Le Désert des Tartares Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		2.5

Le Désert des Tartares Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 10, 2014

Winner of David di Donatello Awards for Best Film and Best Director, Valerio Zurlini's "The Desert of the Tartars" a.k.a. "Il deserto dei tartari" (1976) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The only supplemental feature on the disc is a new documentary film with new interviews with Italian cinema expert Jean Gili, actors Jacques Perrin and Max von Sydow, and cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, as well as clips from archival interviews with writer Dino Buzzati and composer Ennio Morricone. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Fort Bastiano

The young and ambitious Lt. Giovanni Drogo (Jacques Perrin, Girl with a Suitcase, Cinema Paradiso) is sent to the remote Fort Bastiano, where he hopes to build a career while defending the North Kingdom from its enemies. But the fort borders a vast desert and a massive mountain range that seem to be doing a much better job at preventing foreign armies from entering the North Kingdom than those who have sworn to defend it.

Soon after he is introduced to his superiors, Drogo realizes that the only fighting he would ever witness will likely be between the frustrated men inside the fort -- while waiting for the enemy to appear, some have started questioning each other’s loyalty while others have gone insane and repeatedly abused the men around them. Meanwhile, the fort’s doctor, Rovin (Jean-Louis Trintignant, The Conformist), who has been observing Drogo from afar and has decided to help him escape the madness, offers to give him a medical report that will help him get reassigned to a better place.

While waiting for an old-fashioned General (Philippe Noiret, Coup de Torchon) to examine the medical report and then approve a transfer request, Drogo learns about the mysterious Tartars, whom the soldiers in the fort fear are gathering deep inside the desert and planning to attack them. Much to Drogo’s surprise, however, their existence is repeatedly dismissed by his superiors.

Based on Dino Buzzati’s famous novel, Valerio Zurlini’s final film, The Desert of the Tartars, is a hugely atmospheric period piece that can easily be compared to the works of Michelangelo Antonioni and Andrei Tarkovsky. Indeed, it is a remarkably fluid and brilliantly framed film that creates a cinematic reality which once experienced simply cannot be forgotten.

Zurlini shot The Desert of the Tartars with the great cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who a year later collaborated with Dario Argento on the equally atmospheric Suspiria. Excluding a few short sequences (most notably the hunting duel), the outdoor footage was shot at the ancient Parthian citadel of Arg-é-Bam in Iran, which was almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 2003. (After the earthquake, the famous ‘mud city’ was partially restored, but the real Arg-é-Bam can now be seen only in Zurlini’s film).

The film is effectively divided into two large sections. In the first the focus of attention is on Drogo’s gradual character transformation and his realization that the system he has prepared himself to defend is rotten at its core. In the second, where the majority of the men in the fort begin questioning their beliefs, Zurlini offers a fascinating examination of the meaning of life.

The large international cast is very impressive. The great Vittorio Gassman (Il Sorpasso) plays the fort’s quiet commander; Laurent Terzieff (The Milky Way) is the sadistic Von Amerling; Giuliano Gemma (The Bastard) is Drogo’s commanding officer; Swedish legend Max von Sydow (The Seventh Seal) is the disenchanted captain Hortiz; Francisco Rabal (Viridiana) is the cold-blooded Tronk; Fernando Rey (That Obscure Object of Desire) plays the seriously ill Nathanson; and German legend Helmut Griem (The Damned) is the conservative captain Mattis.

The film’s soundtrack is arguably one of the very best in Ennio Morricone’s tremendous discography.

Pathe's Blu-ray release of The Desert of the Tartars features the shorter French-language version of the film, which runs at approximately 140 minutes (02.19.56). The longer Italian version of the film, which was previously released on DVD by the now defunct U.S. label NoShame Films, runs at approximately 148 minutes (02:27.28).

Le Désert des Tartares Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Valerio Zurlini's The Desert of the Tartars arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

Pathe's Blu-ray release of The Desert of the Tartars features the shorter French-language version of the film, which runs at approximately 140 minutes (02.19.56). The longer Italian version of the film, which was previously released on DVD by the now defunct U.S. label NoShame Films, runs at approximately 148 minutes (02:27.28).

The Desert of the Tartars was recently restored in 4K by Digimage Classics, who had access to the original film negative. The restoration was completed with the consent of Cinecitta and under the supervision of Luciano Tovoli, the film's director of photography. The sound restoration was done by Gérard Lamps.

While there is enough evidence confirming that the 4K restoration was excellent, its transition to Blu-ray is problematic. I did some direct comparisons with my R1 DVD release of the Italian version of the film and I could immediately tell that contrast and especially shadow definition are vastly superior on the Pathe release. Unfortunately, the improvements in terms of detail and clarity one would rightfully expect after a 4K restoration have been compromised by various digital corrections. As a result, many close-ups and panoramic shots appear uncharacteristically harsh and edgy. Additionally, even during slow zooms there is plenty of smearing (no doubt a byproduct of the digital corrections mentioned above) that almost completely collapses detail (see screencapture #26). Most viewers, however, will likely notice the effects of the digital corrections during sequences with plenty of natural light, where the grain clearly struggles under the electronic noise (see the faces in screencapture #17). This being said, overall image stability is excellent. Also, debris, damage marks, cuts, stains, and scratches have been effectively removed. The final result, however, is disappointing, as the film does not have the solid organic appearance it should have after a 4K restoration. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Le Désert des Tartares Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Pathe have also included a French Audio Descriptive DTS 2.0 track. Optional English and French SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The new lossless track is excellent. Ennio Morricone's melancholic clearly benefits the most from the lossless treatment, but overall balance and fluidity are also improved. Because the film was shot with a large international cast a number of actors are dubbed. (I should also mention that on the Italian version of the film the French speaking actors are also dubbed in Italian). The dialog is crisp, very clear, stable, and easy to follow. Lastly, there are no pops, cracks, background hiss, audio dropouts, or distortions to report in this review.

Le Désert des Tartares Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Le Desert des Tartares: De l'adaptation a la restauration - this brand new documentary focuses on the production history of Valerio Zurlini's legendary film. It features new interviews with Italian cinema expert Jean Gili, actors Jacques Perrin and Max von Sydow, and cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, as well as clips from archival interviews with writer Dino Buzzati and composer Ennio Morricone. Audio specialist Gerard Lamps also addresses the audio restoration of the film's beautiful soundtrack, while colorist Laurent Desbrueres discuses the new color timing of the 4K restoration. In French and Italian, with printed French subtitles where necessary. (32 min, 1080p).

Le Désert des Tartares Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It is enormously frustrating to see that releases such as this one keep happening in France. It seems like every year there is at least one high-profile 4K restoration that fails to transition to Blu-ray as it should. This release of Valerio Zurlini's masterpiece The Desert of the Tartars is particularly disappointing because the film's 4K restoration was initiated by Jacques Perrin, and it is quite obvious that it is excellent. What ended up on the Blu-ray, however, isn't. The 4K restoration of The Desert of the Tartars should have looked every bit as impressive as the recent 4K restoration of La Reine Margot, but before it was released on Blu-ray somewhere something went wrong. My advice to you is to wait for a U.S. distributor, and hopefully Criterion, to bring a better release, or for an Italian distributor to restore and release the longer Italian version of the film. (In the United States, the longer Italian version of The Desert of the Tartars was initially released on DVD by the now defunct label NoShame Films. The out of print DVD release also had a CD copy of Ennio Morricone's fantastic soundtrack).