The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea (1976)

After his father dies, a disturbed young boy plots to take revenge on the new man in his mother's life.

Director:

Lewis John Carlino

Writers:

Yukio Mishima (novel), Lewis John Carlino (written for the screen by)

Stars:

Sarah Miles, Kris Kristofferson, Jonathan Kahn

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sarah Miles	...	Anne / mother
Kris Kristofferson	...	Jim Cameron
Jonathan Kahn	...	Jonathan / son
Margo Cunningham	...	Elizabeth Palmer
Earl Rhodes	...	Chief
Paul Tropea	...	Number Two
Gary Lock	...	Number Four
Stephen Black	...	Number Five
Peter Clapham	...	Richard Pettit
Jennifer Tolman	...	Mary Ingram

Storyline

Widowed now for close to four years, Anne Osborne, who now operates the antiques shop formerly owned by her husband David, and their son, Jonathan Osborne, live in a small, English seaside town. Both Anne and Jonathan still miss David even after all these years. Going through puberty, Jonathan uses something he finds in his bedroom to explore the emerging thoughts of sexuality going through his mind. Although Anne knows Jonathan sneaks out of the house early in the morning against her orders, she is unaware that he is attending meetings of a secret society of five boys, who refer to each other only by a cardinal number, their rank within the group as assigned by "The Chief", number one. The Chief is an arrogant, sadistic pseudo-intellectual who needs to show his power and dominance over the other four in whatever means possible. He largely considers them immature as he spouts off his Nietzschean philosophies, centering on that adults create rules that ultimately disrupt the natural ...

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Plot Keywords:

bare breasts | female masturbation | female full rear nudity | female full frontal nudity | female pubic hair | 

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Taglines:

Like the act of love, this film must be experienced from beginning to end. Therefore no one will be seated once the picture starts.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Debut film as a director of film & television writer Lewis John Carlino. The picture is the first of only three ever movies directed by Carlino [to date, June 2014], the two subsequent films being Class (1983) and The Great Santini (1979).

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Quotes

Chief: There's no such thing as a hero. Adults just pose as these things.

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Alternate Versions

US DVD version is cut. Sex scenes of Sarah Miles are tamed down in US version.

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Connections

Referenced in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008)

User Reviews

DISTURBING FILM - beautiful music score

Though I never read the Japanese book from which this movie is based - I thought the comments of other posters missed a salient point in their reviews.

No one brought up the exploration of the focus on the "pure and perfect" order of things that is a backdrop for the exploration of the boys in the film. I'm assuming that that refers to the idea that there is such a thing and that when we deviate from it - meaning is somehow bastardized - and focus and purpose are lost. Unfortunately, when - during exploration - one destroys the object of one's investigation that too seems a bastardization of the "pure and perfect order."

A disturbing film but I do like Kris Kristofferson and he did write the music for the soundtrack which is beautiful. I tried many times to find a CD of the soundtrack but the movie has been out of print for so long that it is probably not possible to find one.

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

29 July 1976 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Studios Road, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Haworth Productions, Martin Poll-Lewis John Carlino Production, Sailor Company

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1