Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Brian Orndorf June 27, 2020

It’s always a tricky proposition to translate the work of Japanese author Yukio Mishima, and writer/director Lewis John Carlino has his hands full with “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea.” The 1976 production moves the action from Japan to England, trying to bring Mishima’s interests in honor, obsession, and anger with it, doing a credible job keeping the tale’s uneasiness alive while juggling some strangely polar-opposite performances. “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea” deals with heavy eroticism and profound psychological issues, and it remains a specialized viewing experience for those interested in a disturbing picture, but one that also does a fine job connecting the behavioral dots, while Carlino’s commitment to the story’s impossibly bleak ending is astounding.

After losing her husband three years ago, widow Anne (Sarah Miles) has focused her attention to the raising of her 14-year-old son, Jonathan (Jonathan Kahn). A troubled boy going through a turbulent time of adolescence, Jonathan spends his daytime with a gang led by Chief (Earl Rhodes), while his nights are filled with thoughts concerning life, death, and sex. Arriving in their port town is Jim (Kris Kristofferson), a ship officer who makes an immediate connection to Anne, who lights up in his presence. They soon embark on a sexual relationship, with Jonathan watching their bedroom activity through a peephole. While he admires Jim’s presence as a shipbound hero, the boy soon loses such enthusiasm when Jim elects to return, committing to a relationship with Anne her son objects to.

While Anne’s passions could power a small city, Jonathan is the lead character of “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea,” and he’s a fascinating study of juvenile confusion headed in all the wrong directions. He’s fatherless without properly mourning the loss, falling in with Chief and his gang, becoming a soldier for an angry general who takes his troops on a journey of rage and existentialism. In the film’s most controversial scene, this misguided, unmonitored teen anger is directed at the drugging and dissection of a cat, and while the moment is ugly (though tastefully shot by master cinematographer Douglas Slocombe), the scientifically balanced evil is critical to the story. Jonathan is going the wrong way with no one to help him, dealing with sexuality that confuses him and a new male figure in his life that initially thrills him. The character is a bundle of issues and attitude Carlino handles with care, giving the adolescent a level of toxic clarity during a confusing time, making this arc captivating, especially when it reaches some forbidding areas of compliance.

The rest of the picture deals with Anne reawakening as a woman, finding herself through masturbation and her time with Jim, with the pair commencing a heated affair that Carlino showcases in long sex scenes. It’s a little much, but attraction between Jim and Anne is understood, and the story’s eroticism is bluntly detailed at times, giving the feature some shock value. Casting isn’t quite as interesting as the mission of many positions for the characters, with Kristofferson offering his traditional stoicism, while Miles goes hog-wild as Anne, feeling everything that comes her way, offering Carlino uncut emotionality and orgasmic emphasis that, at times, almost seems to surprise her co-star.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

"The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea" was originally issued on Blu-ray by Shout Factory in 2012, which I don't personally own but, by all accounts, the release came up short in A/V department. Scorpion Releasing tries their luck with a "New 2019 HD scan of the original negative," working to give the AVC encoded image (2.35:1 aspect ratio) presentation some refreshed clarity. The mission is largely successful, delivering an appealing level of detail throughout the viewing experience, which makes use of tight close-ups and distant imagery, permitting viewers to inspect frame elements. Facial surfaces are textured, along with decorative elements of homes, ships, and shops. Costuming also retain heavy fabrics, including sailor and school coats. Colors are inviting, with distinct greenery and skintones. Clothing offers deep primaries. Delineation is satisfactory. Grain is fine and film-like. Source has some speckling, and jumpy edit spots are common. Mild banding is detected, along with some brief blockiness.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The 2.0 DTS-HD MA sound mix secures the essentials of "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea," reaching the limitations of the original track. A few brief areas of damage remain, but dialogue exchanges successfully communicate acting choices (including Kristofferson's whispered performance) and balance hysterics without distortion. Scoring is supportive with distinct instrumentation, providing a warmer orchestral sound. Atmospherics are blunt, but seaside activity is appreciable, including some booming ship horn sound effects.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interview (9:52, HD) is a rather unusual conversation with Sarah Miles. The actress shares her first encounter with the script for "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea," revealing her working knowledge of author Yukio Mishima, having been an admirer for quite some time. Miles goes into Mishima's personal history and philosophy, sharing his unique perspective on life. The interviewee segues into the movie version of "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea," but instead of recalling her experience making the film, Miles details her memories of shooting the masturbation scene, even sharing her history of self-pleasure and thoughts on the coarsening of sexual attitudes. It's all so unexpected, but refreshingly so. Also included is a brief assessment of the script ("It could've been better").

• Interview (17:53, HD) with director Lewis John Carlino begins with his first encounter with "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea," discovering the Mishima book at a store in Maui, immediately drawn to its power. Making his helming debut, Carlino was terrified but found crew support, wisely employing cinematographer Douglas Slocombe, who offered professionalism, helping the production to achieve its look and offer the first timer some necessary editing choices. The interviewee examines his professional trials, managing rascally child actors and visualizing a cat dissection sequence, which was completed using the innards of a rabbit. Erotica was also an issue, as Carlino exhaustively covered the sex scenes to a point where the crew started to believe he was making pornography. There's talk of Playboy's coverage of the film as well. Carlino shares his pride in the work and offers a memory of a reunion with Slocombe, who, at the end of his life, went blind after years staring into bright movie set lights.

• Interviews (29:36, HD) collect thoughts from an assortment of "The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea" crew members. Included are stills photographer Graham Atwood, production manager Hugh Harlow, focus puller Robin Vidgeon, assistant director Anthony Waye, and set dresser Ian Whittaker. While the stories shared are mostly about technical challenges and time spent working in Dartmouth with locals who weren't told what type of movie was being made, a few candid thoughts are quite remarkable to hear. Atwood is open about Sarah Miles and her unpleasantness during the shoot, also coming close to admitting the sex scenes weren't simulated. Whittaker is even more blunt, describing his experience as a "disaster," dealing with Miles's temperament during a "miserable time." Of course, as it should be, there's nothing but praise for Douglas Slocombe.

• A Theatrical Trailer has not been included on this release.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

"The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea" tracks growing obsessiveness from Anne and Jonathan, with both characters trying to decode Jim's position in their individual lives and shared experience. Carlino deals with ideas on relationships and professional purity, which takes the story down an unsettling path of finality that's dealt with chillingly. Carlito gives the viewer enough to understand where it's all leading but doesn't break the semi- poetic hold the material has. While the feature has some issues, it's an impressive directorial achievement for Carlito, who manages to relocate and redirect material many feared would be impossible to translate.