and altogether satisfying story (which bears thematic resemblance to Walkabout), but as a film full of magical moments, hypnotic in its beauty and its depiction of nature, both soothing and savage. --Jeff Shannon

Description

From the controversial novella comes the story of a young army officer who finds himself stranded in the Sahara desert. Left to his own devices, Augustin Robert (Beautiful Thing's, Ben Daniels) would surely die...but after stumbling upon mysterious ruins housing a wild leopard, the man and beast form an inextricable bond. The mysteries of Egypt unfold in this mystical and lyrical journey that explores the link between man and beast, an exotic and lustrous experience you'll never forget.

Customer Reviews:

By Rose Marie in Roseburg, Oregon.......2007-06-14

By chance, flipping the TV channels I encountered this movie being shown although I missed the beginning. As I kept watching this movie, when Simoon came into the scene I was trapped! The tigress is of such beauty, and the man can not help but bond with this beautiful animal that saves his life and protects and feeds him even. The scene that made me even feel that the man has sex feelings for the animal is when he is caressing Simoon's paws, with such love, like caressing a woman and I understood he was in love with the tiger. His jealousy when she dissappears while enjoying with a tiger mate, and his sense of possesion like a jealous lover when he tries to tie Simoon to make her wait for his return, which results in the lovers turning against each other. I was speechless after the movie ended, it is a lovely love story on its own, when an individual tries to capture his beloved one's personality and even looks, when he tries to convert into a tiger when he is longing for Simoon and looking desperately in the arid desert for his loved one. I was so entranced in this movie I could not help but ordering it from Amazon so I can watch it over and over again. Wonderful movie, beautiful story, different, strange and captivating. I recommend watch this movie in a quiet atmosphere so you can enjoy every detail in the almost silent movie.

passion in the desert dvd.......2007-01-11

Good movie hard to find on dvd. Its nice to find stuff thats hard to find on amazon

Haunting, Flawless Mirage.......2006-11-27

We hunger for Simoom: that object of intoxicating, addictive, ultimately deadly passion. Simoom, also a Saharan wind, comes from an Arabic word for "poisonous drug". But a poison is only dangerous if consumed, and Balzac's caution for lovers is to deny the overpowering need to consume--or possess. Yet perhaps passion is inevitably consuming...This is a lyrical, stunningly well made production of a tale that should have been impossible to film, and lingers in memory as a shimmering mirage. Its attention to detail, even the tack, weapons and tactics of Napoleonic and Mameluke cavalry, its loving caress of the harsh desert landscape itself, its evocation of oppressive sun, heat, thirst, hunger and desperation, all permit the magical human-djinn-leopard relationship to evolve so naturally: heartbreakingly real yet seductively veiled in entrancing ambiguity. "Passion" is a flawless jewel that may have been lost in the sands but once found, will haunt you for years.

Flawed, terrible beauty.......2006-11-18

I can understand Riamon's criticism of the film. The film *is* flawed. Before we meet Simoom the leopardess, the action is forced, the motivations unclear, and, the whole thing seems calculated to steer you into the main action like early horror movies (don't open that door, stupid...why did he open that door? ). Oh, and there are far too many long, lingering shots of augustin doing something narcissitic. That's the bad news.

The good news is this: It is beautiful. Stunning even. And it is a real, completely irony-less, tragedy. After Simoom comes on the scene, the love story happens naturally. Absolutely ineluctable, absolutely effortless, the movie moves towards the tragic ending, as unstoppable as a sandstorm, as quiet as a desert, as relentless as love. The ending was no suprise at all, but haunted me for days afterwards. I loved it.

Magnificent, tragic,beautifully profound, slightly bizarre in the most understandable way........2006-11-14

This film to me, is absolutely gorgeous.

The bond between this man and the leopard is beyond words.
In fact, the film has little or no dialog, everything is exquisitly
expressed through simply watching every expression, every movement.

The love and passion some may say is quite on the bizarre side.
Personally, I don't percieve it that way. I understand this relationship.

This film may not be for everyone, however I still think and wish everybody would see this amazing film.

Debra B.

Padre Kino: The Legend of the Black Priest

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Padre Kino: The Legend of the Black Priest
Starring: Kino: the Legend of the Black Priest
Manufacturer: Desert Mountain
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A FOR EFFORT
Sienkiewicz's novel on film

In Desert and Wilderness
Starring: Adam Fidusiewicz , Karolina Sawka , Artur Zmijewski , Andrzej Strzelecki , and Krzysztof Kowalewski
Director: Gavin Hood
Manufacturer: Vanguard Cinema
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In Desert and Wilderness
Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)
Pride & Prejudice

ASIN: B00009QG5X
Release Date: 2003-08-26

Description

This internationally and critically acclaimed, award-winning film, shot with a multi-million dollar budget, combines a children's adventure story with the look and feel of Lawrence of Arabia. At the end of the 19th century two kids - children of engineers working on the Suez Canal - are kidnapped in the heart of the African continent. The children manage to escape from the hands of their captors along with two African children and embark on a journey across the harsh yet breathtakingly beautiful African landscape. Their adventure is full of obstacles, dangers, and fun as they learn about life, the value of friendship, and the love of family on their quest to get back home.

Customer Reviews:

A FOR EFFORT.......2007-01-07

This Polish adventure film is aimed at a family audience. The bad news is that for English language audiences it must use subtitles. And children simply cannot follow a movie with subtitles, even if they are old enough to watch it.

This is too bad, because otherwise the movie has a lot going for it. First, a good story. Based on a novel by a famous Polish author {he wrote "Quo Vadis?"}, it is set in Africa in the 1880s. It deals with the rise of the Madhi whose Islamic uprising retook Kartoum in the Sudan -despite the best efforts of Charlton Heston !

Two European children are caught up in the conflict. Kidnapped, they escape with two native African children and make their way across the desert and widerness to rejoin their fathers. Of course they have numerous dangerous adventures and display pluck before the mandatory happy ending.

The story is well developed, and the filming of the African landscape is well done.

I was especially captivated by the charming little Polish actress, Karolina Sawka, who played 9 year-old "Nel".

If you can overcome the language/subtitle problem this is a well-done movie well worth watching.

Blaine in Seattle.

Sienkiewicz's novel on film.......2003-12-15

"In Desert and Wilderness" (with the Polish title "W Pustyni i w Puszczy") is a great family film based on the novel by Henryk Sienkiewicz. Set in the 19th Century, the movie is filled with adventures in the picturesque landscapes of the African continent. Interestingly, there are some parallels between the events depicted here and modern conflicts between Arabs and Europeans.

A Polish teenager named Stas and a girl named Nel both have fathers that are engineers working on the Suez Canal. Because of an Islam holy war, the children are betrayed and kidnapped by their own servant. The children are to be traded in exchange for Islamic captives held by the British. Managing to escape with a young African man and woman, they trek across the continent. Their journey is filled with obstacles and perils, as they quest to return to their fathers.

Compared to Polish cinema in general, what distinguishes "In Desert and Wilderness" is its family friendly nature. Even by American standards, I would say it is rated "PG," something that is not always the case due to cultural differences in what is appropriate for younger viewers. The film does have some mild violence, but it is done in a way that any gruesomeness in kept to a minimum by taking place off-camera. The film may appeal most to children, but adults may find it entertaining as well.

In Desert and Wilderness -- w Pustyni i w puszczy

Average customer rating:

Adventures in the picturesque landscapes of the African continent

In Desert and Wilderness -- w Pustyni i w puszczy

Manufacturer: www.mge.tv
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0009VXYRQ

Product Description

From the Nobel Prize winning author of "Quo Vadis?" comes this critically acclaimed and award-winning film about two children lost deep in the African continent. After escaping from kidnappers, they set off on a great adventure, full of obstacles, dangers, and fun as they learn about life on their return home.

Customer Reviews:

Adventures in the picturesque landscapes of the African continent.......2006-02-11

Average customer rating:

Adventures in the picturesque landscapes of the African continent

IN DESERT AND WILDERNESS
Starring: Karolina Sawka; Adam Fidusiewicz; Artur Zmijewski
Director: Gavin Hood
Manufacturer: www.mge.tv
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

Art House & International | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

Action & Adventure | Independently Distributed | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

Independently Distributed | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

( I ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000B86MZS
Release Date: 2004-01-02

Customer Reviews:

Adventures in the picturesque landscapes of the African continent.......2006-02-12

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