1976 film
The Desert of the Tartars (Italian: Il deserto dei Tartari) is a 1976 Italian film by director Valerio Zurlini with an international cast including Jacques Perrin, Vittorio Gassman, Max von Sydow, Francisco Rabal, Philippe Noiret, Fernando Rey, and Jean-Louis Trintignant. The cast also included veteran Iranian film actor Mohammad-Ali Keshavarz.
Based on Dino Buzzati's novel The Tartar Steppe 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 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 film's striking visual style, noted for its scenery, lighting, and cinematography, was influenced by the work of Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico. The score was by Ennio Morricone.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.