characterized the final scene of Vivian and Cay at the train station as "a subversive take on hollywood endings". Curve described Desert Hearts as "possibly the first feature film with fully-rounded female characters who are attracted to each other without that attraction being contested by a male." In 2007, Outfest named Desert Hearts one of the "25 Films That Changed Our Lives". It was one of "The 25 Most Important LGBT Films" in a 2014 IndieWire reader's poll. In 2017, Autostraddle ranked it at 25 of the best 102 lesbian movies of all time. In 2020, The A.V. Club named Desert Hearts one of the 50 most important American independent films. Audience reception Lesbian literary critic Camille Paglia praised the film for its "riveting performances", having seen it 11 times in theaters. She claimed that Patricia Charbonneau's "magic" came from hormonal glow, as she had found out she was pregnant before shooting began. In her landmark work Sexual Personae (1990), Paglia wrote: "The closest thing I have ever seen to Shakespeare's Rosalind is Patricia Charbonneau's spirited performance as a coltish Reno cowgirl in Donna Deitch's film Desert Hearts." Actress Jane Lynch said she had never "seen in celluloid such real passion and desire between two women" and had watched the video "over 50 times". C.J. Prince, author and executive director of North Jersey Pride, wrote in 2014 that Desert Hearts "was refreshingly different, not only because the characters weren't psychotic, but also because it didn't end in depressing, unrequited love...or death", adding "the film holds up as a bold, beautifully rendered story about the search for authenticity and love, and the sacrifices one has to make to find them...For a coming-out movie, it's as good as it gets." In an assessment of lesbian genre films since the 1980s, Slate said the film was "immensely popular with lesbian audiences" and earned "cult classic status...years after it was released". Box office By the fall of 1986, Desert Hearts had grossed $2.5 million in the United States and Canada. The revenue from its rental by independent distribution companies was $1.1 million. Accolades Home media The VHS of Desert Hearts was released by Vestron Video in the United States in December 1986, and in the United Kingdom by Vestron Video International on April 3, 1987. The DVD was released by MGM Home Entertainment in Region 1 on January 23, 2001. A 2-Disc "Vintage Collection"