Product Details

• Actors: Matt Damon, Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab, Kevin Lin
• Directors: James Moll
• Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Nehst Out Release
• DVD Release Date: February 2, 2009
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002J6ZJKE
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #45,994 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

About the Actor

Matt Damon, Produced and Narrated Running The Sahara and focused on the film's ability to bring light to the water crisis in Africa. Matt's philanthropic interests have always been a part of his career. He was the founder of H2O Africa Foundation, the charitable arm of the Running the Sahara expedition, which merged with WaterPartners to create Water.org in July 2009. Along with frequent co-stars George Clooney and Brad Pitt, supports ONE, a campaign fighting AIDS and poverty in Third World countries. He has appeared in their print and television advertising. Damon is also an ambassador for OneXOne, a non-profit foundation committed to supporting, preserving and improving the lives of children at home in Canada, the United States, and around the world. Damon, along with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub, is one of the founders of Not On Our Watch, an organization that focuses global attention and resources to stop and prevent mass atrocities such as in Darfur. Charlie Engle, USA Expedition Team Leader / Expedition Originator A 42-year-old American father of two boys, a television producer, and one of the best ultra distance marathon runners in the world today, Engle has been a runner, climber, and adventure racer for more than 30 years. He recently finished first in both a race across the Gobi Desert and in a seven-day race through the Amazon jungle. He has crossed the Atacama Desert in Chile, charted the jungles of Vietnam and Borneo, climbed to the top of the volcanoes in Ecuador, summited Mt. McKinley, and has run across Death Valley. He sees running the Sahara as a personal quest to find fulfillment through both physical and mental challenges, believing that it will be an unparalleled journey of discovery. Ray Zahab, Canada Late in 1998, Ray made a life changing decision to leave a pack-a-day smoking habit and very unhealthy life choices behind him. On New Year's Day 2000, he decided to go hiking with his brother John and has never looked back. New to the sport of running in 2004, ultra-marathoning took Ray from the cold north of Canada to the Amazon jungle. But it was the Sahara desert that ultimately captured Ray's heart. After witnessing and experiencing the water crisis and malaria epidemic in Africa, Ray decided to dedicate his future adventures to raising awareness and funding for causes that he supports and believes in..Ray is a member of the board of Directors of the Ryan's Well Foundation, is the official Athletic Ambassador to the ONExONE organization, and is a representative of SpreadTheNet and the founder of Impossible2Possible. On January 7, 2009 Ray and two other Canadians, broke the world speed record from Hercules Inlet to the Geographic South Pole. In the process, Ray became the first person to trek to the South Pole on this traditional 1130 km route solely on foot. This expedition provided young people with an interactive platform and educational resources through a ground-breaking website. Kevin Lin, Taiwan 28 years old and living like a rock star in Taipei, Taiwan, Kevin is one of the most well known endurance athletes in all of Asia. A full-time graduate student, he recently won the first ever 150-mile (241-kilometer) race across the Atacama Desert in Chile, dancing across the finish line while more than half the field had to be rescued from the course.

About the Director

James Moll, was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania hence, the name of the company. His work as a documentary director/producer has earned numerous awards including the Academy Award®, two Emmy Awards®, the Peabody Award, Edward R. Murrow Award, Cable Ace, and the Christopher, among others.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Charlie is the most unlikeable personality I've ever seen in a documentary September 4, 2011

By Listen to your Junkman,

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I would have absolutely LOVED this documentary if it weren't for the egomaniacal and deceitful personality of Charlie Engle. It doesn't surprise me one bit that he's currently serving time in prison for mortgage fraud. Not only is he a criminal and a cheat, but he's a miserable excuse for a friend and team mate. Multiple times throughout the video you see evidence of his controlling, manipulating and egomaniacal personality. I was almost hoping that he would have to pull out of the run so I could pull for Ray and Kevin, who were both truly inspirational and likable individuals. Some examples of Charlie's self serving, ungrateful ways were.... blasting members of his support team for their desire to keep their previous commitments, (when the run went WAY over it's originally anticipated time frame) "running" ahead of Ray and Kevin with seemingly every intention and even a desire to "finish first" in what was NEVER meant to be a competition, (when the agreement was he would walk until Ray and Kevin caught up)to even making sure that he was the first of the three to put his hand in the Red Sea. (I watched this particular scene a few time, and this observation is not imagined) The bottom line is that this is absolutely a memorable documentary and I found myself relating to two of the three runners. Regardless of how impressive the feat was and how honorable it is to raise money to insure fresh water in Niger, Charlie Engle comes across as a despicable, pathetic human being, who deserves exactly what he got! PS I actually felt bad for his girlfriend, who seemed like a really classy lady.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and entertaining film whether you are a runner or not January 25, 2011

By Lucinda

Format:DVD

This is a masterfully-shot film with outstanding cinematography and mesmerizing scenery and locations. I found it to be a fun ride and very entertaining, and I'm not really a dedicated runner, other than here and there for extra exercise. Just watching this movie inspired me in all sorts of ways non-running...like if there's a dream you have or a goal that you think might be difficult to accomplish, this movie reminds you that it can be done; just stay focused and get through the obstacles, because obstacles will be inevitable. Also I love to travel, and this film takes you to places most will never get to travel to physically...and it's awesome. It's definitely a worthy film in a number of ways. It goes far beyond being simply a running film.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Wow, wow, WOW! I can't believe what these guys did! January 22, 2011

By Alan Holyoak TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

I can't tell you how many times during the watching of this film that I said either out loud or to myself, "Wow!"

When I first read the description of the expedition that the runners Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab, and Kevin Lin planned to do I thought, "Wow!" Initially I assumed that these runners were going to run across the Sahara Desert south to north or vice versa, but when I realized that their plan was to run the Sarah from the Atlantic Ocean in Senegal in the west all the way to Egypt and the Red Sea om the east I thought "WOW!"

These ultra-endurance runners did something that most people cannot imagine. They ran the equivalent of 170 marathons in under four months' time, without taking a day off to do so.

I can't begin to imagine the stress and strain on their bodies, emotions, and souls as they plodded toward their goal. Compared to these guys I'm just a casual jogger (I compete in races only up to 1/2 marathons). My wife, who has run a few marathons, said that she's sometimes crying like a baby at the end of 26.2 miles, but the three runners in this film sometimes ran up to 2 marathons a day, every day, for over three months! Yikes!

The wear and tear on them is inestimable as they ran in temps on the ground up to 140oF and down to the low 30soF is unfathomable.

When you watch this film you will see the runners plodding along it's difficult to gauge just what their pace is, but it doesn't look especially fast, but remember that these guys are running something like 8-10 hrs/day. Maybe the film doesn't feel much like a running movie...well, that's not too surprising, since part of their goal was to experience the land and people of the Sahara and their need for access to water.

All in all I give this film 4 solid stars. It was well done, and engaging all the way through...and even moreso if you run...any distance. And if you do run and have any personal insight and experience with what it means to run any set distance, you will empathize with an be amazed by the feat portrayed in this movie!

4 solid stars.