Customer Reviews

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I was 22 when this first came out and thought it was a very emotional and sensuous movie. The ending produced a tremendous feeling of sadness which stayed with me for years. I recently saw it again. Disappointingly it has one of the most erotic scenes edited. The trick of showing time passing by having a picture boat glide across a picture ocean really seems corny. For a better Sarah Miles movie which holds up for its eroticism and story quality, I'd recommend "Ryan's Daughter".

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...

This movie takes the liberty of transplanting the Yukio Mishima novel's setting from Yokohama, Japan to a sleepy English port town. Inevitably, it changes the nationalities of the protagonists (Japanese widow and sailor to English and American, respectively). These modifications are not what detracts from the movie's impact, but instead the plotline and the character development (or rather, the lack of).
Regarding plot, the filmmakers took an oversimplified approach on Mishima's rich examination into the characters' psyches. This successively leads to the poor character development in the film. The actors sincerely try to display intensity in their characters' roles, but without any understanding of their derivations, they muddle the story. A good example involves the "chief" of the boys' gang. We are given an expose his controlling, fascist behavior: one memorable scene involves him angrily kicking out all the members of the gang from his house due to them not grasping his level of consciousness (the twisted, hateful look on this young boy's face shows his ferocity). But without further details on his motives or personality, it's difficult to surmise his attitude. We only see that he is an angry, manipulative, nihilistic monster.
The love affair between the sailor and the mother of one of the gangmembers actully compounds the film's problems. Although their sex scenes are erotic and very explicit (they were considered quite shocking for that time; today they might qualify as soft-core pornography, albeit many will disagree with this), one is left to wonder what attracts these two who have such disparity between them? The director places great emphasis on this physical attraction and spends much time detailing this. Again, a lot of effort being placed into one facet of these people without knowing the fundamentals of them.
This film does have its positive qualities: the English setting is wonderfully photographed and the filmmakers show an earnest effort in conveying Mishima's story onto film.

All the scenes containing adult material are edited and cut.I reccomend you to protest this and wait for an uncensoured version.

I remember hearing how steamy and heavy this movie was when it came out, way back when. I also recall seeing an infamous photo spread that piqued my interest. Having just viewed it, I would have to say that it's disappointing, due mostly to two things: a) it's dated, and b) it tends to be melodramatic instead of dramatic. Unfortunately, the premise of the movie is more interesting than the movie itself. The right elements are there -- lonely, young widow; studly sailor; confused, hormonally driven son; psychotic friend and a surprise ending -- but it seems more like The Exorcist at times than a drama. I think the director was going for a Bergmanesque kind of quiet and seriousness, but the movie doesn't get there. Part of the problem is that the son in the movie isn't up to the task as an actor. The movie is based on a short story, which, I have a feeling, conveys itself better than the movie does. Incidentally, there is one bit in one of the erotic scenes that has been edited out-- also a disappointment since you don't know that when ordering.

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.

I was in San Diego several years back and happened into a downtown video store. I was pleased to find a VHS copy of "Sailor" and couldn't wait to get home so I could watch Kris and Sarah make hot sexy love all over the place. But what I got instead was a G-rated movie suitable for the kids, Grandma, Fido, etc. All the Good Parts of this movie have been deleted...without any sort of "altered version" designation on the package!

Honestly, I wasn't aware that movies were sanitized for home-video release; I thought it was the other way around (i.e. really racy, scandalous stuff unsuitable for theatrical viewing was included on the video). So, what is the name of the genius who deleted this footage, and when will a *complete* version be available?

I couldn't disagree more with the editorial review published here.

I thought this was a fascinating film in a lot of ways. A bit rough in the structure, at times, but overall a very good effort. Some wonderful performances, interesting plot, beautiful scenery.

Anne Osborne (Sarah Miles) is a young widow living in a picturesque seaside village in England. Her troubled son has fallen in with a bad crowd; he belongs to a secret society run by a bully who has his own very definite ideas about the proper order of things. When Anne decides to marry a merchant sailor (Kris Kristofferson), her son takes the news quite badly and turns to his pals for help.

This movie was quite controversial in 1976, and with it's graphic sexuality and shocking cruelty, it still is. Miles is well-cast as the needy widow but sometimes overdoes the cow-eyed trances and histrionics. Kristofferson looks the part of a rugged seaman and the two have great chemistry. The creepy boys club provides some truly cringe-worthy moments as innocent young boys commit unspeakable acts, and this movie is not for the squeamish (especially animal-lovers).

Lovely Devon locations contrast nicely with the increasing tension and overall feeling of doom. An interesting and haunting movie for adults.

"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.