By 1989, Al Panico had already established himself as one of Hollywood’s top-tier actors. Jumping into the limelight seventeen years earlier with his role in 1972’s The Godfather, in the years to follow, he made waves with films like 1973’s Serpico, 1975’s Dog Day Afternoon, and 1983’s Scarface. With all the different characters, it still seems that portraying a police officer fits Pacino’s passionate performances. In fact, outside the aforementioned Serpico, he also played one in William Friedkin’s 1980 film Cruising and in 1989’s Sea of Love.
A film based on Richard Price’s 1978 novel Ladies’ Man, Sea on Love was directed by Harold Becker, who seemingly had a talent for Neo-Noir Thrillers. With this in mind, Sea of Love is very much in the wheelhouse of this style, where you have a New York City cop named Frank Keller (Pacino) who is determined to find a serial killer taking out men who respond to want ads. Teamed up with Queens Detective Sherman Touhey (John Goodman), Keller seemingly falls off course of the case when he becomes taken in by a mysterious, beautiful Helen Cruger (Ellen Barkin). The bigger issue is whether she may or may not be a suspect, and the question remains: will their romance blind clear perception?
Dubbed by some an Erotic Thriller, there is a clear chemistry between Pacino and Barkin as they play opposite one another and push and pull while concealing particular parts of themselves. This makes for an interesting storyline that grabs your attention as you burn with curiosity about what will happen next. Apparently, the case back in 1989, Sea of Love drew in massive earnings overall and set a record for the best debut at the box office for a fall release. You could say moviegoers were drawn in partially because it marked Pacino’s first film in four years, and you might be right, but beyond this, Sea of Love actually can hold its own weight.
Initially debuting in theaters on September 15, 1989, it found its way to local video stores in the spring of 1990 on VHS as well as LaserDisc before emerging on DVD in 1998. Also landing on Blu-ray twice (once as a standalone film in 2012 and again as packed with 1992’s A Scent of a Woman in 2013), now, for the first time ever, Sea of Love emerges in 4K Ultra HD.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, it arrives a few weeks before the lover’s holiday on January 28, 2025, through Kino Lorber. Putting their best foot forward, Kino Lorber offers a 4K scan of the 35mm original camera negative with complimentary HDR/Dolby Vision Master, and the result is visual superiority. Clean, crisp, and brighter even in the darker night scenes, it is Sea of Love in the most clarified format ever offered.
Beyond this, the extras are on par with prior Blu-ray releases, with the inclusion of the featurette The Creation of Sea of Love. Put together as a two-disc set, you have the 4K UHD Blu-ray and a Blu-ray disc, packaged with original theatrical art featured on the sleeve and slipcase. Overall, it is a great addition to any Al Pacino and well-crafted Thriller fans collection, and that is why Cryptic Rock gives Kino Lorber’s 4K UHD edition of Sea of Love 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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