Sean Connery Movie:

Editorial Review:
As the temperature in the Middle East heats up, Khalil (Sean Connery), a Saudi Arabian diplomat, wants not only to make peace with Israel, but also to admit the Jewish state as a member of OPEC. As the other OPEC nations argue amongst themselves, Khalil suddenly becomes a target for a series of ingeniously conceived assassination attempts, most of which he foils with the aid of his friend Hamid (Albert Paulsen) and his girlfriend Nicole (Cornelia Sharpe). As the dust begins to settle, can he trust even his closest allies in the end? - starring Sean Connery, Cornelia Sharpe, Albert Paulsen, Adolfo Celi, Marco St. John and Ted Beniades. Original Music by Michael Kamen, Cinematography by Michael Chapman, Film Editing by Aram Avakian & Robert Q. Lovett, Production Design by Gene Callahan, Written by Morton S. Fine & Richard C. Sarafian, Produced by Martin Bregman and Directed by Richard C. Sarafian

The Arab Conspiracy Reviews:
A thinking man's spy thriller
2009-01-04 - Don't be put off by the ideology-heads who label this movie propaganda and racist. Racist? Come on, people! Sean Connery as the hero plays an ARAB!! And, beside, labeling anti-Arab sentiment as "racist" is simply lame and brain-dead. Arabs are not a race. Duh.

The movie has it's fair share of slow points, less-than-steller acting, and plot stumbles, but all in all is quite a good movie, and (if viewed with anything but an ideologically-shuttered mind) raises several thoughtful issues.

All in all, the movie deserves at least a 3/5, possibly a 4/5. I'm giving it a 5/5 to partially counter the obviously fanaticism-driven negatives that try to trash this more-than-adequate, thinking man's spy thriller.

Powerful and unconventional spy thriller
2008-06-16 - It's that opening scene that grips me: A female spy seduces an ambassador in a top floor room of his hotel, then smothers him with a plastic bag. Other operatives break in and throw his assistant out the window. Sean Connery is the Arab ambassador that wants to negotiate peace between the Arabs and Isrealis, but OPEC oil cartel members oppose the plan because it might drive oil prices down. They hire our spy (Cornelia Sharpe) to assasinate him. A detective uncovers the plan but he is too late to stop it. This film is so relevant to our current situation in the middle east and to explain some of the roots of terrorism. Are Arabs villainized? No,
only terrorism itself. And solutions are offered to those open to many of its underlying themes.

Was Sean Connery Desperate for a Paycheck?
2005-08-07 - It would be understandable if this pathetic movie were made in the late 1950s before Sean Connery became a major star. Somehow, though, he agreed to be involved in this mess in 1976. Did the famous Scottish film idol have serious financial trouble? Was Connery possibly blackmailed? Not only is he the only leading actor, but the film's overall production values are not even equal to a badly made for TV special. Connery plays the role of a top Saudi Arabian official who gets the permission of his government to form a working relationship with the Israelis. They have the technical enterprise while the Saudis possess the oil. Abstractly, this idea does indeed seem sensible. Connery becomes the target of assassins who prefer to keep the power in the hands of OPEC. Cornelia Sharpe is chosen to perform the dastardly deed. Will she succeed? More importantly, will Sharpe do so early in the story so that the suffering of the audience might be lessened?

Does anybody in their right mind really believe that the virulently anti-Semitic government of Saudi Arabia would ever seek to form a viable working relationship with Israel---even today? This bizarre notion was completely laughable some thirty years ago. Does this movie have a redeeming value? Yes, it opens up with a now haunting scene of the World Trade Center against the Manhattan skyline. Is there anything else? I'm afraid not. It's all downhill after that.

Arabs again????
2004-07-06 - What about if Hollywood tries something else, more genuine than their eternal depiction of arabs. I feel sad for Connery for not being able to be more selective in his movies... well, maybe some petrol and dollars are worth a film script... but an old formula is just an old one!

Terrible Propaganda movie
2004-04-06 - The writer of the film story showed an absolute ignorance