A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

The plot is about East and West in their permanent conflict. An experienced and wise ex-soldier is asked to deliver sheik's harem on his way home. The sheik retaliates... Tons of good humor. Many phrases from this legendary movie have made it into everyday language. In the early space age, this was the one movie cassette astronauts took to the orbit. I would like to invite visitors to see pictures from the movie and watch a detailed trailer at RussArt.com. Those who read Russian can find more materials useful: reviews, actor biographies, articles, etc.Pictures: http://russart.com/?moviepictures&mid=6 .Trailer: http://russart.com/?movietrailer&mid=6 .

The White Sun of The Desert is by far one of the best movies that USSR had to offer. Sukhov travels throughout the Russian Asia as a red army officer and is very experienced at that ,as the tag-line "East is quite a place" suggest. I tend to think of him as a Russian Indiana Jones with a big heart ,he is loyal to Ekaterina Matveevna ,his wife which is back at Russia ,who patiently awaits his return. Sukhovs thoughts are portrayed as letters ,and are narrated by the actor himself ,which really keeps the movie going along at a smooth rate.This movie is quite realistic in terms of peoples reactions and the situations which arise when the bad guys attack ,namely Abdullah ,and has some cold hearted violence to boot.As a result ,I cannot say this movie has a happy end as such ,but this is what I think would have happened in real-life. The cast of course performs very well ,and is totally believable.Both Sukhov and his quotes are always remembered and used throughout everyday Russian language. The movie is filled with dramatic moments ,some good action scenes and great humour.The soundtrack will most likely appeal more to the Russian audience or those who speak fluent Russian. I think the western audience will have no problem understanding this film ,unlike some other USSR efforts such as Kin-Dza-Dza and others where Russian background is almost required. If you have never seen a Russian film before ,this is the one to watch !

Being completely agree with all other comments, I can add a simple explanation what a cult movie it is. Every time when a manned spaceship is launched in Russia, it's team watches Beloye Solntse Pustyni right before takeoff. It's a tradition they never forgive. Even Dennis Tito had to watch it, together with other crew members, yet he probably had no translation or subtitles.

An unusual combination of humor, whiz, and lyrics that appeals to almost everyone. Great actors. Great songs.