Caravans (1978)

From the best-selling author of THE SOURCE, COVENANT, CARIBBEAN and CENTENNIAL, comes this classic tale of a young American embassy official (Michael Sarrazin) who is sent into the Middle-Eastern desert to find the missing daughter of a U.S. Senator. Th

I love this film, but...

I've always had a soft spot for this movie, which was filmed mostly in and around Esfahan, Iran in 1977 while I was living and working there. The script unfortunately doesn't do justice to Michner's novel, but the scenery is beautiful and Mike Batt's soundtrack is exceptional. Some of the acting is truly awful and borderline embarrasssing (particularly Joseph Cotten and Michael Sarrazin). All this said, I confess to loving this movie as in many ways it is a trip down memory lane for me. I orginally recorded the film from TV onto VHS tape about 15 years ago and was glad to see it finally out on DVD....although the DVD quality is poor, unfortunately. I wish there had been some extra features on the DVD as well. February 10, 2008

Worst DVD Quality ever seen

I heart a lot of bad things about this film but was happy to have it finally 30 years after I first heart the fantastic soundtrack by Mike Batt. And that's one plus of the DVD, you get the soundtrack as a bonus. Well the film itself is as bad as expected (worst performances, uninspired direction), so no surprise on that. But the technical standard tops it all. My first impression was it's an illegal copy, picture and sound are as taken from a very very old VHS-tape, no digital remastering (as it says on the cover) for sure. Unbelievable, making (legal!) copies of my old VHS-tapes myself gives better results than that. So beware - it's a chance to have the film but the technical quality is a mess! October 25, 2007

Caravans - the Film

Having waited over 25 years to finally see this film I must say that I have ended up with rather mixed feelings! A mediocre script does little justice to the deep and emotive themes in Michener's stunning novel. The author's empathy for the people of Afghanistan, his appreciation for the societal and political conflicts within post World War 2 Middle East and his understanding of the complexities of the rebellious young spirit are regrettably lost in this screen adaptation of the book. However, the movie is definitely worth seeing for probably one of the best musical scores ever, some great views of the Iranian desert and a sterling performance from Anthony Quinn. July 16, 2006

There are two reasons to view this film . . .

. . . a super soundtrack that has haunted me for years and the stunning views of the Iranian desert. I saw this movie back in the early 80s and managed to tape it the next time it came on--and that was the last I heard of it. I'd watch my "edited for TV" tape every so often and have nagging memories of what was left out. I do like this movie. True, Jennifer O'Neill is totally incongruous amongst the nomads, but hey, it's a movie. I am glad it's finally available on DVD, but the film quality is poor. One of the extras is the sountrack--and that makes it worth the purchase. On a side note, when I first saw the film, I went and read Michener's novel. I didn't like Ellen as well, but the cultural and historical aspects I picked up on Afghanistan have served me well these past 25 yrs. February 6, 2006

Great film, poor DVD-quality

A great film with one of the best soundtracks ever written. I was eagerly yearning for this DVD to be released, but I am now very, very disappointed: The DVD is definitely not „digitally remasted" as stated on the cover, but it obvoiusly seems to be a very poor transcription from a rental-VHS-tape which has been viewed dozens of times. Both the picture and sound quality are miserable. It is really a pity that this great movie is treated that way. I hope that another company will re-release it in proper quality. October 17, 2004

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