The Desert of the Tartars Limited Edition Blu-ray

Lieutenant Drogo (Jacques Perrin, Corruption) is a young soldier eager to join the fight. After enlisting, he is sent to a border fortress where the troops prepare for battle. As he acclimatises to his new surroundings, he discovers that there is little action and instead of fighting, he becomes embroiled in a battle of endless bureaucracy.

The final film by celebrated auteur Valerio Zurlini ranks among his finest, an existential parable about the futility of war, with echoes of Kafka and Orwell. A haunting adaptation of the influential novel by Dino Buzzati, The Desert of the Tartars stars an incredible cast of the era's finest European actors.

Edition Contents

• Reversible sleeve featuring artwork based on original promotional materials
• Booklet featuring new writing by Michael Brooke and an archival interview with Zurlini
• Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings

Format

• Format: Blu-ray
• Region: AB
• Cert: TBC

Special Features

• 4K restoration of the film from the original negative by Luce-Cinecittà
• Deserts of Vast Eternity - a documentary on Zurlini’s career and influences leading up to the making of The Desert of the Tartars featuring Navid Ghazanfari, Lawrence Venuti, Daniel Riccuito, Willard Bohn, Stephen Volk, Pasquale Iannone and Federica Fioroni (David Cairns, 2026, 68 mins)
• Archival interview with cinematographer Luciano Tovoli (2005, 36 mins)
• Archival interview with producer Mario Gallo (2005, 18 mins)
• Trailer
• Gallery of promotional materials
• Newly improved English subtitle translation