Desert Hearts - The Criterion Collection

Donna Deitch's tender, ground-breaking debut, a landmark in queer cinema and atriumph of independent filmmaking ...The swooning and sensual first narrative feature by Donna Deitch, Desert Hearts wasground-breaking upon its 1985 release: a love story about two women, made entirelyindependently, on a self-financed shoestring budget, by a woman. In the 1959-set film, anadaptation of a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor Vivian Bell(The Colour of Money's Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce but winds upcatching the eye of someone new, the younger free spirit Cay (Manhunter's PatriciaCharbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against a breath-taking desertlandscape. With undeniable chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukeboxsoundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit (Punch-Drunk Love), DesertHearts beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candour.Features:New, restored 4K digital transfer, supervised by cinematographer Robert Elswit, withuncompressed monaural soundtrackAudio commentary from 2007 featuring director Donna Deitch