DAY OF THE FALCON [Blu-ray]

An exquisite motion picture! The film collapses or expands where necessary, the rise of the House of Saud and the near unification of all of Arabia under their aegis. Antonio Banderas is lovely as a desert sheik who dreams of bringing prosperity to his resource poor nation at the turn of the 20th century. The creativity and luxury of this film make it impossible to resist. It is long, but it is well worth the endeavor of watching. The cast and brilliant script make this movie more reminiscent of a Warner Brothers/Hal Wallis production than anything more modern. (Yes, I realize that the Warners, now, wouldn't be likely producers of a pro Saudi film, but if you doubt the international respect that the Warners had for all people of the World then watch Boggart in "Sahara"). It's a film of great vision and scope. If you saw it in black and white you'd assume it was a Warmers or MGM production with Hal Wallis producing and O. Selznick borrowed from MGM to direct with the Epstein brothers responsible for making the book into a script. If you don't know anything about Saudi Arabia, this movie is a good introduction. Enjoy.

With fantastic scenery and setting, Day of the Falcon suffers only from being about 20 minutes too long. Although the length is not that big of an issue, there is a great story here of Compassion, Revenge, and ultimately Mercy. The action is top-notch and perhaps it could have used some A-listers to give it more recognition, but all parties involved performed their roles exceptionally well. Would recommend to anyone interested in action and drama along with magnificent scenery.

I am came across this film strictly by accident and I am so glad I did. I am an American born, female, Christian Arab. I was intrigued by this mainly because Antonio Banderas was acting as an Arab. I had no idea what the storyline was. I was strictly interested in seeing how he would handle this role. He and Mark Strong did a fabulous job capturing the heart of the Arabian male mind and the heart. While there is some character development that needed more work (ex. Ali and the resentment toward his father Amar), it was really an epic achievement. The majesty and grandeur of the filming, the authenticity of the lifestyle, the costumes, music, everything was top notch. Why did I never even HEAR about this movie??? The first time I watched this movie, I sobbed, almost uncontrollably, with a deep pain inside of me because I know what the Arabic mind is like. We are a very proud and very stubborn people and, unfortunately, it often (too often) takes talking with a sword to get your point across or defend your stance - even if you're wrong, you can never admit it. Oftentimes, it is petty things that spiral out of control and become the "mountains out of molehills", and this film captured that mindset perfectly. Actually, it showed it in a more civil light, but the main gist was captured, and except for the pointless death of Ali, I am in love with it and just bought it for myself. I would rate this a 4.7, but since we can only choose even stars, I had to go with a 4 - it's Ali's death that did that (he was too cute, witty, and handsome to die!) :-D.

I first saw this on Netflix last year and liked it so much I made it a favorite and watched it several times. So then I decided I needed my own copy to enjoy as Netflix no longer has it on their streaming list. It has a wonderful story of a country coming into it's own with the oil business and of a young man's journey into manhood. I loved the romance angle and that the young man proved himself as a warrior, politician and negotiator much to the surprise to all who knew and underestimated him.

This is one of those gems that you totally probably never saw and you see Antonio Banderas playing a middle eastern guy and instantly are repulsed by it. Don't do that because you will be missing out on a fantastic movie. I thought this was going to be a Romeo and Juliet type story. It wasn't, not by a long shot. It is the first movie that I have seen that actually showed Muslims/Arabs in a positive light (Rambo 3 doesn't count) while acknowledging the Qu'ran and offering characters of reasonable depth. The fight scenes were deftly and smartly done with the lead hero being wonderfully nontraditional, but just as heroic. I was completely surprised.

We had the most enjoyable day yesterday. This is the third movie that we watched. I absolutely love this movies. It makes you want to hate. It makes you want to love. It brings out all of my emotions. I want to cry and love all together. I don't think that I have watched another movie that moves me in such away. I seem to put myself as one or two of the characters. I can still feel it today. Thank you Amazon. Deb C.

A feast for the eyes, good story line which showcases many belief-sets embedded in the desert sand...and ANTONIO! What more do you want? I've added this to my group of movie images painting a picture of the Arabian experience. For a modern look at the realities of life in the UAE, I highly recommend Sea Shadow, at 2011 film produced in the UAE...but back to this movie, released here in the UAE as Black Gold...very enjoyable.

If I could, I would give this a 3.5, but since I can't, it does rate better than a 3 star. Entertaining film. Good photography and some decent action scenes. Liked the ending because I didn't see it coming. All in all, a very enjoyable movie.