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starring: Jon Voight, JoBeth Williams, Annabeth Gish, Ellen Barkin, Jay Underwooddirected by: Eugene Corr
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786303686875
Format: Color, HiFi Sound, NTSC
ISBN: 6303686877
Label: Sony Pictures
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Sony Pictures
Release Date: August 06, 1996
Running Time: 105 minutes
Sales Rank: 33172
Studio: Sony Pictures
Theatrical Release Date: 1986-08
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Editorial Review:
Amazon.com:
A quartet of fine performances support this bittersweet story about coming of age in the shadow of the atomic bomb. Rose Chismore (Annabeth Gish, in her movie debut) is a shy girl measuring out her teenage days in Las Vegas, Nevada, circa 1950. Both Rose and Las Vegas are on the cusp of change--the girl is experiencing the first awkward pangs of maturity thanks to a local boy, while the town is suddenly abuzz with scientists en route to the nuclear testing facilities at nearby White Sands and Alamogordo. But at Rose's home, life is at a standstill. Her stepfather (Jon Voight) is a traumatized World War II vet whose drinking and nightmares are leading to physical abuse, and her mother (JoBeth Williams) labors under a gambling addiction that threatens to tear down her sunny veneer. Rose finds herself sitting at both a physical and emotional ground zero. All that's needed is a spark to set off an explosion--which comes in the curvy form of Aunt Starr (Ellen Barkin), a brassy former beauty queen who's come for a quickie divorce and, hopefully, a new husband, just in time for the first A-bomb test. Desert Bloom is a gently moving film about growth, change, and maturity, for better and worse. It's buoyed by the strength of its leads; Gish, in particular, is a revelation. A fine sleeper for the whole family, with only a smattering of language and violence. Corr later wrote the similarly unsung Prefontaine. --Paul Gaita
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Heartbreaking Triumph
A powerful and heartbreaking portrayal of what it is like to walk on egg shells in a household inhabited by an alcoholic husband and father.
The story deftly renders the awkward and secretive moral climate around alcohol, sex, and infidelity in post- WWII America. Unflinching in his lack of sensitivity, John Voight nonetheless succeeds in winning a kind of sad sympathy for his post-combat nightmares and his tortured reality. Jo Beth Williams, Annabeth Gish, and Ellen Barkin give outstandingly ... Read More
Rating: - A Great American Story
Annabeth Gish gives a great performance as a young girl struggling to understand her life growing up in 1950's Las Vegas. Her mother is trying to keep their family together through some pretty hard times. The town is under constant threat of the A-Bomb. Rose's (Gish) stepfather is an alcoholic struggling with the demons of war. The story is great and I think many families with veterans can identify.
Rating:  - Compelling
Set near Las Vegas in 1950, this is a coming-of-age movie about a 13-year-old girl as she tries to deal with the turbulence in her family in the form mainly of her alcoholic stepfather (Jon Voight). An aunt is living with them for 42 days in order to fulfill the residency requirement to get a quicky divorce. The girl catches Voight and the aunt in an embrace one day, and bolts out. Voight finds her near a nuclear test site. The story is quite intelligent and compelling. The movie has strong character development, ... Read More
Rating: - The Walking Wounded
Sensitively told coming-of-age film set against Las Vegas and the early years of atomic testing. Rose (Annabeth Gish) is thirteen and very much wants to connect with stepdad Jack (Jon Voight), an alcoholic WWII veteran still possessed by the demons of combat. Trouble is, she's operating on one track, while he's operating on two, such that just when they seem at last to converge, he goes off on a delusionary binge. Movie is notable for the exceptionally fine performances of these two actors. Gish, tottering atop two ... Read More
Rating: - A story of a troubled family
I think this movie was extremely good. Great acting by Annabeth Gish and Jon Voight. Having this movie be Annabeth's first big screen. About a troubled father who got hurt in the war and abuses his oldest step-daughter. A compeling story of protecting yourself, and love, and betraying the people you love.
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