It always seems odd to me when movies are released “On Demand” before they hit theaters, but that’s how a lot of distributors are doing it these days. “Day of the Falcon” is currently available via “Video on Demand” (I just checked and, sure enough, it’s on my Charter “On Demand” section for $9.99), and it will hit theaters on March 1, 2013.
I kept thinking it was a remake of an old classic, but if such an original movie exists, I can’t find it. Let me know if I’m totally wrong on that, and if there is indeed a movie upon which this is based.
There’s also a few names for the film, which is always confusing. On the official site, it’s called “Black Gold” (I believe that’s the French name), and it’s based on an adaptation of Hans Ruesch’s novel “The Great Thirst” (or “Arab,” depending on which site you’re reading). The film was shot in Tunisia and Qatar during the Arab Spring, and it’s one of the largest cinematic projects undertaken in the Arab world.
Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, “Day of the Falcon” stars Antonio Banderas (“Desperado”), Mark Strong (“Zero Dark Thirty”), Freida Pinto (“Slumdog Millionaire”) and Tahar Rahim (“The Eagle”), and is — and I’m quoting from the press release here — “a soaring epic of honor, greed, betrayal and love from award-winning director Jean-Jacques Annaud (“Enemy at the Gates”).
After years of bloody conflict, the leaders of two rival kingdoms reluctantly agree to end the fighting. But when oil is discovered between their territories, the war is re-ignited. Now it’s up to their children — young lovers who’ve married in hopes of bringing the families together — to find a way to end the violence and bring peace to the land.
Sounds fun, doesn’t it? And Antonio Banderas is never a bad thing. Wonder if people will call it racist. Check out the trailer.
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