The Sailor
who fell from grace with the sea

“The pure and perfect order of the world” is violated and must be put right, a juvenile concept, a Mishima theme.

“On film, the story won’t settle down with these upper-class young English lads” (Variety). “An insult to any audience” (Time Out Film Guide).

Halliwell’s Film Guide critiques it as “weird and unattractive”.

 

The Great Santini

The ease of Carlino’s paradoxes reveals a practiced hand, and his direction keeps pace with it. The art is in the rapid changes of perspective (speaking of the script now) showing the characters in the round, as it were, and allowing the actors to just stand there, in a manner of speaking. As a director, Carlino lets his script work, and lets his actors work, and photographs them as neatly as you please.

His material is variegated and encompasses What Price Glory? and the satire of the feud. It’s so rich it even integrates a sound literary understanding of military lingo with the yahooism then new in depictions of the military and now indifferent, as well as proving an influence on such films as Forrest Gump and Glengarry Glen Ross.

Elmer Bernstein wrote the score.

 

Class

Class defined as nobility.

“The boys is like girls,” Andrew McCarthy mainly, who unfortunately resembles Olivia Hussey.

Television viewers are reminded that he who endures to the end shall be saved.