The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with The Sea *** (1976, Sarah Miles, Kris Kristofferson) – Classic Movie Review 13,005

The 1976 British drama film The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is an impressive oddity based on a novel by Yukio Mishima, and starring Sarah Miles and Kris Kristofferson. 

Writer/ director Lewis John Carlino’s 1976 British drama film The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is adapted from a 1963 philosophical fiction novel by the Japanese writer Yukio Mishima, and stars Sarah Miles and Kris Kristofferson. It is an impressive oddity.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is an ambitious, exotic curio taken from Yukio Mishima’s novel Gogo No Eiko, literally Afternoon Tow), about a disturbed lad, 14-year-old Jonathan Osborne (Jonathan Kahn) who murderously meddles in his widowed mother Anne Osborne (Sarah Miles)’s affair with sailor, Jim Cameron (Kris Kristofferson), a ship’s second officer, whom the youth initially likes until he discovers that they are involved sexually and plan to marry.

Jonathan flies into a rage of jealousy. He is involved with a group of boys led by the sadistic neo-Nietzschean Chief (Earl Rhodes) and they hatch a plan to do away with the intruder.

It is a heady brew, mixing perversity, odd philosophising, hot love sessions and strange happenings, all taking place on the gorgeously filmed English coast, with much kudos going to Douglas Slocombe’s cinematography. There are strong compelling performances all round, particularly by Miles and Kahn (both nominated for Golden Globe awards), but Kristofferson is ideal too.

The cast are Sarah Miles as Anne Osborne, Kris Kristofferson as Jim Cameron, Jonathan Kahn as Jonathan Osborne, Margo Cunningham as Mrs Palmer, Earl Rhodes as Chief, and Paul Tropea as No 2.

The novel’s location is changed to Dartmouth, Devon, England, where it was filmed.

The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea is directed by Lewis John Carlino, runs 105 minutes, is made by Haworth Productions, Martin Poll Production, Lewis John Carlino Production, and Sailor Company, is released by AVCO Embassy Pictures, is written by Lewis John Carlino, is shot in widescreen by Douglas Slocombe, is produced by Martin Poll, is scored by John Mandel, and is designed by Ted Haworth.

Release date: April 5, 1976 (UK).

Nominee for Best Actress Golden Globe award (Sarah Miles) and nominee for Best Actor Debut Golden Globe award (Jonathan Kahn).

Shout! Factory released the film on Blu-ray on June 19, 2012,

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