Sahara

Sahara (2005)

Timing: 2:4 (124 min)

5.906/10
1622

6.747/10
43080

6.1/10
108000

All about film

Video 2

Photo 40

Actors and characters

Release date

2005-04-06

Country

Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Morocco

Production

Paramount, Dune Films, Summit Entertainment, Walden Media, Babelsberg Film, Kanzaman Productions, Mace Neufeld Productions, Bristol Bay Productions, Baldwin Entertainment Group, Sahara Productions, Desertlands Entertainment, J.K. Livin Productions, Moguletta, Kanzaman S.A.

Genre

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Mystery

Budget

$130 000 000

Revenue

$119 269 486

Website

Director

Breck Eisner

Actors

Matthew McConaughey, Penélope Cruz, Steve Zahn, Lennie James, Lambert Wilson, William H. Macy, Rainn Wilson, Glynn Turman, Jude Akuwudike, Clint Dyer
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Stephanie Austin, Mace Neufeld, Howard Baldwin, Karen Elise Baldwin, Matthew McConaughey, William J. Immerman, Gus Gustawes, Vicki Dee Rock

Operator

Seamus McGarvey

Composer

Clint Mansell

Artist

Marc Homes, Jordi Yria Roca, Patricia Johnson

Audition

Anne McCarthy, Nina Gold, Zine Eddine Ibnoujabal

Editing

Andrew MacRitchie
All team (520)

• Penélope Cruz was invited for the lead female role, although Cassler insisted on Salma Hayek.
• The film was directed by Breck Eisner, the son of former Disney studio head Michael Eisner.
• Three and a half months of filming took place in Morocco, one month in Spain, and five weeks in London.
• The actors underwent training in camel riding, and had to gallop alongside a moving train for an hour and a half.
• While promoting the film, Matthew McConaughey traveled across America in his trailer, which was decorated with the 'Sahara' logo. During the trip, the actor lived at special campsites and visited stadiums.
• A British factory, where engines for the 'Concorde' aircraft were tested, 'played' the role of a toxic waste processing plant.
• Long before filming began, McConaughey traveled alone through Mali. His experience and the photographs he took proved useful during the shooting process.
• Jefferson Davis did not consider the loss of Richmond the end of the Confederacy. Had the ship actually managed to escape with a cargo of gold on board, it would have been sent to another Confederate port, or even to Mexico, where their ally Maximilian I was in power at the time.
• When Dirk Pitt explains the story of the five gold dollars of the Confederacy, he says that Jefferson Davis ordered them to be minted in 1865 and gave four to his best generals: Robert E. Lee, “Stonewall” Jackson, “Jeb” Stuart, and Joseph Johnston (Pitt misspoke and called him Johnson). Jackson and Stuart died before 1865, so they could not have received these coins that year.
• The film is based on Clive Cussler's novel "Sahara" (1992).
• While promoting this film, Matthew McConaughey traveled across America in his trailer, which was decorated with the "Sahara" logo. During the trip, the actor lived in special parking areas and visited stadiums.
• Long before filming began, McConaughey traveled to Mali alone. His experience and the photographs he took proved useful during the shooting process.
• Filming took place from November 3, 2003, to April 2004.