''The Desert of the Tartars'' ( it, Il deserto dei Tartari) is a 1976 Italian film by

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

Valerio Zurlini Valerio Zurlini (19 March 1926 – 26 October 1982) was an Italian film director, stage director and screenwriter. Biography During his law studies in Rome, he started working in the theatre. In 1943, he joined the Italian resistance. Zurlin ...

with an international cast including

Jacques Perrin Jacques Perrin (born Jacques André Simonet; 13 July 1941 – 21 April 2022) was a French actor and film producer. He was occasionally credited as Jacques Simonet. Early life Jacques André Simonet was born on the Boulevard Port-Royal in P ...

Vittorio Gassman Vittorio Gassman (; born Gassmann; 1 September 1922 – 29 June 2000), popularly known as , was an Italian actor, director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the greatest Italian actors, whose career includes both important productions ...

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

Francisco Rabal Francisco Rabal Valera (8 March 1926 – 29 August 2001), better known as Paco Rabal, was a Spanish actor, director, and screenwriter born in Águilas, a town in the south-western part of the province of Murcia, Spain. Throughout his career, Raba ...

Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...

, Fernando Rey, and

Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

. The cast also included veteran Iranian film actor Mohammad-Ali Keshavarz. Based on

Dino Buzzati Dino Buzzati-Traverso (; 14 October 1906 – 28 January 1972) was an Italian novelist, short story writer, painter and poet, as well as a journalist for ''Corriere della Sera''. His worldwide fame is mostly due to his novel ''The Tartar Ste ...

's novel ''

The Tartar Steppe ''The Tartar Steppe'' ( it, Il deserto dei Tartari, ), also published as ''The Stronghold'' (''La fortezza''), is a novel by Italian author Dino Buzzati, published in 1940. The novel tells the story of a young officer, Giovanni Drogo, and his li ...

'' and set in about 1900, it tells the story of a young officer in an unnamed army who is sent to an ancient fortress that guards the desert frontier with the Tartars. Filmed in Arg-e Bam,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and released on 29 October 1976 in Italy, it was later shown as part of the Cannes Classics section of the

2013 Cannes Film Festival The 66th Cannes Film Festival took place in Cannes, France, from 15 to 26 May 2013. Steven Spielberg was the head of the jury for the main competition. New Zealand film director Jane Campion was the head of the jury for the Cinéfondation and ...

. The film's striking visual style, noted for its scenery, lighting, and cinematography, was influenced by the work of Italian painter

Giorgio de Chirico Giuseppe Maria Alberto Giorgio de Chirico ( , ; 10 July 1888 – 20 November 1978) was an Italian artist and writer born in Greece. In the years before World War I, he founded the '' scuola metafisica'' art movement, which profoundly influ ...

.Rolando Caputo. Literary cineastes: the Italian novel and the cinema. In: Peter E. Bondanella & Andrea Ciccarelli (eds.).
The Cambridge Companion to the Italian Novel
'. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003. P. 182-196. The score was by Ennio Morricone.

Plot

The first posting of the young lieutenant Drogo is to a remote medieval castle on the frontier of the empire, facing the empty desert of the ferocious Tartars. In this lonely outpost, though no enemy appears, the garrison solemnly goes through all the rituals of military life. Isolation and stress erode them mentally and physically, leading to erratic behaviour and illness. The officers bicker continually and a platoon of soldiers mutinies when one of them is shot for alleged desertion. The commanding officer rides into the desert alone and shoots himself. In the end Drogo too falls ill and, put into a carriage to take him back to civilization, collapses dead.

Cast

: Lt. Drogo *

: Col. Filimore * Giuliano Gemma: Maj. Matis *

Helmut Griem Helmut Griem (6 April 1932 – 19 November 2004) was a German film, television and stage actor, and director. Biography Born in Hamburg, Griem was primarily a stage actor, appearing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus ...

: Lt. Simeon *

: the General * Fernando Rey: Lt. Col. Nathanson *

Laurent Terzieff Laurent Terzieff (27 June 1935, in Toulouse – 2 July 2010, in Paris) was a French actor. Biography Terzieff was the son of French ceramist Jean-Louis Trintignant Jean-Louis Xavier Trintignant (; 11 December 1930 – 17 June 2022) was a French actor. He made his theatrical debut in 1951, and went on to be regarded as one of the best French dramatic actors of the post-war era. He starred in many classic fi ...

: Surgeon Maj. Rovine *

: Cpt. Ortiz *

Giuseppe Pambieri Giuseppe Pambieri (born 18 November 1944) is an Italian stage, television and film actor. Life and career Born in Varese, Pambieri studied acting at the Drama School of the Piccolo Teatro in Milan where he also met his future wife, the actress ...

: Lt. Rathenau *

: Sgt. Maj. Tronk *

Lilla Brignone Lilla Brignone (23 August 1913 – 24 March 1984) was an Italian film and theater actress. She appeared in 40 films between 1930 and 1982. Her father was film director and actor Guido Brignone and her aunt was actress Mercedes Brignone. Her ...

: Drogo's mother

Awards

Won

* David di Donatello Awards 1977: **David Award - Best Director:

**David Award - Best Film **Special David Award - Best Actor: Giuliano Gemma *

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists The Nastro d'Argento, also known by its translated name Silver Ribbon, is an Italian film award awarded each year since 1946 by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists (Italian: ''Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani ...

1977: **Silver Ribbon Award - Best Director:

Nominated

1977: **Silver Ribbon Award - Best Supporting Actor: Giuliano Gemma

References

External links

*
Notes on Cinematograph
*Federica Capoferri (1998)
I Tartari alle spalle. Dal romanzo di Dino Buzzati al film di Valerio Zurlini
''

Italica Italica ( es, Itálica) was a Roman town founded by Italic settlers in Hispania; its site is close to the town of Santiponce, part of the province of Seville in modern-day Spain. It was founded in 206 BC by Roman general Scipio as a settleme ...

'' 75 (2), 226-241. {{DEFAULTSORT:Desert of the Tartars, The 1976 films 1970s war drama films Italian war drama films 1970s Italian-language films Films based on Italian novels Films based on works by Dino Buzzati Films set in the 19th century Films shot in Iran Films directed by Valerio Zurlini Films scored by Ennio Morricone Films set in deserts Films set in fortresses 1976 drama films 1970s Italian films