The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea (1976)

Shoking The, Shocking Now

"The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea" was a shocking film when first released in 1976 because of its blend of sex and mystery-bred tension. The newly-released DVD is very high quality and the content--based on Yukio Mishima's novel--remains erotic and scary. The performances are very good, with Sarah Miles especially showing her strengths (and lots of other things). The film is polarizing; many will stop watching in the first 30 minutes, but most will find it captivating. September 10, 2008

A fine film, but is this dvd censored?

Haunting, and utterly creepy oddity from the 70's, a time when film makers could finally begin to bring their personal artistic visions to the screen, without the fear of censorship. The subtle, romantic affair between the woman and the sailor, and the disturbing nature of her young son and his band of twisted friends, make for a jarring combination of light and darkness, innocence and evil. The seaside village is extremely beautiful and provides a fine backdrop to the tale. But after all I heard about "controversial sex scenes," I must admit that i didn't see anything of the sort. There is one scene early on in the film, where Sara Miles masturbates in front of her mirror, while her son watches through a peep hole, covered in sweat! But after that there was really nothing. The scenes with Miles and Kristoferson just arent there. The scene always seems to begin after they are finished with the sex and just lying in eachothers arms. It seems that so much is missing that parts of the story dont even make sense. For instance, when the mother goes berserk after she discovers her son watching; why does she go so crazy, I have to wonder what he saw, because i didnt see anything! Also something he sees through that peephole causes him to develop a totally unreasonable hatred and disrespect for his mother, and her lover, who always treated him very nicely! If this is indeed cut, it is only evidence that censorship is still alive and well and thriving in the closed, dirty minds of Americans. It seems like we should have made some progress since the 1970's, but it saddens me to see that we have somehow degenerated as a society, at least in our views of sexuality. This saddens me for some reason. Other than this glaring and unforgivable flaw, the dvd offers a gorgeous, widescreen print of this film, making it an even greater loss somehow... August 22, 2008

Loses something in the translation

There is much to like in this film. It's certainly stylish, has nice shots of the sea and the English countryside. The actors, Kristofferson and Miles were at the peak of their appeal, and yes, there are plenty of explicit love scenes. However there are a lot of problems, too. The Amazon reviewer does a good job of laying them out.

I found reading some of the reviews of Mishima's novel from which the film is made very useful. It makes much more sense in the context of Japanese culture. Translating it into Western culture robs the story of any credibility, in my opinion. Kristofferson, too, is quintessentially American and brings a very realistic quality to this tale which is quite spare and almost surreal. Mishima's style can make you accept the story he's telling but when it's translated into this realistic, Western setting, much more needs to be explained in order for the film to work.

The "Chief," a young boy who obviously has a dreadful home life, is presented as a psychopath whose cruelty to animals is justified, he thinks, by his superior mentality. Think Leopold and Loeb. I found it hard to believe that he would have been able to get so far with this group of boys, given the fact that they were all from apparently well to do families. The mother, played by Sarah Miles, dislikes this boy but somehow her son manages to keep close company with the group, to the point where he is carried away with the insanity the Chief teaches. The boy, Jonathan, at first is enamored of Jim, the sailor, played by Kristofferson and it seems to be a healthy connection. I found the change in Jonathan to lack credibility. No doubt it works in the novel; here it just seems terribly odd and oddly terrible. The actor playing Jonathan isn't great; maybe that's part of the problem.

It seems that quite a few of the reviewers here are fans of the film for the sex scenes. If that's all you're looking for, I'm sure you can find better ones elsewhere. If you're looking for the meaning of the tale, then I recommend reading the book. March 16, 2008

UNCUT OR EDITED??

UNCUT OR EDITED??

Someone please tell me the truth about this movie. I wanna know if its the original or EDITED version.

Thanks August 17, 2007

A little Sex and a Whole lotta ocean, BUT NO ANIMAL CRUELTY!!!

I purchased this wierd film today on 1/2 price from media play.
I thought it might be an interesting sea film, and it delivers on that point. The cinematography is gorgeous, but the cruelty overshadows it. Thank God for DVD. I was able to stop the scene, and go to the next, when they are about to "operate" on the cat. And I am putting this mildly!!! I would like to take those kids, and castrate them myself!!!!
The scene with them on the row boat is no better. This is where the Chief little brat (and i am being nice!) throws a fire cracker up in the air, the seagull catches it,and blows up and dies!!! Yikes, i can't believe i am explaining this stuff!
The sex is no big deal! I could have directed it better myself!
At least the film folk put in that no animals were harmed during the making of the film! That would be evil in itself.
I wonder nearly 30 years after what the kid actors think of this film ..they are in their 40's now... and what Kris Kristofferson thought of all of this... the ending doesn't go into detail. You know what's going to happen... these kids like the Manson Family too much! anyhoo, that's my story and i am sticking to it!!! January 13, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...