IMDb RATING
6.0/10
8.9K
YOUR RATING
A small southwestern town Sheriff finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and five hundred thousand dollars. He impersonates the man and stumbles into an F.B.I. investigation.A small southwestern town Sheriff finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and five hundred thousand dollars. He impersonates the man and stumbles into an F.B.I. investigation.A small southwestern town Sheriff finds a body in the desert with a suitcase and five hundred thousand dollars. He impersonates the man and stumbles into an F.B.I. investigation.
Samuel L. Jackson
- Greg Meeker
- (as Sam Jackson)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaRourke attempted to quit smoking during filming, in preparation for his pro boxing career. By the end of the film, he gave in and resumed smoking, the same as his character, who resumes smoking to the surprise of Dafoe.
- GoofsThe tree branch Ray uses to beat up the FBI agent seems to be made of rubber.
- Quotes
Gorman Lennox: [ending a business discussion] Foreplay's over, Lane. It's time to fuck.
- Crazy creditsSamuel L. Jackson is credited by that name in the opening credits, but as "Sam Jackson" in the closing credits.
- Alternate versionsAs of April 13, 2022, Amazon Prime Video features a version with some unusual edits: (1) Strong swear words have been blanked out, even though strong violence and sexual content remain; (2) After the closing credits, there is a minute of empty black footage. Then the first couple of minutes of the movie replay, silent and without the opening credits imposed on the screen. This is followed by the final shot of the movie, likewise silent without the closing credits imposed on the screen.
Featured review
Lone Cop In The Desert
At least this film has some terrific desert scenery, especially at the beginning and at the end. But the spectacular New Mexico vistas are not nearly enough to overcome a garbled storyline about a good-guy cop named Ray Dolezal (Willem Dafoe) who investigates the death of a man clutching a suitcase full of loot. Implausibly, Dolezal then assumes the identity of the dead man, to track down the villain or villains. The plot contains several potential villains, but their real identities and their various motivations are terribly confusing. About halfway into the film, I gave up trying to figure out who was doing what to whom. None of the characters are especially interesting.
The story also suffers from various standard film clichés: tough guys who talk tough, characters who spend a lot of time pointing guns at each other; the obligatory nude shower scene, a gory autopsy, and so on. Another big problem here is the casting of Willem Dafoe. With his heavy-duty Northern accent, he is not at all convincing as a redneck sheriff.
Lacking thematic depth or significant originality, "White Sands" is just another film about some cop who tries to solve a crime alone, and in the process encounters assorted characters and risks. The only thing that made the movie halfway interesting to me was the expansive New Mexico landscape.
The story also suffers from various standard film clichés: tough guys who talk tough, characters who spend a lot of time pointing guns at each other; the obligatory nude shower scene, a gory autopsy, and so on. Another big problem here is the casting of Willem Dafoe. With his heavy-duty Northern accent, he is not at all convincing as a redneck sheriff.
Lacking thematic depth or significant originality, "White Sands" is just another film about some cop who tries to solve a crime alone, and in the process encounters assorted characters and risks. The only thing that made the movie halfway interesting to me was the expansive New Mexico landscape.
helpful•76
- Lechuguilla
- Jun 15, 2008
- How long is White Sands?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $22,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $9,011,574
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,151,629
- Apr 26, 1992
- Gross worldwide
- $9,011,574
- Runtime1 hour 41 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content