J. Lee Thompson's - Ice Cold in Alex

(aka 'Desert Attack')

Directed by J. Lee Thompson
UK 1958

The title Ice Cold in Alex refers to the beer the heroes of this 1958 British World War Two classic plan to drink in Alexandria, once they have escaped from the Germans, negotiated minefields and survived both mechanical failure and the killing heat of the North African sands. The setting is Libya in 1942, at the height of the campaigns featured in The Desert Fox (1951) and The Desert Rats (1953), and a disparate group in a military ambulance--which include a Nazi agent to add tension of one kind and a beautiful nurse to add tension of another--must make an epic journey to safety. Staring John Mills, Sylvia Sims, Anthony Quayle and Harry Andrews the terror and poignancy comes from our certainty that not everyone will survive, such that the suspense sometimes reaches near unbearable levels. Director J Lee-Thomson was clearly inspired by the then recent French masterpiece, The Wages of Fear (1952) and handles both the character drama and set-pieces with great skill. He would go on to make another great war adventure, The Guns of Navarone (1961), also starring Anthony Quayle, who then returned to the desert for the ultimate British war classic, Lawrence of Arabia (1962).

Excerpt from Amazon review located HERE

Poster

Theatrical Release: July 1958 - Berlin Film Festival

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DVD Review: Warner - Region 2 - PAL

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Warner Home Video - Region 2 - PAL
Runtime	2:04:24
Video	1.66:1 Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 4.24 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate:
Audio	English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Subtitles	None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner Home Video (UK) Aspect Ratio: Original Aspect Ratio 1.66:1 Edition Details: • Trailer DVD Release Date: April 18th, 2005 Keep Case Chapters: 20

Comments:

Strong progressive and anamorphic image on this memorable war-adventure film from UK 50's cinema. Warner have maintained the elusive 1.66 ratio exceptionally well with good detail and strong contrast levels. Artifacts are at a minimum and audio is clear and consistent. The releases is bare-bones with no extras save a trailer and no optional subtitles, but based on the strength of the film - this is a very worthwhile purchase.

This is an intense psychological film about four war-time individuals who trek drive across the African desert, battling sandstorms and Nazi ambushes with a goal of having a drink - of Ice Cold (pint of beer) In Alex(andria). Fabulous film!

Gary W. Tooze

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