By Diego Pineda Pacheco
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Since the birth of cinema as a storytelling medium, the adventure genre has been by far one of the most popular. After all, there's no art form better suited to the tropes and characteristics of these kinds of stories: sprawling expeditions, often going through exotic locales, all in a quest to achieve a goal far greater than the adventurous characters who set out looking for it.
Of the many kinds of settings that adventure movies usually take place in, deserts are among the most popular. Desert adventure movies see their heroes having to cross these desolate, daunting landscapes in search of their objective, facing harsh conditions and fearsome enemies. From Westerns like Once Upon a Time in the West to action adventure films like Raiders of the Lost Ark, these are among the best outings in the genre.
10 'The Mummy' (1999)
Directed by Stephen Sommers
Back in the '30s, Universal made numerous horror pictures, including one about an ancient Egyptian mummy that's come back to life. In 1999, they revived the story in the form of The Mummy, about an American at an Egyptian archaeological dig who accidentally awakens a mummy, who then begins to wreak havoc as he searches for the reincarnation of his long-lost love.
The movie became an instant classic of the genre, thanks to its scary-good tone and the charisma of Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Besides, it's a well-known fact that a hot cast will always ensure an adventure movie's classic status, and there is no adventure movie with a cast hotter than The Mummy's. Critics didn't love it when it came out, but audiences haven't grown tired of it even over two decades after its release.
The Mummy (1999)
PG-13
- Release Date
- May 7, 1999
- Director
- Stephen Sommers
- Cast
- Brendan Fraser , Rachel Weisz , John Hannah , Arnold Vosloo
- Runtime
- 124 minutes
9 'Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga' (2024)
Directed by George Miller
After Australian plastic surgeon and filmmaker George Miller revitalized his legendary Mad Max franchise with Fury Road in 2015, expectations for whatever he did next skyrocketed. It just happens that Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is not only a worthy successor to Fury Road but also one of the best desert adventure movies of the 2020s thus far. Part violent coming-of-age, part dystopian revenge saga, it tells the story of a renegade warrior setting out on a years-long quest to return to the home she was snatched away from as a child.
There are plenty of movies and plenty of TV shows that are perfect for all those who loved Miller's latest high-octane extravaganza, an epic character study full of dirt, grime, blood, and sand dunes. Oh, so many sand dunes. The amount of grand world-building and lore development that Miller and his team were able to pack into a 2-and-a-half-hour movie is tremendous, and fans of his style are sure to have a blast.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
R
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
- Release Date
- May 24, 2024
- Director
- George Miller
- Cast
- Anya Taylor-Joy , Chris Hemsworth , Tom Burke , Alyla Browne , Nathan Jones , Angus Sampson , Daniel Webber , Lachy Hulme
- Runtime
- 148 minutes
8 'Ben-Hur' (1959)
Directed by William Wyler
One of the best epic movies of all time, directed by one of Classic Hollywood's greatest epic directors, Ben-Hur is a three-and-a-half-hour long Biblical epic on a scale that has never been seen since. It's the story of Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish prince who's betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, returning to his homeland for revenge once he regains his freedom.
The gargantuan scope of William Wyler's masterpiece is something that truly needs to be seen in order to be believed. Set pieces like the chariot race (easily the film's most famous sequence) are among the most impressive and iconic moments in the desert adventure genre, anchoring a riveting tale of revenge, betrayal, and redemption. As trite as the phrase may sound, they truly don't make them like this anymore.
Ben-Hur
G
Action
Adventure
Drama
History
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
- Release Date
- November 18, 1959
- Director
- William Wyler
- Cast
- Charlton Heston , Jack Hawkins , Haya Harareet , Stephen Boyd , Hugh Griffith , Martha Scott
- Runtime
- 212 minutes
7 'Mad Max: Fury Road' (2015)
Directed by George Miller
Before Mad Max: Fury Road came out, no one was likely expecting it to be anything out of this world. After all, it was a legacy sequel to a long-forgotten action franchise, directed by a man fresh off of directing Happy Feet Two. Much to audiences' surprise, it turned out to be one of the best action adventure movies of the 2010s, telling the simple story of a rebel and a drifter taking a group of female prisoners across a treacherous desert wasteland and rescuing them from the tyrannical Immortan Joe.
As simple as the movie's story is, the amount of jaw-dropping action scenes that Miller was able to juice out of it is nothing short of one of the greatest cinematic achievements in the history of the action genre. Furiosa and Max are surprisingly compelling characters (largely thanks to Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron delivering a pair of admirably committed performances), and the movie overall is exhilarating from start to finish.
Mad Max: Fury Road
R
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Thriller
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- May 13, 2015
- Director
- George Miller
- Cast
- Tom Hardy , Charlize Theron , Nicholas Hoult , Hugh Keays-Byrne , Josh Helman , Nathan Jones
- Runtime
- 120
6 'Dune: Part Two' (2024)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Frank Herbert's Dune is one of the most groundbreaking sci-fi novels in history, and attempts at adapting it for the screen have always resulted either in catastrophe or oblivion. Along came Denis Villeneuve, who showed that with enough passion and a big enough budget, Herbert's work could be turned into a pair of tremendous films. The first one is good enough, but Dune: Part Two, where Paul unites with Arrakis's native people to avenge his family's destruction, is an all-timer.
Paul Atreides's engrossing anti-heroic arc is a spectacle to behold, and since it's bolstered by some of the most gorgeous visuals and impressive world-building the sci-fi genre has seen in years, it's all the more thrilling. The desert world of Arrakis is one of the most spellbinding fictional worlds ever crafted for a film, populated by fascinating characters and gripping storylines.
Dune: Part Two
PG-13
Sci-Fi
Drama
Action
Adventure
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- March 1, 2024
- Director
- Denis Villeneuve
- Cast
- Timothee Chalamet , Stellan Skarsgård , Florence Pugh , Zendaya , Rebecca Ferguson , Javier Bardem
- Runtime
- 166 minutes
5 'Once Upon a Time in the West' (1969)
Directed by Sergio Leone
An unparalleled pioneer of the spaghetti Western genre, Sergio Leone redefined the Western in ways that have long been enjoyed and studied by cinephiles, critics, and scholars alike. He did so with films like Once Upon a Time in the West, his penultimate Western, and the start of one of the best unofficial trilogies in movie history. In it, a harmonica-playing stranger joins forces with a desperado to protect a widow from a ruthless assassin.
Clocking in at nearly 3 hours long, the film is able to offer a deeply engaging study of the nature of revenge stories and the effect of progress on the Wild West. Shot in Monument Valley, the movie's many American desert landscapes are as beautiful as they are terrifyingly sprawling. Full of adventure, action, and drama, Once Upon a Time in the West is a legendary film with an impact that can't be put into words.
Once Upon a Time in the West
PG-13
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- July 4, 1969
- Director
- Sergio Leone
- Runtime
- 166 Minutes
4 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Though it was one of his earlier directing efforts, Steven Spielberg was already a well-established filmmaker when he made Raiders of the Lost Ark at the start of the '80s—the decade that would prove to be the best of his career. It was the start of the iconic Indiana Jones franchise, telling the tale of an archaeologist and adventurer hired by the U.S. government to find the powerful Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis do.
Delightfully pulpy and full of artistic merit, this is easily one of the most entertaining adventure movies ever made. Thanks to its memorable characters, numerous action-packed set pieces, and compelling romance, it paved the way for multiple adventure films that would try to imitate its charm and success in the future. As for the numerous desert sequences, they're by far among the best moments in the franchise.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
PG
Action
Adventure
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- June 12, 1981
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Harrison Ford , Karen Allen , Paul Freeman , John Rhys-Davies , Ronald Lacey , Denholm Elliott
- Runtime
- 115 minutes
3 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly' (1966)
Directed by Sergio Leone
If movies like Once Upon a Time in the West made him a legend, then The Good, the Bad and the Ugly made Sergio Leone an icon with a pillar all of his own in the pantheon of the greatest Western directors ever. It's about three men with a complicated relationship who set off on a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery, all while the American Civil War rages on in the background.
Many would call The Good, the Bad and the Ugly the best revisionist Western ever made, and it would be hard to argue against them. It also has plenty of stunning action scenes and suspenseful desert adventure, led by three engrossing main characters (cleverly referenced in the film's title) played flawlessly by Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
Not available
- Release Date
- December 29, 1967
- Director
- Sergio Leone
- Cast
- Clint Eastwood , Eli Wallach , Lee Van Cleef , Aldo Giuffrè , Luigi Pistilli
2 'Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade' (1989)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
After he made Raiders of the Lost Ark one of the most popular and influential adventure movies of the '80s, it was hard to believe that Spielberg would ever be able to top it. Somehow, he did. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is one of the best threequels of all time, this time pairing the adventurous Indy with his dad on a quest to get the Holy Grail before the Nazis do.
While the movie's premise may make it sound derivative, it's anything but. With a distinct story, a unique tone, and Sean Connery at the top of his game as Indy's dad, it's pure pulpy thrills one after the other in adrenaline-pumping action sequences, fun character-building moments, and surprisingly effective emotional scenes. While the characters spend a lot less time in the desert here than they did in Raiders, there's still plenty of Middle-Eastern heat for those who like some gritty sand in their adventure films.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
PG-13
Action
Adventure
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- May 24, 1989
- Director
- Steven Spielberg
- Cast
- Harrison Ford , Alison Doody , Denholm Elliott , John Rhys-Davies , Julian Glover , River Phoenix
- Runtime
- 127 minutes
1 'Lawrence of Arabia' (1962)
Directed by David Lean
There are only a few directors who have dedicated large portions of their careers to cinematic epics, and British filmmaker David Lean was king among them. His best movie is arguably Lawrence of Arabia, winner of seven Oscars, including Best Picture. It's the story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who united and led the Arab tribes during World War I to fight the Turks.
It's hard to make biopics about controversial people, but in Lawrence of Arabia, Lean made what's far and away one of the greatest films ever made—let alone the very best desert adventure movie ever. From the film's striking desert landscapes (shot in multiple locations, from Morocco to Spain), to its exhilarating action scenes, to its nail-biting sense of adventure, it's easy to see why it tends to be considered one of the best in its genre.
Lawrence of Arabia
PG
Adventure
Biography
Documentary
Drama
History
War
Where to Watch
*Availability in US
- stream
- rent
- buy
- Release Date
- December 11, 1962
- Director
- David Lean
- Cast
- Peter O'Toole , Alec Guinness , Anthony Quinn , Jack Hawkins , Omar Sharif , Jose Ferrer
- Runtime
- 227 minutes
NEXT:The Best Urban Adventure Movies, Ranked
- Movie
- Furiosa (2024)
- Dune: Part Two (2024)
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