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''Sahara'', an American/Spanish 2005 action–comedy adventure film directed by Breck Eisner, is based on the best-selling book of the same name by Clive Cussler. It stars Matthew McConaughey, Steve Zahn and Penélope Cruz. It opened at number one in the US box office, grossing $18 million on its first weekend. From a financial perspective, ''Sahara'' was unusual because it performed reasonably well, generating $119 million in gross box-office sales. However, due to its huge budget—including $130 million in production costs and $81.1 million in distribution expenses—its box-office take amounted to barely half of its expenses.〔 The film lost approximately $105 million according to a financial executive assigned to the movie;〔Glenn F. Bunting, (Jurors hear tales of studio maneuvering ), ''Los Angeles Times'', March 5, 2007〕 however, Hollywood accounting methods assign losses at $78.3 million, taking into account projected revenue.〔 According to Hollywood accounting, the film has a projected revenue of $202.9 million against expenses of $281.2 million.〔 The ''Los Angeles Times'' presented an extensive special report on April 15, 2007, dissecting the budget of ''Sahara'' as an example of how Hollywood movies can cost so much to produce and fail. Many of the often closely held documents had become public domain after a lawsuit involving the film. Among some of the items in the budget were bribes to the Moroccan government, some of which may have been legally questionable under American law.〔〔(Sahara: Budget melts in the desert ), ''Los Angeles Times'', April 15, 2007.〕 ==Plot== The film begins with a prologue set in Richmond, Virginia in 1865, showing the ironclad CSS ''Texas'', carrying the last of the Confederacy's treasury, as Captain Mason Tombs runs a Union blockade. The film then moves to the present day, where World Health Organization doctors Eva Rojas and Frank Hopper are investigating a disease that is spreading across Mali, Africa. Assassins, accompanied by a corrupt Tuareg named Zakara, attempt to murder Eva, but she is rescued by Dirk Pitt, from National Underwater and Marine Agency, who was diving nearby. Dirk gets a call from a dealer in Nigeria. He sells Dirk a gold Confederate States of America coin, one of supposedly only five in existence, which was found in the Niger River. Dirk believes that this is a clue to the long-lost ''Texas''. He convinces his boss, James Sandecker, to let him, Al Giordino, and Rudi Gunn, from NUMA, take Sandecker's yacht, the ''Calliope'', up the Niger River to search for the Texas. They give Eva and Hopper a ride, so that they can continue their investigation, for the WHO. Businessman Yves Massarde and dictator General Kazim, who controls half of civil-war torn Mali, try to stop the doctors from discovering the source of the "plague". Kazim sends men to kill them and the NUMA team, not realizing their CIA and Navy background. Dirk, Al and Rudi survive the attack, but the ''Calliope'' is destroyed in the process. Rudi tries to get out of the country to get help while Dirk and Al go to rescue the doctors. They save Eva, and then the three try to get across the border, but are captured by Tuareg, who are fighting the civil war against Kazim. The Tuaregs’ leader, Modibo, shows Eva his people, who are dying from the same disease she was investigating at the beginning. After taking samples and analyzing them, Eva finds that their water is contaminated with toxins. By accident, Al stumbles into a cave with a painting showing the ironclad ''Texas''. Dirk believes that the ''Texas'' became stranded when the river dried up after a storm and that the same river that carried the ''Texas'' now runs underground, spreading the contamination. They start to follow the dry river bed and work their way to the border. Dirk still hopes to find the ironclad along the way. Their plans are interrupted when they stumble upon a solar detoxification plant owned by Massarde, and realize that it is the source of the contamination. Rudi and Sandecker analyze their samples and find that the contamination is heading down the Niger River to the ocean and, if they don't stop it in time, the toxins will reach the ocean and it will be devoid of all life. Not only that, they can't get any government help to intervene during a civil war in a sovereign country. Massarde captures Dirk and Al, and keeps Eva while sending Dirk and Al to Kazim. They successfully escape but end up stranded in the middle of the desert. They find the wreck of a plane and rebuild it into a land yacht which they use to find civilization and contact Sandecker, who warns them that Kazim and his troops are after them. Dirk and Al enlist Modibo's aid to return to the plant and rescue Eva. He helps them infiltrate the plant and rescue his people who are working there as slaves. Rather than risk discovery, Massarde plans to destroy the plant for good, making it almost impossible to stop the contamination. Al goes to defuse the bombs while Dirk tries to stop Massarde. After a fierce battle with Zakara, in which he is killed, Dirk manages to save Eva while Massarde escapes. Dirk, Eva, and Al get away from the plant in a 1936 Avions Voisin C-28, but they are attacked by Kazim in a helicopter gunship. A series of explosions along the dry river bed reveals the wreckage of the ''Texas'', right where the cave painting showed it to be. They take cover inside thinking the ironclad's armor will protect them but Kazim's armor-piercing ammunition penetrates the rusted ironclad's armor with ease. They manage to fight back with one of the Texas's cannons and destroy Kazim's gunship, just as Modibo arrives with Tuareg reinforcements which forces Kazim's army to surrender and end the civil war. In the end the contamination is stopped, and Sandecker is offered a deal to do some covert work, while the government serendipitously funds NUMA, which he accepts, tentatively. It is heavily implied that Massarde is poisoned by his waiter, actually an undercover agent from the US government, while eating with another businessman. The ''Texas'' gold, which technically did not belong to the United States but to the CSA, is left with Modibo's people. At the end of the film, Al is seen playing soccer with the local children. The cave, once empty, is now full of the gold. Later, while Al, Rudi, Sandecker are busy, Dirk and Eva are at the beach at her house on the bay in Monterey with Kazim's newly repaired car. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sahara (2005 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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