Steinesongo Too many fans seem to be blown away

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Organnall Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

rossacrowe I just saw this film a few days ago and it had a very strong impact on me. I was extremely impressed by Zurlini's "Girl with a suitcase" and "violent Summer" (The excellent NoShame release - grab it if you do not already have it!)but this film is the work of a very mature director.Zurlini has the confidence to slow everything down. The camera-work is stunning (the location in Iran is breathtaking, magical). The acting is extraordinary - this film is a meeting place for some great actors. There is often little dialogue and so we feel accutely the presence that these actors have - Gassman, Perrin, Trintignant, Gemma, Von Syndow etc. For me so much of the film is about the feeling that is created not the specifics of the storyline. The actors have a wonderful sincerity - a lot of eye contact demonstrates the closeness that these people feel at a human level.The story - I have not read the novel therefore I do not claim to have any clear idea of the exact message but for me the film is about the feeling it creates. It made me reflect. Not so much on understanding the meaning but on the characters themselves and the various emotions we have as humans.I did however feel that the pace and feeling of the film changes after Perrin is sent back to the fort after his request for a transfer is declined. A lot of the peacefulness of the film goes and a more agitated atmosphere prevails.Nothing is made clear - mystery prevails. The final shot of the approaching horsemen is unforgettable. Morricone's score is top-rate.Altogether an extraordinary work - images, characters and acting that that left a strong impression on me. I am very curious to see more Zurlini.I have the Italian DVD of this film. I am very tempted to buy the NoShame DVD for the quality of their releases and the extras.

smolensk This extraordinary film sprang from a fertile time in world cinema. In the USA the medium was experiencing heady creativity but in Italy such exceptional ability was expected. To see it now is to witness movie making at its most devoted and personal. Zurlini casts it brilliantly. The acting by an acclaimed cast is both restrained and gut wrenching. Adapted from a classic novel, which I have not read, it leaves its literary provenance behind while still managing to address what are normally literary obsessions: existentialism, nihilism and romantic futility. Visually the film is stunning and makes a mockery of the ghastly special effects which in a film like Gladiator make the world seem like a landscape of precious celluloid grey. It is filmed in the middle east in a now earthquake-torn ancient town. If one didn't know such a place existed one would think that special effects had accomplished impossible beauty. But no, its all real. And all spectacularly realised.

MARIO GAUCI This is the first Valerio Zurlini film I have watched and, ironically, it was his last (and arguably most ambitious) undertaking but which can hold its own alongside its contemporaries among the classics of World Cinema; for the record, I also own THE GIRLS OF SAN FREDIANO (1954) and THE CAMP FOLLOWERS (1965) on VHS and had erased GIRL WITH A SUITCASE (1960) - without even watching it! - in anticipation of its 2-Disc Set release by No Shame (which incorporates Zurlini's VIOLENT SUMMER [1959]).Anyhow, THE DESERT OF THE TARTARS is practically an intellectual, existentialist version of "Beau Geste" in which very little actually happens during its 2½ hour running-time (and, thus, may seem boring to the uninitiated) but, for more adventurous film fans, however, it's a mesmerizing and truly evocative experience with a strong anti-war statement to make. Unsurprisingly perhaps, it is hardly ever shown on Italian TV - with the most recent occasion being on the very last day of my 3-month stay in Hollywood late last year, which meant that I had to miss it (although I was already aware of No Shame's 2-Disc Set, which was released around the same time).The cast is made up of a once-in-a-lifetime roster of international film stars: Vittorio Gassman, Giuliano Gemma, Helmut Griem, Philippe Noiret (who died last week, alas), Jacques Perrin (who has the lead role and also did duty as one of the producers), Francisco Rabal, Fernando Rey, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Louis Trintignant and Max von Sydow! Incredibly, it's Gemma who stands out in a rare villainous turn as the sadistic Major - though Max von Sydow as the disgraced Captain and Vittorio Gassman as the ageing Commander of the Fort are quietly impressive in their own way. While the first half is deliberately-paced, eliciting its own particular ambiance and etching all the various characters, by comparison, the latter stages are somewhat rushed - as the years fly by and the fort changes its command several times, so as to bring the story to its main theme - that of the remote company, seen constantly drilling in the hope of an attack by enemy forces which, when it finally arrives, they seem incapable of dealing with adequately! The beautiful cinematography of the splendid Iranian desert location (with the interiors filmed in Rome) is by Luciano Tovoli and Ennio Morricone's score, rendered in its entirety on the CD found in No Shame's SE DVD, is suitably majestic and melancholic. The supplements, then, aren't prolific but quite nicely done nevertheless - though only Tovoli's 35-minute interview goes into any real detail about the making of the film (and even that includes copious references to his collaborations with other Italian masters such as Michelangelo Antonioni and Dario Argento).

FrSecco Excellent, haunting movie, with great actors, but it falls short of the book. This I suspect often happens when reading a book before seeing the film. The book, the Desert of the Tartars by Dino Buzzati is an allegory for a man life and destiny. A man's hope to greatness, to glory, to accomplish great deeds. But as time passes, greatness is never attained, glory never achieved. Most of us us settle down in our routine. Drogo full of youth and enthusiasm set up for Fort Bastiano, the fortress protecting the border of his country. With the passing of time the precise, monotonous routine in the fortress becomes his life. He returns to the city and to his fiancé, but the city life does not please him. This part of the book is never shown in the movie. He returns to the fortress with hope of greatness if the Tartars ever attack and the star of glory to defend his country will shine upon him. Time inexorably goes by. Rumors of sights of Tartars prowling in the desert below are just rumors. Drogo is, we are getting older. His health starts to fail. But there is still hope in his hearth that the enemy may come. Then suddenly the enemy comes. The Tartars are invading, the desert under Fort Bastiano is full of them, the war has started, and while Drogo is carried away a young inexperienced officer coming from the city will have the honor and the glory of defending his country. Drogo's carriage is taking him to the city below where the greatest of all Enemies is awaiting for him.