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Desert Hearts (Two-Disc Vintage Collection) | 
 enlarge | Director: Donna Deitch
Actors: Andra Akers, Dean Butler, Patricia Charbonneau, Denise Crosby, Katie La Bourdette
Studio: Wolfe Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $19.99
Buy New: $11.98
You Save: $8.01 (40%)
New (32) Used (7) from $11.98
Rating:  86 reviews
Sales Rank: 5754
Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 94 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.3 x 0.6
MPN: WOL4436D
UPC: 754703762832
EAN: 0754703762832
ASIN: B000OVLC0W
Theatrical Release Date: March 7, 1986
Release Date: June 5, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW AND FACTORY SEALED
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Product Description
At 35 years of age literature professor Vivian Bell heads out to Reno for a quickie divorce. But when she gets to Nevada where she has to wait until her papers come through a whole new world opens up to Vivian when avowed lesbian Cay Rivers openly begins to seduce her. Vivian at first resists Cay's overtures but as time goes on she is forced to admit her attraction.But as Vivian's days in Nevada come to a close she faces a quandary: can she actually bring this randy cowgirl into her stodgy intellectually elite New York life? Or will she have to give up the best love she's ever experienced?Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA UPC: 754703762832 Manufacturer No: WOL4436D
Amazon.com essential video
When college professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno in 1959 to get a quickie divorce, the last thing on her mind is romance. A prim intellectual, crippled by a sterile marriage ("We're a professional couple") and hiding behind her education, she moves into a ranch belonging to Frances Parker (Audra Lindley) and tries to keep to herself. But Parker's beautiful, sassy tomboy of a stepdaughter proves to be quite a distraction, and a love affair slowly blossoms. Cay (Patricia Charbonneau) refuses to be bound by convention or by expectations of how a nice girl should behave, and her devil-may-care attitude both attracts and terrifies the nervous professor. Shaver is terrific as Vivian, and the slow thawing of her character is beautifully paced--you can feel the tension break when she finally lets down her guard. Another strong performance comes from Audra Lindley as Frances. She's a tough old bird with a drinking problem, but Lindley keeps the character from descending into stereotype, and she gives full rein to the tragic side of this lonely woman, especially as she struggles with her reaction to the developing relationship between Cay and Vivian. There are scenes in Desert Hearts that would be painfully clichéd if they appeared in a heterosexual romance, and even here they only just escape that fate--relying a little too much on significant glances and lines that just don't sound like real conversation. Nevertheless, first-time director Deitch breathes new life into a standard straight-arrow-meets-free-spirit plot, and steadfastly refuses to turn this love story into an "issues movie." Add to that a strong feel for the period and a soundtrack filled with the likes of Patsy Cline and Gene Vincent, and the result is a warm, well-acted film that packs a real emotional punch. --Simon Leake
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| Customer Reviews: Read 81 more reviews...
 Desert Hearts (Two-Disc Vintage Collection) January 6, 2009
Monica (Italy)
I saw it many years ago and even after a long time I still appreciate it. It is a fantastic classic love story, no more no less. Very interesting this special edition with the new interviews to the actresses.
 Still The Best December 21, 2008
Sheeba (NY, NY)
Desert Hearts is still the best lesbian film ever made and still has one of the hottest and most beautifully shot sex scenes (straight or gay) in all of film making. Would have liked more/longer interviews with the director and actors on the bonus disc though.
Old fashioned but relevant May 9, 2008
Val (Indiana)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The movie was a bit melodramatic but very effective in making it's point. As a woman who was happily married for 27 of 29 years and only discovered my "true" sexuality at almost 50yrs old, I can relate to the hesitancy of pursing this type of relationship. Based on my experience, I found it depicted a fairly realistic view of a female to female relationship.
Still the Best!!!! April 6, 2008
Vladika Ioan (IN)
I've seen many lesbian-themed movies over the years and "Desert Hearts" is simply the best, even 14 years after the first time I saw it. Patricia Charbonneau is absolutely delicious as the wild-spirited and honest Cay Rivvers while Helen Shaver gives a powerful performance as the soon-to-be divorced Vivian Bell. When Vivian arrives in Reno to get a divorce in 1959, she finds her world turned topsy-turvey when she meets the free-spirited Cay.
Audra Lindley (Three's Comapny) turns in a great performance as Cay's stepmother, Frances, a woman who seems to be trying to come to terms with Cay's attraction to women but ultimately cannot, especially when Cay finds "someone who counts". Surprisingly, I found myself sympathetic with her situation, even though I am lesbian. Here she takes in her lover's daughter and raises her, only to find that she is "different". It becomes apparent fairly early on, that Frances is lonely and afraid to let go, no matter how healthy that letting go would ultimately be. There is a touching scene where Cay and Frances talk about her staying and even moving east with Frances.
Instead of some story where the heroines go to bed early on, the relationship builds slowly. Donna Deitch develops the romantic tension between Cay and Vivian, building towards an absolutely exquisite lovemaking scene when Cay visits Vivian in her hotel room, after Vivian is forced by circumstances to move from the dude ranch to town. You can see that Cay is quickly attracted to Vivian, but Vivian takes quite a bit longer to come out of her shell.
Silver, Cay's straight friend, and her fiance, Joe, are just super as emotiona and moral support for Cay, and, ultimately for her love for Vivian. Also, Silver has a great voice--I'm not a huge fan of country music, but her song,"Someone to Love", sung at the engagement party for Joe and her, is fabulous. That song alone would be justification for a soundtrack--too bad one was never made. You can see the love Silver and Joe have for one another, but, perhaps because of it, they can accept Cay's lesbianism, and later, support for Vivian and her. Given that homophobia was even worse in 1959 than now, it was refreshing to see straight people who could treat a lesbian just as they would treat any friend.
The music is great and it, along with the costumes, are accurate to the time (I'm old enough to accurately remember the period first hand). The songs are hits of the time, done by such greats as Patsy Cline, Buddy Holly, Patti Page, Johnny Ray and Elvis Presley, amongst others.Music is important in setting mood and a sense of the time in which a film is supposed to take place. The music of "Desert Hearts" does this admirably--it took me right back to that time.
"Desert Hearts" is a groundmark movie--to the best of my knowledge, it is the first time that an explicit lesbian lovemaking scene is shown. However it is tender rather than excessively graphic. This is one film I can highly recommend.
The best Lesbian Film Made March 24, 2008
K. Briars (Australia)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I watched this when I was 20 and now I'm 40 and I still love it. The storyline is real, the characters feel real, the love/sex scene is realistic and all the stars of the film do a wonderful job. Sure there have been some OK films since, but this remains my favourite and any lesbian out there who does not own a copy - should......My favourite line in the film I use often - Long time no see - "I'm handling it".. Brilliant.
To top it off it has a great soundtrack - Made me rush out and buy a Patsy Cline CD.
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