Customer Reviews

Red Desert (Il Deserto Rosso) [ NON-USA region, NTSC, Reg. 2 Import - Japan ]

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

As the other "reviewers" (we can't review what we can't watch!) have noted, Amazon is clearly out to lunch on this one. Compounding this, it is obvious that no one at Amazon ever reads anything that is written here.

But far worse than Amazon's lack is that of the people who hold the rights to this film, one of Antonioni's most important, and do not release it in an American format!

All other web information suggests that this BFI disc is Region B only, so WHY THE **** IS IT FOR SALE ON THIS SITE??? Please change this page's information, which is WRONG.

(If this information I have is incorrect I'd love to be proven wrong.)

Why is RED DESERT hitting DVD in a format that will not play in American DVD players? Will there be a follow-up release soon? I like Antonioni's work and I hope to see this, his first color film.

1946? I think you have a dyslexic person entering in the year this film was from.

I love Antonioni films, and have a real problem that you're offering it here, on an American site, without divulging that it will NOT play on zone 1 Blu ray players. Plus, the film OBVIOUSLY doesn't date from 1946. It was made in 1964.

American buyers beware...this would be an expensive mistake.