Sahara is a 2005 action/adventure film, directed by Breck Eisner, loosely based on the best-selling book of the same name by Clive Cussler.
| Sahara | |
|---|---|
 Promotional poster for Sahara | |
| Directed by | Breck Eisner |
| Written by | Clive Cussler (novel) James V. Hart |
| Produced by | Stephanie Austin Howard Baldwin Karen Elise Baldwin |
| Starring | Matthew McConaughey Steve Zahn Penélope Cruz Lambert Wilson Lennie James Delroy Lindo William H. Macy Patrick Malahide Glynn Turman Mark Wells Rainn Wilson |
| Cinematography | Seamus McGarvey |
| Edited by | Andrew MacRitchie |
| Music by | Clint Mansell |
| Distributed by | Paramount |
Release date | April 8 2005 |
Running time | 124 min |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $130 million |
Critics gave the film average reviews but, audiences gave it higher marks. Opening at #1, it grossed $18 million on it's first weekend. Earning almost $69 million domestically in its theatrical run and over $119 million worldwide with a budget of $130 million. The movie has done very well with rentals and DVD sales and has far exceeded its budget costs.
Awards: IFTA - Best Cinematography (2005) (Seamus McGarvey)
To promote the film, actor Matthew McConaughey drove his own personal Air Stream trailer (painted with a large Sahara movie poster on each side) across America, stopping at military bases and many events such as the Daytona 500 (to Grand Marshal the race) along the way. Premiering the movie and doing interviews at each stop. The trips' highlights were shown on anE! channel special to coincide with the film's release. McConaughey also kept a running blog of his trip on MTV's entertainment website.
In February 2005, Cussler took legal action against Philip Anschutz, the producer, for failing to consult him on the script.
Plot
Master explorer Dirk Pitt (played by Matthew McConaughey) travels to Africa, to search for what the locals call "The Ship of Death", the lost Civil War ironclad warship CSS Texas that has a mysterious cargo. Pitt and his sidekick Al Giordino (played by Steve Zahn) manage to thwart the assassination of Doctor Eva Rojas (played by Penélope Cruz), a scientist who is investigating the source of a disease that is wreaking havoc in the area. The cause is a vast amount of pollution that is threatening to cause an environmental disaster. It is up to Pitt and his associates at the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) to locate the source of the pollution and shut it down, and explore the connection between the deaths and the missing ironclad.
Tagline: Dirk Pitt. Adventure has a new name.
Cast
- Matthew McConaughey — Dirk Pitt
- Steve Zahn — Al Giordino
- Penélope Cruz — Eva Rojas
- Lambert Wilson — Yves Massarde
- Dayna Cussler — Kitty Mannock (scenes deleted)
- Clint Dyer — Oshodi
- Lennie James — General Kazim
- Delroy Lindo — CIA agent Carl
- William H. Macy — Admiral James Sandecker
- Patrick Malahide — Ambassador Polidori
- Nathan Osgood — Gun Lt.
- Billy Seymour — Powder Monkey
- Glynn Turman
- Mark Wells — Sailor Who Drops Gold
- Rainn Wilson — Rudi Gunn