X
  • 1986
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 31 m
  • 1986
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 31 m

Summary It is 1950s Nevada, and Professor Vivian Bell arrives to get a divorce. She's unsatisfied with her marriage, and feels out of place at the ranch she stays on, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Cay Rivers, an open and self-assured lesbian, and the ranchowner's daughter. The emotions released by their developing intimacy, a...

Directed By: Donna Deitch

Written By: Jane Rule, Natalie Cooper

  • 1986
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 31 m
  • 1986
  • R
  • The Samuel Goldwyn Company
  • 1 h 31 m

Desert Hearts

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
67
User Score Available after 4 ratings
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Summary It is 1950s Nevada, and Professor Vivian Bell arrives to get a divorce. She's unsatisfied with her marriage, and feels out of place at the ranch she stays on, she finds herself increasingly drawn to Cay Rivers, an open and self-assured lesbian, and the ranchowner's daughter. The emotions released by their developing intimacy, a...

Directed By: Donna Deitch

Written By: Jane Rule, Natalie Cooper

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
67
67% Positive
8 Reviews
33% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 12 Critic Reviews
67
67% Positive
8 Reviews
33% Mixed
4 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
88
The story is not sensationalistic, although its love scene could not be more emotional. It`s a gentle story of someone being brought in from the cold.
By Gene Siskel FULL REVIEW
80
This is an astonishingly polished and nuanced first film. It deserves to be celebrated, not quibbled with.
By Paul Attanasio FULL REVIEW
75
Though not without problems, Desert Hearts is a triumph for director Donna Deitch and an inspiration for any independent filmmaker.
FULL REVIEW
63
Given the low budget, there was no money for transitions or fancy wideshots, so the look is strangled, stranded and somehow like stagework. All the same, if you are a woman who loves women, you will no doubt love Desert Hearts. But it doesn't seem a good bet to cross over. [18 Apr 1986, p.27]
By Rita Kempley FULL REVIEW
63
I might have enjoyed Desert Hearts more if it had been more subtle and observant about the two women. It might have been a better movie if it had been about discovery instead of seduction.
By Roger Ebert FULL REVIEW
60
Desert Hearts has no voice or style of its own. It's as flat as a recorded message from the telephone company.
By Vincent Canby FULL REVIEW
50
For a story about sexual awakening and discovery, Desert Hearts is a taut, fatally careful movie with no looseness--and no abandon--to it and no feeling for detail that would let these characters really live.
By Sheila Benson FULL REVIEW

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Details

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Production Company Desert Hearts Productions, The Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release Date Mar 7, 1986
Duration 1 h 31 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline The all-time favorite lesbian film classic!
Website https://www.criterion.com/films/29139-desert-hearts?q=autocomplete
View All Details

Awards

Sundance Film Festival
• 1 Win & 2 Nominations
Locarno International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Nomination

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