Amazon.com video review:
Robert Aldrich's tense, 1965 drama about a plane crash in the
Sahara is a unique psychological study of men in desperate
circumstances. In this somewhat revisionist view of classic heroism,
every character within the mixed lot is stretched to his limit, and
individual efforts to brave the elements and hostile nomads are duly
punished. What is left is collective will and ingenuity. One could
call this an allegory for transcending Cold War madness, perhaps, but
Aldrich (Kiss Me
Deadly) makes this such a gritty, immediate experience that
you can feel the desert sand in your teeth. Superb performances by
James Stewart, Richard Attenborough, Hardy Krüger, Peter Finch,
and the rest. --Tom Keogh
