Product Details

• Actors: Monica Vitti, Richard Harris, Carlo Chionetti, Xenia Valderi, Rita Renoir
• Directors: Michelangelo Antonioni
• Format: NTSC, Widescreen, Import, Color
• Subtitles: Japanese
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: IVC
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00155RF7A
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #667,682 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Japan released, NTSC/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard R1 US DVD player. You need region free DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. LANGUAGES: Italian 2.0 mono; Japanese (Subtitles), WIDESCREEN, SYNOPSIS: Red Desert (Il Deserto Rosso) once more combines the considerable talents of director Michelangelo Antonioni and star Monica Vitti. Cast as Giuliana, an unhappy wife, Vitti suffers from an unnamed form of depression and malaise. Her quicksilver emotional shifts disturb everyone around her, but they, like she, pretend that nothing is truly wrong. British engineer Corrado Zeller (Richard Harris) seems to understand what Giuliana is really after in life, and he acts upon it by entering into an affair with the troubled woman. Giuliana eventually comes to terms with her physical and mental pain, but this hardly means that she's "cured" in the conventional sense. Monica Vitti's sense of isolation is heightened by Antonioni's (and cinematographer Carlo DiPalma's) choice of colors, and especially by Carlo Savina's bizarre electronic musical score. This is a landmark movie in Antonioni's effort to portray alienated individuals in contemporary life; he places people against towering forms of technology to emphasize their smallness and lostness in the modern world of technological change.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Relief is on the way, March 26, 2010

By 

M. Cunningham "wisdom:)" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Desert [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

I can't believe all the animosity in some of these reviews. No problem for me that other region product is sold on Amazon - it should just be stated in the product info. Some folks do have equipment to play region 2 and/or B, and Amazon is the most reliable way to source it. In this case it was probably an oversight - due to the seller Moviemars who has a checkered reputation and will not disclose such info, even if you call them. More importantly - Criterion is releasing the title on blu-ray - so settle down everyone - don't get p.o.ed at Amazon. They're just the conduit, not the source of the media. No need to be cranky with them - and if there's a mess up, they usually take care of the problem and represent the consumer's interest admirably. I have never had a complaint with their excellent customer service. And ... I'm not a shill, just a satisfied customer.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you CAN see it.., February 15, 2010

By 

Zippo "Zippo" (Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Red Desert [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

As all other reviews correctly state, this is a PAL, import, version of Antonioni's "Red Desert". As there is no US release right now of this amazing movie, I just want to point out that IF you have hardware that can play this disc (remember: both the DVD/Blue-ray (etc.) player AND your TV!), it is a very very good transfer. In and of itself it is a beautiful film (especially if you enjoy stark industrial landscapes), Antonioni's first color film, and this edition finally does Carlo Di Palma's photography justice. There is also an informative commentary track and a small booklet with some good insights.
A great edition IF you can see it.

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing images, just wish the human side was quite as strong, February 12, 2011

By 

K. Gordon - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Red Desert [Blu-ray] (Blu-ray)

Breathtaking images, for the first time Antonioni's career in color. I'd be happy to have still frames from this framed on my wall. But the acting and writing didn't match the power of the images for me, at least on first viewing.

Monica Vitti is a housewife losing her mind, who quickly (and without clear reason) obsesses a badly dubbed Richard Harris, who is visiting Vitti's husband on business. What makes this less powerful for me than L'Venturra and L'Ecisse is here the characters talk a lot more, and a lot of the dialogue is stilted and false sounding; way too full of `meaning' when the images are already so symbolic. And while Vitti is a good actress, she's not Liv Ulmann or Meryl Streep. But where it fails as drama, it's amazing as storytelling through images. Every time everyone shut up, I was immediately drawn back in.