Verdict
Summary
Without wasting a moment, Escape From Zahrain is pure Hollywood escapism with appealing actors playing true rascals, and the fact that the entire movie was shot in Los Angeles and Arizona only adds to the fun because it’s obvious that the entire film didn’t shoot a darn thing outside of the good ‘ole USA, despite being set in the Middle East. With plenty of action and chase scenes, this picture does a lot in just over 90 minutes.
Plot:
Prison escapees flee captivity in the middle of an Arabian desert with limited resources.
Review:
An incarcerated nationalist hero in an Arabian territory is busted out of a vehicle during a prison exchange, and he – along with several other condemned prisoners – flee in a truck into the desert. The hero in question is Sharif (Yul Brynner), and he takes charge, commanding the truck, which he shares with an American prisoner named Huston (Jack Warden), and a poorly educated local wacko (played by Anthony Caruso), as well as the young rebel (played by Sal Mineo) who helped them escape, and the lone woman in the group, an Arab nurse (Madlyn Rhue). They flee into the harsh Arabian desert, pursued by soldiers and an airplane, and over the course of a couple of days they dodge bullets, desperately seeking gasoline and water, and despite all their differences they have to rely on each other to survive. Needing to make it to the coast before their luck runs out, these characters go for broke and risk everything for their freedom.
Without wasting a moment, Escape From Zahrain is pure Hollywood escapism with appealing actors playing true rascals, and the fact that the entire movie was shot in Los Angeles and Arizona only adds to the fun because it’s obvious that the entire film didn’t shoot a darn thing outside of the good ‘ole USA, despite being set in the Middle East. With plenty of action and chase scenes, this picture does a lot in just over 90 minutes. From director Ronald Neame.
Kino Lorber brings Escape From Zahrain to Blu-ray for the first time, and the new HD transfer is sharp and completely satisfactory in its 4K scan. The disc comes with an audio commentary by a film historian and the trailer.
