Desert Hearts

"In 1959, Vivian Bell came to Reno, Nevada for a quick divorce. Of all the people she met there, the one who surprised her the most was herself."

1985 1h 31m EN

👍

7.1

SOLID

🍅

77%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

7.1

IMDB

★7.1TMDB · 181🍅77%Rotten Tomatoes●67Metacritic★7.1IMDB · 8,026

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.

“In 1959, Vivian Bell came to Reno, Nevada for a quick divorce. Of all the people she met there, the one who surprised her the most was herself.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Helen Shaver
Vivian Bell
Patricia Charbonneau
Cay Rivvers
Audra Lindley
Frances Parker
Andra Akers
Silver
Gwen Welles
Gwen
Dean Butler
Darrell
Katie La Bourdette
Lucille
James Staley
Art Warner

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Donna Deitch
Writers: Natalie Cooper
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

41 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Donna Deitch, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robert Estrin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau and Audra Lindley carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "In 1959, Vivian Bell came to Reno, Nevada for a quick divorce. Of all the people she met there, the one who surprised her the most was herself.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0089015 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Donna Deitch directs. Robert Elswit behind the camera. Robert Estrin cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Made its money back 6.9× over at the box office.
341 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Directed by Donna Deitch, shot by Robert Elswit. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Editor Robert Estrin shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau and Audra Lindley carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "In 1959, Vivian Bell came to Reno, Nevada for a quick divorce. Of all the people she met there, the one who surprised her the most was herself.".
8IMDB entry: tt0089015 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 14 themes, including "farm", "coming out", "casino", "based on novel or book".

The technical file

Cinematography: Robert Elswit
Editing: Robert Estrin
Production design: Jeannine Oppewall
Costume design: Linda M. Bass
Makeup / hair: Richard Arrington
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Budget: $350,000
Box office: $2,400,000
Return: 686% of budget
Original language: EN
IMDB: Desert Hearts (1985)
Rotten Tomatoes: 77% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 67/100
IMDB rating: 7.1/10 · 8,026 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 2 nominations total

Also by

Donna Deitch

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

talisencrw2016-07-28
★ 9/10
Lately I felt I couldn't consider myself a self-respecting cinephile unless I at the very least sampled more works both by female directors and from the gay/lesbian/related subgenre. Fortunately my university offered in its library collection an assortment I decided to peruse occasionally. Although Deitch's film is a romantic drama featuring lesbians, I still readily enjoyed it. Glad I took a chance on it and decided to expand my horizons as a adventurous film aficionado.
tmdb400113702019-11-21
★ 8/10
As a lesbian myself, I have to say I was extremely grateful when a friend recommended I watch this film some 12 odd years ago when I was a willowy 14/15 year old realising that my private emotions were geared towards my own sex but I didn't want to tell the world just yet. I must admit to struggling to stay with this slow burner, probably due to my impatient teenage angst. But stay with it I did and I have to say it was well worth the journey! Yes, it had a relatively graphic but erotic lesbian love scene, but the film is more than that, not least for the great character study of the two protagonists, and a rather uplifting conclusion. I have seen many lesbian-love story films since then, not least "Below her Mouth" and "Blue is the Warmest Color" - both of them exceptionally well done. But for me, "Desert Hearts" still stands out as an emotive and well handled love story that will stay with me until my dying days.