Product Details

• Actors: Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, Michael Rooker, William Hickey
• Directors: Harold Becker
• Writers: Richard Price
• Producers: Louis A. Stroller, Martin Bregman, Michael Bregman
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: February 28, 1995
• Run Time: 113 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (57 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6301627091
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,906 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

After a career slump that plagued him through most of the 1980s, Al Pacino made a stellar comeback in this taut 1989 thriller, playing a weary New York police detective who falls in love with the woman (Ellen Barkin) who is the prime suspect in the murder case he's investigating. Expertly written by Richard Price and directed by Harold Becker, the story is designed to keep its central characters (and the viewer) in a state of constant suspicion and arousal--an emotional combination that sends dangerous sparks flying between Pacino and Barkin. Their chemistry is intense, and their love scenes are some of the hottest of any movie of its decade. But Sea of Love is not merely concerned with cheap titillation. It's a riveting whodunit with scenes of nail-biting suspense and memorable dialogue that make it as interesting to listen to as it is to watch. Barkin had made a similarly sexy impression in The Big Easy, and here she gives one of the best performances of her underrated career, matching Pacino's excellence scene for scene. The ending's a bit of a letdown because the murder solution comes somewhat out of the blue, but it's the acting and suspense that you'll remember most--qualities that make Sea of Love one of the best films of its kind. --Jeff Shannon

Amazon.com

After a career slump that plagued him through most of the 1980s, Al Pacino made a stellar comeback in this taut 1989 thriller, playing a weary New York police detective who falls in love with the woman (Ellen Barkin) who is the prime suspect in the murder case he's investigating. Expertly written by Richard Price and directed by Harold Becker, the story is designed to keep its central characters (and the viewer) in a state of constant suspicion and arousal--an emotional combination that sends dangerous sparks flying between Pacino and Barkin. Their chemistry is intense, and their love scenes are some of the hottest of any movie of its decade. But Sea of Love is not merely concerned with cheap titillation. It's a riveting whodunit with scenes of nail-biting suspense and memorable dialogue that make it as interesting to listen to as it is to watch. Barkin had made a similarly sexy impression in The Big Easy, and here she gives one of the best performances of her underrated career, matching Pacino's excellence scene for scene. The ending's a bit of a letdown because the murder solution comes somewhat out of the blue, but it's the acting and suspense that you'll remember most--qualities that make Sea of Love one of the best films of its kind. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Holy Cow! Pacino Power!!, March 27, 2005

By 

Eileen Pizarro (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sea of Love (Collector's Edition) (DVD)

This movie rocks! I was so happy to see Pacino again after a much to long absence. Why is it that we never appreciate a person and their talent when there around more often? Pacino is just incrediable in this movie and his pairing with Ellen Barkin is perfect. They definitely go on that list of dynamic on-screen couples. I also enjoyed Pacino and Goodman as partners, but than again I find that Al Pacino is one of those actors that seems to bring out the best in whomever he's working with. The movie never falters for me from beginning to end. Its intense, exciting, humorous and of course sexy. Everyone involved in making this movie ( especially the director and writer ) should be proud. Sea Of Love is a classic!

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beware - full screen version cropped to fit widescreen, May 9, 2003

By A Customer

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Sea of Love (Collector's Edition) (DVD)

This version (Collector's Edition)
is worse than the previous pan & scan full screen version. Here the studio cropped the top and the sides of the full screen version to make it fit anamorphic widescreen format, so you lose more of the picture than the full screen version.
Universal is deceptive in not saying it is a matted widescreen version Buyer beware!
This is not a true widescreen and doesent even say that the original apect ratio was modified to fit 16x9 tvs.

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really scary, really sexy, really really good, December 17, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sea of Love [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Damn, this one keeps you on the edge of your seat. Pacino plays a NYPD detective who falls in love with Ellen Barkin, a woman who's the main suspect in a murder case he's investigating. The mix of suspicion, fear, and sexual arousal is enough to keep the most jaded viewer riveted to the screen, wondering who or what will break first. The chemistry between Pacino and Barkin is intense enough to make the love scenes qualify as some of the hottest of the era.
Super-duper in every way. Wow.