Product Details

• Actors: Jon Voight, JoBeth Williams, Annabeth Gish, Ellen Barkin, Jay Underwood
• Directors: Eugene Corr
• Writers: Eugene Corr, Linda Remy
• Producers: Linda Remy, Michael Hausman, Michelle Satter, Richard Fischoff
• Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Sony Pictures
• VHS Release Date: August 6, 1996
• Run Time: 105 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6303686877
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,584 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A quartet of fine performances support this bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of the atomic bomb. Rose Chismore (Annabeth Gish, in her movie debut) is a shy girl measuring out her teenage days in Las Vegas, Nevada, circa 1950. Both Rose and Las Vegas are on the cusp of change--the girl is experiencing the first awkward pangs of maturity thanks to a local boy, while the town is suddenly abuzz with scientists en route to the nuclear testing facilities at nearby White Sands and Alamogordo. But at Rose's home, life is at a standstill. Her stepfather (Jon Voight) is a traumatized World War II vet whose drinking and nightmares are leading to physical abuse, and her mother (JoBeth Williams) labors under a gambling addiction that threatens to tear down her sunny veneer. Rose finds herself sitting at both a physical and emotional ground zero. All that's needed is a spark to set off an explosion--which comes in the curvy form of Aunt Starr (Ellen Barkin), a brassy former beauty queen who's come for a quickie divorce and, hopefully, a new husband, just in time for the first A-bomb test. Desert Bloom is a gently moving film about growth, change, and maturity, for better and worse. It's buoyed by the strength of its leads; Gish, in particular, is a revelation. A fine sleeper for the whole family, with only a smattering of language and violence. Corr later wrote the similarly unsung Prefontaine. --Paul Gaita

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Walking Wounded, April 26, 2004

By 

Douglas Doepke (Claremont, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Desert Bloom [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Sensitively told coming-of-age film set against Las Vegas and the early years of atomic testing. Rose (Annabeth Gish) is thirteen and very much wants to connect with stepdad Jack (Jon Voight), an alcoholic WWII veteran still possessed by the demons of combat. Trouble is, she's operating on one track, while he's operating on two, such that just when they seem at last to converge, he goes off on a delusionary binge. Movie is notable for the exceptionally fine performances of these two actors. Gish, tottering atop two gawky legs and peering out from the cosmetic curse of horned-rim glasses, is the very real, aching embodiment of adolescent angst. Hers has to be one of the finest, least mannered renderings of teen-age yearning and self-doubt in many, many years, and made even me, a hardened old curmudgeon, feel kindly toward the hopelessly pubescent. Voight's character is less sympathetic and more complex. Victimized by the evils of war and beset by alcohol and impotence, he's having trouble with his masculinity in a house full of women. He wants to fulflill a positive role for his wife and stepdaughters, but the inner turmoil keeps erupting unpredictably.You want Jack and Rose to connect, to heal one another's emotional wounds, but circumstance is against them. Movie leaves off on suitably ambiguous note as atomic test parallels emotional family blowup. We know time will take care of Rose's problems, but what of Jack. Film is not so much about dysfunction as it is about adolescence and the walking wounds of war, such that you'll remember the characters long after the various plot complications have subsided. What a fine piece of non-commercial movie making this is thanks to Sundance Productions and writer-director Eugene Corr. Their work along with that of the entire cast shows once again why "the obscure little movie with something to say" continues to be one of our finest film traditions.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Voight Fans, January 2, 2010

By 

Michael Gooch "Management Consultant-HR" (Washington, Indiana) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Desert Bloom (DVD)

If you are a Jon Voight fan, this is a must-see movie. Having grownup in one of America's few functional families, I found it hard to relate to. However I have watched it with others that were blown away by its mirror image of real life in an abusive household.

I appreciated the film for exercising restraint in the acting and not going over- the-top. It could have been so easy to do. This is due to the chemistry and fine acting of the cast. Different people I watched it with have their favorites. For me, Voight really stands out which is incredible as the entire cast should have won awards.

Don't expect this movie to be light fare on a boring Saturday afternoon. It will stick with you for awhile. The story builds like a slow burn and will leave some scars.

I hope you find my opinion helpful.

Michael L. Gooch
Author of Wingtips with Spurs.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great American Story, March 28, 2007

By 

IJustDiedAlive (Northern CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desert Bloom (DVD)

Annabeth Gish gives a great performance as a young girl struggling to understand her life growing up in 1950's Las Vegas. Her mother is trying to keep their family together through some pretty hard times. The town is under constant threat of the A-Bomb. Rose's (Gish) stepfather is an alcoholic struggling with the demons of war. The story is great and I think many families with veterans can identify.