Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin get lost in the Sea of Love. The steamy sexual thriller comes to 4K UHD thanks to Kino Lorber.
The Film
This film suffers from the same thing that The Bone Collector does. There is a credit the moment you see it you know who the killer is. At the time it wasn’t an issue but with the rise of the specific actor into prominence over the decades has made the “mystery” of the piece not really a mystery. It’s The Hunt for Red October conundrum. Where the plot point comes up and you know instantly that it’s a plot point.
Though, what makes this great isn’t the mystery but the novelistic overstuffed story, plot, and characters that writer Richard Price imbues everything. Price adapting his own novel keeps the meat on the bone. Some may see Sea of Loveas long in the tooth because Price takes his time showing us Frank Keller’s (Al Pacino) life even before the central case takes hold. Price a master storyteller understands that we need to know Keller, warts and all, so we understand and relate to his plight of loneliness.
Sea of Love is yes, a psycho-sexual thriller but at its core it’s about the loneliness of the big city and the need to connect. Keller’s need to connect because of his failures at his personal life push him into this dance with Hellen (Ellen Barkin). Is it right? A cop involved with a suspect that could be murdering men. Not at all. Do we see his point of view as a fracture man desperate for more than his pension and case after case? Absolutely.
In any other actor’s hands Frank Keller would seem a by the number’s cop. In Pacino’s hands it’s a beautiful hang dog performance. Keller is an alcoholic, that’s obsessed with his work and his ex-wife a bit too much. It shouldn’t work; we should hate him for just the piece of shit he is. We don’t. Pacino shows the unsteady hand of a good man who’s just seen too much shit in his life. The moment he lets a guy walk because he’s with his kid, we know that Keller is different. There’s some sort of moral code and not just a garbage man with a badge and a gun.
The counter to Keller and his object of obsessive yearning Hellen is as good a performance as Ellen Barkin ever gave. In another reality Barkin is as lauded as Meryl Streep, she’s that good in everything she’s ever done. The role of Hellen could just be another femme fatale or sex kitten but Price and Barkin never her let her be just that. Barkin knows when to turn on the heat but she’s also a strong fierce woman with her own convictions. What how Keller and Hellen’s first sexual tryst play out. Only Barkin could shift the dynamics and power to Hellen. In any other actor’s hands, it doesn’t work and just feels like the movie needs it to happen. Barkin earns that moment of power.
Sea of Love earns its right into the pantheon of psychosexual thrillers but not because of the steamy sex scenes or its twisty narrative. No, it’s Richard Price’s deft characterizations and the work of Pacino and Barkin as believable human begins connecting.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative is another marvelous upgrade in picture from Kino Lorber. The film was released by Universal in 2012 on Blu-ray. The picture on this UHD disc is night and day difference in the 12 years since that Blu-ray release. The image quality is boosted in a way that can’t be quantified. The 4K UHD disc looks better in all areas than the DNR wiped Blu-ray. The NYC shot film is positively luminous and gritty in equal measure. The way the transfer handles even the lowlight scenes and nighttime city scape is an example of how amazing UHD is and how close it gets us to the theatrical experience. There isn’t a blemish, scratch or fleck of dirt on the flawless transfer. The grain structure, the clarity, the color are all perfectly balanced giving us another wonderful 4K upgrade of 2025.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- Audio Commentary by Director Harold Becker
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- Audio Commentary by Director Harold Becker
- NEW Audio Commentary by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson
- The Creation of Sea of Love: Featurette
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailers
NOTE: The Commentaries appear on both the 4K UHD and Blu-ray.
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
The first of two audio commentaries is an archival one by Director Harold Becker. The director begins with the opening score by Trevor Jones and the inspiration of from Film Noir with the saxophone. Some of the other details include the real-life incident of getting bail jumpers to be arrested by enticing them with Yankees HOFers showing up at an event; the brief appearance of Samuel L. Jackson; the reason why they spend so much time during the sting and Frank’s life before the plot starts proper; how Pacino was the first film the actor did in almost half a decade – working in theater mostly; why they divided time between Toronto and New York City for the production of the film; the importance to Becker for realism during the homicide investigation scenes and how that was accomplished; how the Richard Price script was in development hell for years – what attracted him to the script and how Pacino became involved; how he cast Michael Rooker – and the film that he saw that convinced him; the casting of John Goodman who at the time was a relative unknown (this came out before Roseanne); how Frank’s drinking became a plot point and the realities of police work; the production timeline – having 19 weeks to shoot the film; the casting of Ellen Barkin; a discussion of how the sex scene was put together with consideration of the actors and their comfort level; lots of pragmatic issues that come up when shooting on location throughout the commentary track; a larger discussion of casting and how he casts his film and a discussion of the various actors that appear on screen; a larger discussion of the various locations used by the production – both in NYC and Toronto; and much more. Becker provides a detailed and informative commentary track that feels like a great conversation or master class.
The second of the two audio commentaries is an all-new one by Film Historians Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell and Nathaniel Thompson. The trio begins with bonafides and the fact that this was a comeback of sorts for Al Pacino who had not made a film in half a decade. Some of the details include a discussion of the opening title sequence how much NYC has changed from this film; a discussion of the career and work here of cinematographer Ronnie Taylor = including a great discussion of his work with Dario Argento; the cameo by Samuel L Jackson; the various directors that Universal went after before landing on Harold Becker; a great discussion of the work that Pacino, Barkin, and Becker did to the script and screenwriter’s Richard Price’s reaction; a discussion about Cruising and this film’s comparatives and differences; a discussion of the sexual thriller as blockbuster through the 1980s and 1990s; a John Goodman quote about his character and the character arc through the film; the editing out of Loraine Bracco as Al Pacino’s ex-wife; the work of Ellen Barkin – both here and throughout her career; the advice that Pacino gave to Barkin for the trickier scenes in the film; a discussion of the sex scenes and the bringing out the character and themes of the film in the scene; the complexity of the characters and situations and characters that isn’t reality but a heighten cinema; a larger discussion about Al Pacino’s work here and his work throughout the 1980s and how this film delineates the second half of his career and was his big comeback; a larger discussion of the work and style of Harold Becker; and much more. Berger, Mitchell, and Thompson provide a wonderful look into the film, Pacino, and the sexual thriller genre.
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
The Creation of Sea of Love: Featurette (14:28) – the archival making of featurette covers the entire production from casting Al Pacino, Ellen Barkin, John Goodman, and Michael Rooker; the production – difficulties that came from the story that they were making and long schedule night shoots, and dividing time between Toronto and New York; the influence of Film Noir on Sea of Love; and much more. Featuring interviews with director Harold Becker and producer Martin Bergman.
Deleted Scenes (6:10) – they consist of three additional scenes – one featuring writer Richard Price. The scenes are Interrogating King Spaniel Owner; the detectives look for a suspect – the wrong guy; Frank and Helen go on a date.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Sea of Love – Trailer 1 [Newly Mastered in 2K] (2:37); Sea of Love – Trailer 2 (1:33); Serpico (4:16); The Big Easy (2:04); No Way Out (1:31); The Onion Field (1:59); The Black Marble (2:31)
The Final Thought
Kino continues their excellent curation of 4K UHD upgrade with Sea of Love. Highest recommendations!