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30 movies that most effectively incorporate the desert landscape. Deserts are my favorite landscapes, and if desert films are a sub-genre, they're probably my favorite sub-genre. These aren't necessarily the movies I like most that happen to be set in the desert, but those which I feel utilize the landscape to the greatest effect as setting or ...
Jun 16, 2024 · From Mel Brooks's Western parody Blazing Saddles to Paul Thomas Anderson's epic drama There Will Be Blood, here are the best movies set in the desert.
- Georgia May
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Directed by David Lean. Starring Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn. Adventure, Biography, Drama (3h 38m) 8.3 on IMDb — 94% on RT.
- There Will Be Blood (2007) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. Starring Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds. Drama (2h 38m) 8.2 on IMDb — 91% on RT. Little Boston in 1911 California has little but a wooden church and an oil deposit to offer.
- Dune (2021) Directed by Denis Villeneuve. Starring Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Zendaya. Action, Adventure, Drama (2h 35m) 8.0 on IMDb — 83% on RT.
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966) Directed by Sergio Leone. Starring Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef. Adventure, Western (2h 58m) 8.8 on IMDb — 97% on RT.
- Greed (1924) Director: Erich von Stroheim. Silent master Erich von Stroheim’s magnum opus Greed begins in early 20th century San Francisco and tells of relationships destroyed by avarice after the winning of a lottery ticket.
- Bitter Victory (1957) Director: Nicholas Ray. Warfare in the heat and dust has inspired some compellingly desiccated dramas, from Billy Wilder’s Five Graves to Cairo (1943) to David O. Russell’s Three Kings (1999).
- Ice Cold in Alex (1958) Director: J. Lee Thompson. One of the great British war films of the 1950s, J. Lee Thompson’s Ice Cold in Alex is a gripping thriller about an ambulance commander (John Mills) and his efforts to transport two nurses through treacherous, enemy-occupied North Africa – not realising that there’s a German spy in his midst.
- Woman of the Dunes (1964) Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara. “There has never been sand photography like this (no, not even in Lawrence of Arabia),” critic Roger Ebert wrote of Woman of the Dunes.
- 9 Tremors
- 8 Mad Max
- 7 Buried
- 6 The Flight of The Phoenix
- 5 Three Kings
- 4 The Mummy
- 3 Lawrence of Arabia
- 2 Dune
- 1 Indiana Jones: Raiders of The Lost Ark
When residents of the sleepy town of Perfection, Nevada discover they are being hunted by sophisticated underground monsters that can hone in on their slightest vibrations, they must make a survival plan and head for the mountains. Kevin Bacon stars opposite Fred Ward in this popular underground horror movie that was so successful it spawned a preq...
Mad Max is a low-budget post-apocalyptic film starring Mel Gibson that follows the story of Max Rockatansky who seeks revenge on a crazed motorcycle gang that kills a fellow officer. Mad Max was filmed in and around Melbourne, Australia and was a massive success, spawning two sequels and a modern reboot starring Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy titled...
Ryan Reynolds gives a first-class performance in Buried as Iraq-based American truck driver Paul Conroy, who awakens to find himself buried alive in a wooden box in the middle of the Iraqi desert. Conroy must keep his composure while fighting for survival using what little items he has on his person, among them a flashlight, cell phone, lighter, al...
Based on the Elleston Trevor novel of the same name, The Flight of the Phoenixrecounts the tale of a group of men who crash-land in the Sahara desert. With the help of a fellow passenger who is also an aeronautical engineer, the group band together against the elements to rebuild a working plane out of the wreckage before they run out of drinking w...
Three Kings is a black comedy that follows three American soldiers following the end of the Persian war, who undertake an elaborate heist after one of them acquires a map that leads them to a bunker full of stolen Kuwaiti gold. According to an interview with Entertainment Weekly, there was some controversy involving John Ridley, the original screen...
The Mummy is a remake of the 1932 Boris Karloff film of the same name. The Mummy is one of the best movies filmed in a desert as it is a fun and captivating action-adventure film that takes notes from the popular Indiana Jones franchise. The film follows Rick O’Connell on his hunt for riches and glory, with sidekicks Evelyn, a studious librarian, a...
Lawrence of Arabia is a historical epic based on the life of famed archeologist and diplomat T.E. Lawrence and based on his book The Seven Pillars of Wisdom. The movie was filmed on location in Jordan, Morocco, and Spain. Peter O’Toole ultimately won the part as the famed Lawrence, but had to contend with other big names, such as Albert Finney, Ant...
Dune is the first film in a two-part science fiction series based on the Frank Herbert novel of the same name. It follows an interplanetary war amongst several of the major planetary houses, all vying for control over the most valuable resource in the universe. The resource called “spice” is harvested from the sand of the planet Arrakis, and holds ...
Raiders of the Lost Ark is the ultimate adventure movie and is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, not to mention the best movie filmed in the desert. The film was a collaboration between George Lucas and Stephen Spielberg and chronicles the exploits of iconic archeologist Indiana Jones who seeks to recover the Ark of the Covena...
Aug 8, 2024 · Looking for the best desert movies of all time? Whether it's the sweeping, sunburnt dunes or the harsh, unforgiving landscapes, there's something compelling about desert settings that draw directors and audiences alike.
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Jun 1, 2024 · Desert adventure movies see their heroes having to cross these desolate, daunting landscapes in search of their objective, facing harsh conditions and fearsome enemies.
