Directed by:
Donna DeitchScreenplay:
Natalie CooperCinematography:
Robert ElswitCast:
Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau, Audra Lindley, Andra Akers, Alex McArthur, Dean Butler, James Staley, Denise Crosby, Donna Deitch, Jeffrey Tambor (more)Plots(1)
Donna Deitch’s tender, ground-breaking debut, a landmark in queer cinema and a triumph of independent filmmaking. Desert Hearts was ground-breaking upon its 1985 release: a love story about two women, made entirely independently, on a self-financed shoestring budget, by a woman. In the 1959-set film, an adaptation of 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 younger free spirit Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against a breath-taking 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 candour. (Criterion)
(more)Cast
Helen Shaver
Canada
Best movies:
The Land Before Time (1988)
Columbo (1971) (series)
Morning Glory (1993)
Patricia Charbonneau
USA
Best movies:
Desert Hearts (1985)
K2 (1991)
Manhunter (1986)
Audra Lindley
USA
Best movies:
Taking Off (1971)
Cannery Row (1982)
Manpower (1941)
Andra Akers
USA
Best movies:
Desert Hearts (1985)
The Wedding Party (1969)
Murder à la Mod (1968)
Alex McArthur
USA
Best movies:
Madonna: Celebration: The Video Collection (2009) (video compilation)
Conspiracy Theory (1997)
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Dean Butler
Canada
Best movies:
Desert Hearts (1985)
Chemical Wedding (2008)
James Staley
USA
Best movies:
Vacation (1983)
Sweet Dreams (1985)
Desert Hearts (1985)
Denise Crosby
USA
Best movies:
Jackie Brown (1997)
48 Hrs. (1982)
Miracle Mile (1988)
Donna Deitch
USA
Best movies:
Desert Hearts (1985)
Jeffrey Tambor
USA
Best movies:
Tangled (2010)
...And Justice for All (1979)
The Hangover (2009)
Gwen Welles
USA
Best movies:
California Split (1974)
Nashville (1975)
Desert Hearts (1985)
Antony Ponzini
USA
Best movies:
Columbo (1971) (series)
The Other Side of Midnight (1977)
Desert Hearts (1985)