Desert Passion

Starring:Carrie Janisse, Missy Browning, Tony Bond, Michael McMillen, Amy Thomson (II), Nicole Sassaman, Elizabeth Christiansen, Jeri Thompson, Nicole Lyn Marinello, Madison Monk, Merle Nicks, Nicholas Hill, Scott McElroy, Nicholas Wright, Yvonne Davis, Mercy Santos, Brian Erik, Robert J. Litt, Christopher Carlsson, James Richer
Director: Carlo Gustaff
Studio: DVD Ltd
Product Type: DVD

Average customer rating:

By Rose Marie in Roseburg, Oregon
passion in the desert dvd
Haunting, Flawless Mirage
Flawed, terrible beauty
Magnificent, tragic,beautifully profound, slightly bizarre in the most understandable way.

Passion in the Desert
Starring: Ben Daniels , Michel Piccoli , Paul Meston , Kenneth Collard , and Nadia Odeh
Director: Lavinia Currier
Manufacturer: Image Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BC8T0U
Release Date: 2005-12-06

Amazon.com

When it was released in 1998, Passion in the Desert was largely dismissed by critics, many of whom derided the film as silly, pretentious, or altogether misguided by first-time director Lavinia Currier. It's a pity, because this is the kind of mesmerizing, mostly nonverbal film that weaves its own particular spell on receptive viewers. Based on a novella by the great French writer Honoré de Balzac and set in Egypt in 1798, the story focuses on Augustin (played by British actor Ben Daniels), a soldier in Napoleon's army who is separated from his unit and lost in the desert. There he encounters a female leopard and, as the title suggests, the film daringly develops a relationship between man and beast--a relationship that may push the boundaries of credibility for many viewers, but which works in the strange, otherworldly context of the story. It's best to accept the film on its own terms--a film about a man reduced to his purest basic instincts, or a parable that should not be confused for any kind of literal reality. Otherwise, the film will surely seem as odd and silly as naysaying critics said it was.

As a rookie director (after directing theater and working for the Merchant-Ivory production team), Currier seems uncertain of precisely what kind of film she's attempting, and the result is uneven in its narrative thrust. But Passion in the Desert is triumphant as a sensual and sensory experience, casting its spell through magnificent cinematography (on locations in Petra, Jordan and Moab, Utah), and the purity of its visual narrative. Obviously chosen for his own feline features, Daniels deserves credit for playing so convincingly with his sleek, spotted co-star (actually, three leopards were used during filming), and the leopard itself is majestically graceful and fascinating to watch. This is a film to be savored not as a rich and altogether satisfying story (which bears thematic resemblance to Walkabout), but as a film full of magical moments, hypnotic in its beauty and its depiction of nature, both soothing and savage. --Jeff Shannon

Description

From the controversial novella comes the story of a young army officer who finds himself stranded in the Sahara desert. Left to his own devices, Augustin Robert (Beautiful Thing's, Ben Daniels) would surely die...but after stumbling upon mysterious ruins housing a wild leopard, the man and beast form an inextricable bond. The mysteries of Egypt unfold in this mystical and lyrical journey that explores the link between man and beast, an exotic and lustrous experience you'll never forget.

Customer Reviews:

By Rose Marie in Roseburg, Oregon.......2007-06-14

By chance, flipping the TV channels I encountered this movie being shown although I missed the beginning. As I kept watching this movie, when Simoon came into the scene I was trapped! The tigress is of such beauty, and the man can not help but bond with this beautiful animal that saves his life and protects and feeds him even. The scene that made me even feel that the man has sex feelings for the animal is when he is caressing Simoon's paws, with such love, like caressing a woman and I understood he was in love with the tiger. His jealousy when she dissappears while enjoying with a tiger mate, and his sense of possesion like a jealous lover when he tries to tie Simoon to make her wait for his return, which results in the lovers turning against each other. I was speechless after the movie ended, it is a lovely love story on its own, when an individual tries to capture his beloved one's personality and even looks, when he tries to convert into a tiger when he is longing for Simoon and looking desperately in the arid desert for his loved one. I was so entranced in this movie I could not help but ordering it from Amazon so I can watch it over and over again. Wonderful movie, beautiful story, different, strange and captivating. I recommend watch this movie in a quiet atmosphere so you can enjoy every detail in the almost silent movie.

passion in the desert dvd.......2007-01-11

Good movie hard to find on dvd. Its nice to find stuff thats hard to find on amazon

Haunting, Flawless Mirage.......2006-11-27

We hunger for Simoom: that object of intoxicating, addictive, ultimately deadly passion. Simoom, also a Saharan wind, comes from an Arabic word for "poisonous drug". But a poison is only dangerous if consumed, and Balzac's caution for lovers is to deny the overpowering need to consume--or possess. Yet perhaps passion is inevitably consuming...This is a lyrical, stunningly well made production of a tale that should have been impossible to film, and lingers in memory as a shimmering mirage. Its attention to detail, even the tack, weapons and tactics of Napoleonic and Mameluke cavalry, its loving caress of the harsh desert landscape itself, its evocation of oppressive sun, heat, thirst, hunger and desperation, all permit the magical human-djinn-leopard relationship to evolve so naturally: heartbreakingly real yet seductively veiled in entrancing ambiguity. "Passion" is a flawless jewel that may have been lost in the sands but once found, will haunt you for years.

Flawed, terrible beauty.......2006-11-18

I can understand Riamon's criticism of the film. The film *is* flawed. Before we meet Simoom the leopardess, the action is forced, the motivations unclear, and, the whole thing seems calculated to steer you into the main action like early horror movies (don't open that door, stupid...why did he open that door? ). Oh, and there are far too many long, lingering shots of augustin doing something narcissitic. That's the bad news.

The good news is this: It is beautiful. Stunning even. And it is a real, completely irony-less, tragedy. After Simoom comes on the scene, the love story happens naturally. Absolutely ineluctable, absolutely effortless, the movie moves towards the tragic ending, as unstoppable as a sandstorm, as quiet as a desert, as relentless as love. The ending was no suprise at all, but haunted me for days afterwards. I loved it.

Magnificent, tragic,beautifully profound, slightly bizarre in the most understandable way........2006-11-14

This film to me, is absolutely gorgeous.

The bond between this man and the leopard is beyond words.
In fact, the film has little or no dialog, everything is exquisitly
expressed through simply watching every expression, every movement.

The love and passion some may say is quite on the bizarre side.
Personally, I don't percieve it that way. I understand this relationship.

This film may not be for everyone, however I still think and wish everybody would see this amazing film.

Debra B.

La Pasion Segun Berenice (The Passion of Berenice)

Average customer rating:

The misterious ways of human attraction

La Pasion Segun Berenice (The Passion of Berenice)
Starring: Pedro Armendáriz Jr. , Martha Navarro , Blanca Torres , Emma Roldán , and Magnolia Rivas
Director: Jaime Humberto Hermosillo
Manufacturer: Desert Mountain
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008DDVA
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Customer Reviews:

The misterious ways of human attraction.......2004-06-12

Watching this film, it would be like going to a therapist and have an enlightening experience in human relations, identity, and sexuality. This is the story of an adventurous man and a repressed woman in a rural location somewhere in Mexico. Berenice, the main character, portrays an extraordinary cool woman controlled by her stingy godmother, subordinated by her status as a widower, limited by her insignificant salary from her educational career, abandoned in a narrow minded town, and disrupted of the benefits of living her life to the fullest. She is the epitome of so many people in many eras, not only women, repressed by so many factors in Mexican society, and others as well. She is an adult woman inside of a glass box that eventually will be broken and Berenice will breath again. This film allows us to see her life from the secret window of the voyeuristic eye. It is mysterious, sensual, and dramatic. It was great!

Average customer rating:

THIS PHOENIX NEVER RISES
Good independent effort

Ice Cold in Phoenix
Starring: Casar Reyes , April Shepherd , Razel Wolf , Duane Espinoza , and Jose Rosete
Director: Lindsay Shonteff
Manufacturer: Mti Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Love Circles
Paradise Uncut [Import Version]
A Lover's Revenge
The Dreamers (Original Uncut NC-17 Version)

ASIN: B0001US5Z6
Release Date: 2004-06-29

Product Description

A man who was abused his whole life, tries to lead a better life, only to discover that the more he tries to control things, the looser his grip on reality becomes. When he finally makes one last attempt to set things straight with his father, he is spurned, and is set off on a psychotic downward spiral. His actions lead him to the desert with a sexy woman he hardly knows, her jealous boyfriend, and a pistol, finding himself in a situation that literally comes full circle - with less control over the situation than he even had as a child. Find out who ends up six feet under and Ice Cold in Phoenix.

Features:

Widescreen Format

Trailers

Interactive Menus

Scene Selection

Optional Spanish Subtitles

System Requirements:

Running Time 89 Min

Format: DVD MOVIE

Customer Reviews:

THIS PHOENIX NEVER RISES.......2005-03-17

I try not to be too harsh on some of these lesser known, "indie" films, because I go into them with reserved expectations. ICE COLD IN PHOENIX however is one of the worst movies I've forced myself to finish watching. Screenwrtier/director Lindsay Craig Shonteff resorts to crude, offensive dialogue to exploit the sexual deviance of all the people involved. Duane Espinoza as the coldhearted murderer, Ryan Kelly (Where in the hell did they come up with such an Irish name for an obvious Hispanic actor?) is one of the worst actors to blight our screens. But the rest of this cast is even worse: April Shepherd and Razel Wolf as the "sex objects" are about as sexy as cantaloupes, and Cesar Reyes as the studly Caesar couldn't act his way out of a cellophane wrapper. The violence is sadistic and the sex scenes are as exploitative as one can get outside of a soft porn movie. There isn't one character in the film who is likeable and the climax is so strained and preposterous, one can only stare in disbelief when the final credits roll up. This is also another movie that adds terrible music whose only justifiable inclusion is to drown out some of the awful dialogue. I've seen some really rotten movies, but this one is soaring to the top of my list. Avoid if you have any taste in even bad movies!!!

Good independent effort.......2004-08-20

Our main character, a handsome 27 year old drifter, goes on a killing/raping rampage because he needs to get back at the world for having had an abusive father as a child. When he drops by his old man's place to make peace with him, he's bluntly rejected and this event appears to trigger his criminal spree. A rash of kidnappings, rape and murder follows, as our hero makes the rest of the world pay for his miserable upbringing. Then he hooks up with a thuggish couple he encounters on the road, a fateful turning point in our main character's life.
This feature was shot on digital video, and the picture quality is very good, the photography has a good eye for the arid Arizona landscape, which serves as a metaphorical counterpoint to our characters' desperate lives. The film is sexually bold and its violence is swift and brutal, but both are justified and in context with the story at hand. There seems to be an undercurrent of social commentary in here which is never developed beyond the obvious, but the film's dog-eat-dog view of the world comes through loud and clear before the credits roll.
Note: The film was originally rated NC-17, then reedited to an R, and that is the version contained on this DVD.

Average customer rating:

Brings back memories of the ol' Cinemax days!
NOT TOO BAD
good dirty movie
TERRIBLE BUT FUN
it is one of the best movies

Desert Passion
Starring: Carrie Janisse , Missy Browning , Tony Bond , Michael McMillen , and Amy Thomson (II)
Director: Carlo Gustaff
Manufacturer: DVD Ltd
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Sexual Intrigue
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ASIN: 6305280134
Release Date: 1998-12-02

Customer Reviews:

Brings back memories of the ol' Cinemax days!.......2001-03-21

Remember those days of hormone-laden male adolescence when you snuck into the living room in the middle of the night, making sure you didn't rouse your dozing parents, just to watch Cinemax? And this movie was just the thing you were lookin' for, wasn't it? Hell, you probably even had a videotape handy to record it for future reference, din't'cha? Hey, don't you start fibbin' to me, boy! And just what was it about this flick that enticed you?

Acting? Feh, who needs it?

Plot? Yeah, right! Like you were paying any attention to the story at all!

Nope- you know what it was that kept you watchin'... nudies! T & A and softcore scenes! Gave you kinduva funny feelin', didn't it? Yep, it sure was a memorable experience to say the least! I know it was for me. So fear not- "Desert Passion" features plenty of T & A and softcore moments, with very little real acting and a less-than-original nudie flick plot. Wow- yet another version of the "women being used as sex slaves" story! Where have I seen that before...?

For those who consider DVD extras for such movies overkill, you're in luck! This skin-show cuts right to the chase... no trailers, filmographies, or chapter searches to get in the way of your enjoyment. Just hit PLAY to fire 'er up! Ah, sweet simplicity...

`Late!

NOT TOO BAD.......2000-08-06

This film has sentimental value for me since it is the first soft core movie I saw Cinemax a couple of years ago. It keeps popping up again so it must be popular. Not nearly as good as other Cinmax mainstays such as Femalien I and II, Alien Files, and Virtual Encounters I and II, but still well worth watching; most of the girls never appeared in other pictures; thank goodness that's true for Tony Bond too.

good dirty movie.......2000-02-03

This movie has lots of nudity and most of the women look good. But unlike most pornographic movies, it actually has a plot. It's about a man that puts women in a trance so they'll have sex with him. The needle that they stick in the girls' necks is actually pretty cool, it looks futuristic. However, it looks like the director just rushed through the movie, but for what it is, it's a good movie.

TERRIBLE BUT FUN.......1999-11-28

It's not a very good movie, but who can resist not too attractive but very sexy girls in tank tops and denim short shorts?

There is a very good Roman bath orgy scene

it is one of the best movies.......1999-03-24

This movie is good, that you want to see it over and over agai

Lovers of Arctic Circle/Passion in the Desert/Esme

Average customer rating:

Lovers of Arctic Circle/Passion in the Desert/Esme
Starring: Lovers of Arctic Circle , Passion in the Desert , and Esme
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Charlie Rose with John McCain; Helen Fielding; Lavinia Currier (June 24, 1998)

Average customer rating:

Charlie Rose with John McCain; Helen Fielding; Lavinia Currier (June 24, 1998)

Manufacturer: Charlie Rose
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( C ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

Description

First, John McCain (R-AZ) discusses the turmoil he has been in over legislation against tobacco companies, affirmative action, U.S. foreign policy, and other current affairs. Then, Helen Fielding discusses her new novel, Bridget Jones' Diary, which satirizes the life of a career woman. Finally, Lavinia Currier discusses her new movie, Passion in the Desert, based on a Balzac novella, about a French soldier stranded in the unknown land of Africa.

Average customer rating:

Brings back memories of the ol' Cinemax days!
NOT TOO BAD
good dirty movie
TERRIBLE BUT FUN
it is one of the best movies

Desert Passion
Starring: Carrie Janisse , Missy Browning , Tony Bond , Michael McMillen , and Amy Thomson (II)
Director: Carlo Gustaff
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Drama | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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