Product Details

• Actors: Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke, Samuel L. Jackson, M. Emmet Walsh
• Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: July 11, 2000
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 0790750198
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,975 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "White Sands" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Set in the cinematically picturesque Southwestern desert, Willem Dafoe plays a small-town lawman called out to a remote location after a dead body is found by some tourists. Along with the body, there is a briefcase with half a million dollars in it. Well, he becomes absolutely obsessed in solving the case. The audience never knows why he feels the need to solve this case instead of turning it over to the federal authorities, other than to spice up his otherwise boring job. Judging by his muscle car and quest for adventure, and despite being happily married with a kid, he seems to be going through a bit of a mid-life crisis. He gets his adventure when he finds a phone number on (actually in) the dead man's body, calls it, gets some instructions, and decides to go undercover as the dead man. Pretty soon he's meeting up with a shady Mickey Rourke and falling for Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Meanwhile, the script goes through plot twists and double and triple crosses. The strangest thing is that the movie works. It's a lot of fun, and Dafoe plays the most difficult and unbelievable character with such an easy charm it's hard not to go along with him. --Andy Spletzer

Product Description

WHITE SANDS - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great cast, plot twists, amazing landscapes, July 21, 2002

By 

Steve Arthur "Steve Arthur" (Winslow, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Sands (DVD)

This film was generally overlooked upon release. Predating Lone Star and Thunderheart, this film has three amazing things going for it: (1) the cast is stellar. You get Dafoe, in a good guy role, M Emmett Walsh as a lazy coroner, Mary Elizabeth Mastronantino in an amazing lead role, Sam Jackson (how he's listed on the end credits) tearing up the scenery, Mickey Roarke in a GOOD performance, and even an uncredited thankless role. (2) the plot is much better than No Way Out. With Donaldson directing, you might think that it would just be a remake/remuddle, but the plot does keep twisting, and once you think you have it even remotely figured out, BANG something else happens. (3) the scenery is amazing. The only film that comes closer to capturing the feel of the New Mexican landscape is Backtrack, which is also very good. The widescreen adds (although it is fair to ask when it DOESN'T), so, if you were like me and didn't see this until it came out on VHS, you're in for a treat. Not all of it does work--you do keep waiting for Dafoe to become the creep he is in most of his films since Wild at Heart, or Roarke to make little sense, but like Angelheart, he is focused and amazing here, but it doesn't happen. Not a whole lot of extras here, unfortunately (maybe there's a director's edition somewhere with more of Mimi Rogers in it, but as it stands, this is a terrific movie. Four stars out of five.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly underrated classic whodunit, May 4, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: White Sands [VHS] (VHS Tape)

A dead body, a rodeo, a schmoozy exclusive fundraiser and a nosy cop who gets into the middle of it all make for a nailbiting rollercoaster ride of a movie. Willem Dafoe, Samuel L. Jackson, & Mickey Rourke are at their best in this great story. A fantastic supporting cast is also featured. The eerie, haunting music of Patrick O'Hearn (from his "Indigo" album) provide the perfect soundtrack for this humdinger of a mystery. You never know who will do what, so hang on and enjoy the ride.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing. That's all...just amazing., January 17, 2009

By 

Mike (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: White Sands (DVD)

Writing a review for "White Sands" is a true challenge, because based on cinematography and Patrick O'Hearn's soundtrack, this is an unquestionable 5 out of 5 stars film.

We know that eye candy and surface-level attributes don't tell the whole story. Is this still a 5-star film, based on the whole package? I believe that it is. For others, it might be "4" or "3" but this has remained a "go-to" movie for me since its release. When I want to watch something GOOD...really, really GOOD...and don't know what I'm in the mood for, "White Sands" consistently comes up on my short list.

In terms of the actors, Samuel L. Jackson, at this point of his career, is "embryonic." Willem Dafoe, as Deputy Sheriff Ray Dolezal, holds his own. You might need to enlist a degree of "suspension of disbelief" when the radiant Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio falls in love with Sheriff Ray, but hey..."suspension of disbelief" is often a prerequisite for this kind of film.

Character actor M. Emmet Walsh is a welcome addition as county coroner Bert Gibson.

Mickey Rourke as the "bad guy?" HEY! What part of "Mickey Rourke as the bad guy" did you miss?

Maura Tierney of "E.R." fame turns in an "anybody could have played this part" performance as Noreen. Sorry, Maura, but I calls 'em the way that I sees 'em.

You also get to see 2008 GOP Presidential candidate Fred Thompson as an arms dealer. FRED!

It is not the individual parts of this movie that make it a monster. It is a sum of the parts. The New Mexico locations will pull you in and seduce you, hold you captive, propel you through a storyline that is at times ludicrous and at other times thrilling. I GUARANTEE that if you make it through the first fifteen minutes of this film, you're not going ANYWHERE until the closing credits.

I've watched this film at least 100 times and will probably watch it 100 more...and then another 100 after that. A favorite, a masterpiece, my highest possible recommendation.