Harem - The Loss Of Innocence
1986
A story of love, passion, intrigue and revolution set in the crumbling Ottoman empire in 1906. On route to Damascus, a naive American heiress is kidnapped and sold to the local Sultan's harem. As the days pass she becomes torn between a Turkish rebel, the Sultan and her English diplomat fiance. Read more
| Starring | Omar Sharif, Ava Gardner, Sarah Miles, Nancy Travis |
|---|---|
| Director | William Hale |
| Genres | Drama |
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Harem - The Loss Of Innocence
A story of love, passion, intrigue and revolution set in the crumbling Ottoman empire in 1906. On route to Damascus, a naive American heiress is kidnapped and sold to the local Sultan's harem. As the days pass she becomes torn between a Turkish rebel, the Sultan and her English diplomat fiance.
| Starring | Omar Sharif, Ava Gardner, Sarah Miles, Nancy Travis, Yaphet Kotto, Art Malik, Julian Sands |
|---|---|
| Director | William Hale |
| Studio | HOLLYWOOD DVD LTD |
| Run time | DVD: 3 hrs 7 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama |
| Language | DVD: English |
| Released | DVD: 09 Jul 2007 Production year: 1986 |
| Format | DVD |
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Critics' reviews
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Specked with genuinely fascinating moments, this is an otherwise over-indulgent hobby horse that has been lingering in the mind of writer/director Mike Figgis since the early eighties. A fragmentary memoir of a movie producer called Nic (played variously by Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Julian Sands), it traces his development from school bullying and love on the Tyne to marital discord and tragedy in the Sahara. Fleeting impressions, such as the airport meeting of separated twins (dual incarnations of Saffron Burrows), have a rudimentary allure. Alas, the decision to intercut the action with a mixed race re-telling of the Adam and Eve story proves calamitously self-conscious.
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Most helpful member's review
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5 out of 8 people found this review helpful
Strangely sexless given the title
(As per the Naked Gun Oscars spoof) One woman's struggle not to get laid against the background of the fall of the Ottoman Empire! Okay, I wasn't expecting historical erotica, but I at least expected a smattering of sexual tension! Nancy Travis remains sickeningly wholesome throughout bless her, and while Art Malik tries to insert a bit of passionate intensity, Julian Sands and a haggard Omar Sharif contribute very little. Plus I don't think I'll ever stop laughing at the idea of Yaphet Kotto as a Chief Eunuch! I'll take that image to the grave. This film feels flat and is far too long for its flimsy plot, which is a shame as they've obviously spent money on locations and set design (witness the wonder of an empire of soft furnishings!). In this film, if its midnight at the oasis you've probably gone to bed long before your camel, but you certainly won't be kicking up a little dust...
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Most recent members' review
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Not a bad way to pass a few hours
I rented this film solely because it had Art Malik in it and I am a fan of his. I would describe the film as romantic tosh with an expressionless heroine but Art Malik is lovely. All in all it was quite a pleasant and undemanding little film.
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Harem - The Loss Of Innocence
A story of love, passion, intrigue and revolution set in the crumbling Ottoman empire in 1906. On route to Damascus, a naive American heiress is kidnapped and sold to the local Sultan's harem. As the days pass she becomes torn between a Turkish rebel, the Sultan and her English diplomat fiance....
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