Il deserto dei Tartari (1976)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Valerio Zurlini

Writers:

Dino Buzzati (novel)
Jean-Louis Bertucelli (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

29 October 1976 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

As his first assignment, lieutenant Drogo is sent to an isolated fortress on the borders of a desert and of a range of high mountains...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Fortress | Lieutenant | Military | Deception

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Vittorio Gassman	...	Filimore
Giuliano Gemma	...	Mattis
Helmut Griem	...	Lieutenant Simeon
Philippe Noiret	...	General
Jacques Perrin	...	Drogo
Francisco Rabal	...	Tronk
Fernando Rey	...	Nathanson
Laurent Terzieff	...	Amerling
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Le médecin-major Rovin
Max von Sydow	...	Hortiz
Shaban Golchin Honaz	...	Soldat Lazare
Giuseppe Pambieri	...	Lieutenant Rathenau
Bryan Rostron
Kamran Nozad	...	Capitaine Sern
Manfred Freyberger	...	Caporal Montagne
Chantal Perrin	...	Maria
Yves Morgan-Jones		(as Yves Morgan)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Giovanni Attanasio
Loris Bazzocchi
Enzo Bottesini
Lilla Brignone
Giorgio Cerioni	...	Gothard
Jean-Pierre Clarain
Sandro Dori
Maurizio Marzan
Dino Mele
Piero Morgia
Alain Naya		(as Alain Corot)
Mario Novelli
Rolf Wanka	...	Prosdocimo

Directed by
Valerio Zurlini

Writing credits
Dino Buzzati		(novel)
Jean-Louis Bertucelli		(screenplay) &
André G. Brunelin		(screenplay) and
Valerio Zurlini		(screenplay)

Produced by
Michelle de Broca	....	producer
Bahman Farmanara	....	producer
Mario Gallo	....	producer
Enzo Giulioli	....	producer
Jacques Perrin	....	producer
Giorgio Silvagni	....	producer

Original Music by
Ennio Morricone

Cinematography by
Luciano Tovoli

Film Editing by
Franco Arcalli		(as Kim Arcalli)
Raimondo Crociani

Production Design by
Giancarlo Bartolini Salimbeni		(as Giancarlo Salimbeni)

Set Decoration by
Giancarlo Bartolini Salimbeni

Costume Design by
Giancarlo Bartolini Salimbeni		(as Giancarlo Salimbeni)
Sissi Parravicini

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Christian de Chalonge	....	second unit director

Sound Department
Luciano Anzellotti	....	foley artist
Bernard Bats	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Georges Pierre	....	still photographer

Other crew
Peter Fernandez	....	voice director: English version
Massimo Foschi	....	voice dubbing: Max von Sydow (uncredited)
Giancarlo Giannini	....	voice dubbing: Jacques Perrin (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cinema Due
• Fildebroc (co-production)
• Les Films de l'Astrophore (co-production)
• France 3 Cinéma (co-production)
• Reggane Films (co-production)
• FIDCI (co-production)
• Corona Filmproduktion (co-production)

Distributors

• Filmverlag der Autoren (1977) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Ital-Noleggio Cinematografico (1976) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Quartet Films (1982) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• Residenz Film (1977) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• DPI (1985) (Spain) (all media)
• Homescreen (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• NoShame Films (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Surf Film (2009) (Italy) (DVD)

Also Known As:

Die Tartarenwüste (West Germany)
Le désert des Tartares (France)
Le desert des Tartars
The Desert of the Tartars

Runtime:

140 min | France:138 min

Country:

Italy | France | West Germany

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:12 (f) | Italy:T | Netherlands:9 (2009) (DVD) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Arg-e Bam, Iran

Company:

Cinema Due

Quotes:

Drogo: I was sent here by mistake.
Le médecin-major Rovin: Here or elsewhere, we're all somewhere by mistake.

An Italian masterpiece

From the great Italian book "il Deserto dei Tartari" by Dino Buzzati - one of the masters of European 20th century - Valerio Zurlini managed this strange film with a great cast of characters. In a lost fort named Bastiano in the heart of an unknown dessert some soldiers are waiting for an attack to give a sense to their life.

This is the story of a great part of us and this is what Buzzati thought. The life of Giovanni Drogo (Giuliano Gemma) - young lieutenant - is inside the fort like our life is inside something perhaps more immaterial but very similar.