Customer Reviews

The Dove [VHS]

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This 1974 film with Joseph Bottoms is based on a true story. The movie is as contemporary today as when it was made except for some background music. The main theme, however, is a timeless piece of high spirited music that salt and peppers the entire experience. This is kind of in the same spirit and feel of the Bruce Brown surf film "The Endless Summer" but uses sailing as the vehicle to unfold the world. Great photography...realistic, handsome and attractive lead characters. This is a sleeper film...a real gem...and thank God it is now available on video after all these years!!!! A must see movie for any age. This is NOT a big deal Hollywood production, either. But it is done with quality and intimacy. You are the unseen crew member on this 23 foot sail boat. Don't miss this one. Joseph Bottoms must look at this film these days as kind of a home movie of his younger days. This is a WONDERFUL FILM that like "Wind" did not get a lot of theater play or attention. No matter...here it is at Amazon.com!!!!!

Do you have kids who lack motivation? This is a movie that can open many doors to their learning experience. You can follow up with two books about Robin Graham and his voyage. Finishing this circumnavigation took a lot of courage and guts. He wanted to quit several times, yet stuck with his dream.
Even though the movie is Hollywood, you can use it to help your kids see the world. They can learn what Robin did, that people can be happy without all the glitz of wealth. Plus no one in the movie gets shot, blown up, or abused. You can't go wrong with this movie about a real person who sailed around the world in a very small sailboat. You can climb a mountain in a week, but this took 4 years to complete. It's worth a look.

THE DOVE is a formulaic and predictable Hollywoodization of Robin Lee Graham's bestselling book, DOVE. Graham was the youngest male sailor to complete a circumnavigation, in a 24 foot sloop.

"The Dove" suffers from too much saccharine and not enough vinegar. While the location shooting is superb, the film hardly lives up to it's storyline, downplaying the dangers and the risks of singlehanded sailing in favor of overkill on the romantic side. The actual passage becomes a pseudodocumentary, mostly lacking in drama, and secondary to the love story. The Grahams'(Robin Lee and Patti's) love story as shown is sickeningly sweet.

The movie is not helped by the fact that neither Bottoms nor Raffin can act their way out of a paper bag. They are saddled with a poor script and truly maudlin dialogue. Rather than being a theatrical release the film has an "Afterschool Special" feel to it.

Despite it's drawbacks, it is well worth watching if you are (1) a sailing fanatic who can't get enough of boats, (2) stuck inside the house on a rainy day (with or without the kids) with nothing much to do, and (3) a reader of DOVE who is familiar with the story.

THE DOVE is harmless, enjoyable fluff.

I hired this movie on video for the first time about 15 years ago. Enjoying this movie so much, it became a regular addition to the tapes I would hire out on a regular basis from the video store.

I had the opportunity to purchase a copy of this film last year. This innocent and entertaining movie is still enjoyed today as much as it was yesterday.

Nice movie, nice scenes, a good watch for sailors

While most people seem to dwell on this film's purpose as a motion picture, it may help to think of it more as a illistrative documentary, albeit a highly fictionalized one. The drawbacks in this are that the true 1965-1970 story is too often obscured and altered, and for only cheap gains. Graham did NOT set fire to his boat; he (almost) abandoned it. He changed boats in the BVI (but that's just too complicated for any movie). The first boat was not sold in Ecuador... and it goes on. We do see more of Patti Rattertree, such as her hitchhiking across the Outback which is not covered in the book, and how she kept herself in paying work along the way. But Graham DID shoot at the shark that ate his cat. I contend that no other movie even comes close to grasping the essence of a young man's solo circumnavigation, a feat which is itself the stuff of legend, and of dreams.

The true gems of this movie are the cinematography and John Barry's haunting musical score, both of which capture the exotic flavor of a global sea voyage. The camera shots are appropriately wide and awesome; the intimate scenes of the little Ranger 23 charging over (real) ocean swells are spine-tingling. The John Barry love song surprisingly sticks wth you (remember he had off from his regular assignment since McCartney and Martin did 1973's James Bond film).

The logistics of the moviemaking involved the purchase and shipment of five Ranger 23s to different parts of the world: Hawaii, Fiji, South Africa, Ecuador and California. The ocean-capable 1971-era boat does an acceptable job of approximating Graham's own 1960 Allied Lapworth 24 (despite the movie character correcting a radio report by saying Dove is '23 feet'). Perhaps the worst error is the obviously faked scene of Graham's (second) rigging failure in the Indian Ocean; but then we see actor Bottoms actually handling the out-of-control boat in REAL 10-foot swells, which reminds us that in most cases they really did sail the real boat in the real ocean to make the movie.

The nice thing to remember about this film is in the opening credits: 'Produced by Gregory Peck'. Obviously someone of that stature thought enough of the project to finance it himself. 'The Dove' is, like the voyage it represents on film, only a labor of love.

(And WHEN do we get a DVD version?)

...

This movie inspired me to want to buy my own boat and sail around the world (I never did, though). What an ideal adventure, as a boy sails to exotic and beautiful places and finds true love along the way. It wasn't an easy going, as he almost lost his life, but the rewards of such an undertaking are something most of us can only dream of. I always watch this movie as if it was me taking this once-in-a-lifetime voyage.

"The Dove" is based on the true-life story of Robin Lee Graham (Joseph Bottoms), a 16-year-old from California who circumnavigated the globe sailing unassisted. He was the first teenager to complete the feat, although it took him nearly 5 years due to his frequent stops. Along the way, he met his future wife, Patti (Deborah Raffin), who ended up following him on land.

For a film about sailing, I was surprised by the relative lack of sailing scenes. In particular, in his real-life voyage, Graham encountered numerous storms and his boat was even demasted several times. Instead, the movie spent far more time on his budding relationship with Patti and his stops on land. I guess these elements were far easier to film than sailing scenes. It's a pity, though, because I didn't find much compelling about the romance story, and the scenes of sailing were beautifully filmed, which is not surprising considering that the masterful Sven Nykvist was the cinematographer. The film gets a bit more interesting when depicting Graham's weariness with the trip; although, it too often makes it seem like he just wants to be done with it all so he can spend more time with his girlfriend.

Joseph Bottoms fills the role of wind-swept 70s California teenager quite well; his earnest smile and blank stare suit the role. He was awarded with the Golden Globe for New Star of the Year - Actor. The movie may be a bit too saccharine, though, for some audiences. The 1975 reviewer from the New York Times noted that the two main actors "grin and glow at each other until you yearn for a catastrophe." I didn't have quite a strong reaction against the sweetness of the film, but I did yearn for a bit more realism. The movie ends up playing like a family film, but I can't think of many kids who would enjoy watching the syrupy romance, so I'm a bit puzzled as to who might best like this film.

Based on a true story out of the National Geographic magazine, this film is a worhty rendition of the original story. Slightly over-dramatized, with some very cheesy soundtrack tunes (along with a couple decent ones) there is some really awful acting from Bottoms and his beautiful co-star. Yet, a must see for any hopeless romantic that has a sailing fetish.

While sappy and saccharin the actors are engaging and the story is compelling (as all sea sagas are to me). Actually i found the clumsey acting part of the innocent charm. I own a Ranger 23 the same boat used in the film ( I believe Graham's real life boat was a 24-footer) so this film is especially wonderful to me. One reviewer summed it up well . A great film for a romantic with a sailing fetish. If you like this read Maiden Voyage by Tanya Aebi. Its both a better sea yarn and a better love story and would make a great film.