FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Red Desert [DVD] [1964]

The Red Desert [DVD] [1964]
enlarge	Director: Michelangelo Antonioni Actors: Richard Harris, Monica Vitti Studio: Bfi Video Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £8.00 as of 25/11/2009 07:03 GMT details You Save: £11.99 (60%) New (11) Used (1) from £8.00 Seller: HannahJ Rating: 5 reviews Sales Rank: 9573 Format: Box set, PAL Languages: English (Subtitled), Italian (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 112 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5035673007426 ASIN: B001DFINL4 Theatrical Release Date: 1964 Release Date: October 27, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Customer Reviews: Desert Hearts November 9, 2008 wabrit (Derbyshire) 12 out of 12 found this review helpful This was Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's first film in colour, and was to be his last film in Italy for many years as after this he decamped first to the UK ("Blow Up") and thence to the US ("Zabriskie Point", "The Passenger") before eventually returning to native soil to make "The Mystery of Oberwald" in the 80's. It arrived as the end of a sequence of controversial but ground-breaking films detailing the modern condition - "L'Avventura", "La Notte" and "L'Eclisse" - all also featuring Monica Vitti who has the lead role here. br / br /This subject of the film is the relationship between the modern industrial world and those that fit (or, in the case of the Vitti character, do not fit) within it. Antonioni conjures a strange beauty out of the factory-dominated landscapes and it's clear that his reaction is not (as we might automatically conclude in more environmentally troubled times) that industrial progress is necessarily a bad thing, but something a little more complicated. This ambiguous approach, allied with the extraordinary use of artificial colour (grass and fruit painted shades of grey and black) lends the film a compulsively mysterious air, at times almost tipping it into the territory of science fiction. At the centre of it is Vitti, who provides a superb performance (her co-star, a dubbed Richard Harris, received much less favourable reviews, but to my mind brings a stolid charmlessness that perfectly suits his character). br / br /This is an excellent presentation of a wonderful but challenging film by the BFI; visually it has never looked better, and there is a very informative commentary by the Italian scholar David Forgacs which helps to illuminate the context in which the film was made. br / br /Highly recommended. br / br / il deserto rossi November 4, 2008 Markus Gossas (Stockholm, Sweden) 15 out of 17 found this review helpful Red Desert (Il deserto rossi, 1964) is filmed in an industrial landscape filled with large machines, oil refinerys, garbage heaps, big buildings and so on. Despite this it is incredibly beautiful. The first shots show an industrial plant out of focus accompained to non-melodic electronic music, and the colours and forms reminds of abstract paintings, and Antonioni was inspired by modern art when he made this. His earlier films, L'Eclisse, L'Avventura and La Notte) also feels like paintings with beautiful compositions, but in Il deserto rossi this is abstract instead of hyper realistic, sometimes just layers of technicolor out of focus. This makes the movie visually unique I think. br /The story is, I would say, about alienation, and also psychic illness/angst. Monica Vitti plays Guiliana, a young woman who is recovering mentally from a car crash. She doesn't have any good contact with her husband nor her son, and she becomes attracted to a business partner of her husband. This story is framed within the theme of modernity with big industries and business, and how they affect humans - clearly the environments they produce is not healthy, neither physically nor mentally. In the film we never see any 'normal' milieus, as in Antonionis other movies, like the life in an italian city or village. Instead the environment is cluttered and dominated by industry, somtimes a big boat is seen behind some trees or a window, and the only city streets we see are muted grey. This is comically enhanced when in one scene we see a street vendor, and he only sells grey stuff (even the fruits are grey!...I think it is supposed to be fruits...). So the scenes are very stylized, Antonioni even painted the grass in some shots... br / br /The transfer of this DVD from Bfi is excellent, and a commentary track by a film scholar is included. Red Desert is a unique movie, and anyone interested in cinema or Antonioni should see or buy it. Antonioni in creative colour May 21, 2009 DH Dixon (England) Antonioni's use of colour in this film is more subtle than critics tell it but it is visually striking and very beautiful. This film is a great black and white artist's take on colour film-making with all the image art of black and white at its most sophisticated, but in colour. I am surprised that no one else has taken this approach up since. Vitti is at her best in a great performance and Richard Harris is compelling as well, even if dubbed. He is ideally cast and this is also one of his best performances. Apparently the Italians dubbed sound after filming. This film is essential for Antonioni fans and for anyone who likes film-making as an art form. It is visually superb. Great DVD quality. In colour for the first time. June 25, 2009 Room For A View Like many of Antonioni's films Red Desert offers dysfunctional characters existing in the claustrophobic detritus of a sterile environment. In this case Vitti, the bored wife of an industrialist, becomes extra-maritally involved with a dubbed Harris. The consequences for both characters are profound, not least because Vitti is obviously very mentally unwell but Harris is determined to seduce her. Cue uncompromising close-ups, sprawling wasteland, pollution and a green coat. Sufice to say the cinematography is breath taking (and this time it's in colour), the mood is suffocating and the style austere. For me many of Antonioni's characters seem to have an irresistable desire to set themselves up for a gigantic fall. It's as if they don't care about consequences but live for the moment. A classic example is when Nicholson adopts the identity of someone else in The Passenger, which leads to all sorts of problems. And in Red Desert Harris falls for someone who can never be a lover in any meaningful way. Post apocalyptic, hyper-realist, dreamscape spring to mind but the film leaves many questions unanswered. Perhaps Vitti's bedtime story holds the key? Beautiful BFI transfer of Antonioni's best film! October 3, 2009 Stoneracket (Midwest, USA) This is the DVD to purchase for fans of Antonioni's Red Desert. The transfer is exquisite with a remarkably sharp image with superb color -- all on just the standard definition DVD BFI release! So those interested in the Blu-Ray DVD BFI release need not worry about this particular digital transfer. Aside from a few short vertical streaks and a few warped image flutterings ( due to sprocket damage ) this edition is perfect. This BFI DVD also has an excellent commentary track by David Forgacs and a wonderful booklet with several fascinating essays on Red Desert. To put it simply: this DVD is a must buy. Be seeing you!

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