Desert Hearts (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]

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-turvy when she meets the free-spirited Cay.Audra Lindley (Three's Company) 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 a 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 emotional 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 the 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.

"You deserve to live somewhere with, or near, someone who sees how wonderful you are-- for exactly who you are."Desert Hearts is painfully, unfairly overlooked. Some people mind find it cliche or slow, looking back on the last 40 years of LGBT cinema, but remember that Desert Hearts was one of the very first. Imagine seeing it without decades of comparison. When the protagonist, Vivian, speaks the line above, she's facing the camera, speaking not only to her companion, but to the audience as well.This film is 6 years older than I am, but rings so true that I know I would not have come out yet if not for it. I spent years in the closet, consuming LGBT media in secret and never really connecting with it. When I finally got around to Desert Hearts, it was almost like meeting myself. I never really identified with a character in the way I identified with Vivian. I found myself watching it over and over, feeling more at home than ever.Regarding this specific product, the director's commentary and extras were totally worth the cost. I also didn't own a DVD player, so it was also worth purchasing one just to watch these DVDs. The quality is as expected for the year.

I bought the DVD years ago but decided to upgrade to this delux edition from the Criterion Collection with lots of extras. Haven’t watched it yet but plan to soon.Favorite line: “Lots of ice tea and no deep thinkin’”. Beautiful love story with charming and quirky characters. The director has a cameo playing at a slot machine and says in a foreign accent to Cay: “If you don’t play, you can’t win.” Love this movie!

Most people purchasing this item have seen the film. Desert Hearts is a contemporary classic and ahead of it's time when first released. It's a standard now in most every gay-girls DVD collection. This newly released two-disc edition includes some bonus materials.I'll review the bonus disc as there are plenty of well written reviews of the actual film.1. The "never before seen footage" of the famous love scene. This is the first bonus item on the extra disc. It is NOT a re-cut extended scene. This is the raw footage from, argueably, the most famous lesbian love scene ever. We are not necessarily given more content, but simply the same content from different angles, over multiple takes.2. Commentary by director Donna Deitch. Fun and informative.3. Interviews with the two main stars by director Deitch. To me, this feature is worth the price of this collection. Donna Deitch interviews both Patricia Charbonneau ( Cay ) and Helen Shaver ( Vivian ). These are one-on-one sessions which recall memories of filming and, more importantly, the impact the film had on both actresses. These interview sessions were done in March 2007. The only thing that might have made them more interesting would have been if the actresses had actually been reunited for the interviews. They are each interviewed, separately, by Deitch. While both actresses are fun to watch, it is Helen Shaver and her insights that are the most rewarding.4. The Theatrical Trailer - This is actually interesting because, while the film hold up strongly, the trailer comes across as rather dated.All in all, I'd recommend this set. It's a wonderful film, and the bonus disc will add a nice dimension to viewing it again.

Classic lesbian movie deserves it's acclaim. Well acted, great music and a wonderful, sweet story. If you are young there is great relevance to the lesbian history here. There is attention to the bisexual community as well. If you are older...like me...you have lived some of the movie and will smile and watch again and again. So few of the older lesbian movies provide a happy ending as this movie does.

This movie was bold. Keeps kids from killing themselves

i liked this film its what i call a slow burner. but the ending is lovely. reccomend this to all

Klassieker!

J'adore ce film mais je regrette cet achat car c'est en vo pas de sous titres francais. Donc pour l histoire oui pour ce dvd non

Love the movie