MovieChat Forums > Escape from Zahrain (1962) Discussion > First topic on EFZ -- why?

First topic on EFZ -- why?

posted 17 years ago by hobnob53
4 replies | jump to latest

Not surprised this is the first posting on this film, which hasn't been shown on TV in years and of course never made it to home video. Why not? Paramount's put out scores of titles far less exciting, well-acted and entertaining than ESCAPE FROM ZAHRAIN. Maybe because the setting is a fictional Arab state in the Middle East, and Arabs and Muslims aren't exactly popular in the US these days. Still, why block the release of a good action/adventure saga that also has something to say about instilling freedom and human rights in that area of the world -- from within, not forced by clumsy, self-interested outsiders?

In the 50s and 60s the West thought that secular Arab nationalists like Nasser were huge threats to the stability of the world, but today they seem like oases of stability and reason compared with the fanatics, suicide bombers, and other radicals from the region who spread terror on a global basis.

In addition to its entertainment value, maybe a film like ESCAPE FROM ZAHRAIN can show that notions of justice and equality can coexist with deep religious convictions in a modern, tolerant Middle Eastern nation. That was part of the point of this movie, and it's much more relevant today than it was in 1962.

How about it, Paramount? Risk a DVD!

[–] thbryn 15 years ago

Does anyone remember the great Jack Warden" final line?

[–] hobnob53 15 years ago

"We must do this again sometime!"

[–] thbryn 13 years ago

Yes, very good.
The problem is that I haven't been able to "do this again" anytime.

[–] hobnob53 13 years ago

Yes, thbryn, it's been almost two years!

Haven't you gotten the DVD of EFZ that came out in December 2010? You can get it from most sites. Retail is $24.95 but you can find it for as low as $17 or so if you look around. The DVD is the first time I'd ever seen this film in its original widescreen format, after years of TV pan-and-scan prints, and it looked terrific. Frankly, I never thought I'd ever see this film on DVD, since it's so (surprisingly) obscure.

I run a classic movie every week at a club I belong to and a few weeks ago I screened EFZ. No one had ever even heard of it, let alone seen it (and most of these people are film aficionados), but everyone liked it -- slightly to my surprise (and relief!). A couple of people told me afterward they had considered leaving because it didn't sound like a movie they'd care for, but they stayed and found themsleves really caught up in it and liked it.

Jack Warden's last line got laughs, too.