#902: DEITCH: Donna: Desert Hearts (1985)

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DEITCH, Donna (United States)
Desert Hearts [1985]
Spine #902
Blu-ray


Donna Deitch's swooning and sensual first narrative feature, Desert Hearts, was groundbreaking upon its release in 1985: a love story about two women, made entirely independently, on a shoestring budget, by a woman. In this 1959-set film, adapted from a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce but winds up catching the eye of someone new, the free-spirited young Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against a breathtaking desert landscape. With undeniable chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candor.

92 minutes
Color
Monaural
1:85:1 aspect ratio
Criterion Release 2017
Director/Writers


Adapted from the novel Desert of the Heart by Jane Rule.
Screenplay by Natalie Cooper.
Donna Deitch was 40 when she directed Desert Hearts.

The Film

A

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

 The Booklet

Twelve-page wraparound featuring an essay by critic B. Ruby Rich.

Commentary

From 2007 featuring director Deitch.

Conversation

Between Deitch and actor Lynch.

Interviews

With actors Shaver and Charbonneau.

Remembering Reno

A program featuring Deitch, DP Robert Elswit, and production designer Jeannine Oppewall.

Excerpt

From Fiction and Other Truths: A Film About Jane Rule, a 1994 documentary about the author of Desert of the Heart, the 1964 novel on which the film is based.

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

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