Rating: 
Summary: Great thriller!
Review: I really liked this well-directed movie that is full of suspense throughout. Barkin absolutely sizzles. She has never looked better.Writers of personal ads seem to be getting murdered. Pacino investigates and finds a pattern in the ads in that they are all poetic. Pacino hopes to trap the killer by placing a similar ad. Barkin happens to be one of the ladies that answer his ad and he gets involved with her. All the time he is not sure if she is the killer that he is tracking. This movie was before the Internet explosion, so the idea of a personal ad in a newspaper may seem dated. However, the movie still works well.
Rating:
Summary: Great thriller!
Review: I really liked this well-directed movie that is full of suspense throughout. Barkin absolutely sizzles. She has never looked better. Writers of personal ads seem to be getting murdered. Pacino investigates and finds a pattern in the ads in that they are all poetic. Pacino hopes to trap the killer by placing a similar ad. Barkin happens to be one of the ladies that answer his ad and he gets involved with her. All the time he is not sure if she is the killer that he is tracking. This movie was before the Internet explosion, so the idea of a personal ad in a newspaper may seem dated. However, the movie still works well.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Romantic Thriller
Review: My three favorite romantic thrillers are "Vertigo" "Body Heat" and "Sea of Love". Screenwriter Shane Black got a cool million for the script and it's easy to see why. The story structure of this search for a woman who's killing men she meets via personal ads is tops. When Al Pacino falls in lust with a possible suspect the suspense builds with each scene. And each scene on it's own is entertaining. This is one of Pacino's best roles and the supporting cast shines as well. It's movie makiing at it's best and not to be missed.
Rating: 
Summary: Sea Change For Pacino
Review: Sea Of Love brought actor Al Pacino's career back to form, after a string of disappointing movies had him in a bit of a slump. Det. Frank Keller (Pacino) is a 20 year veteran New York City detective. He is divorced from his wife and is now married to his job. A brutal serial killer is on a murdering spree of men. Keller joins forces with fellow detective Sherman Touhey (John Goodman) in the investigation. The evidence leads to a sexy suspect Helen (Ellen Barkin), who Frank is sure is innocent, and the pair begins a passionate affair. Though, not quite as steamy as some would have you believe, the film still has a lot going for it. Pacino and Barkin have great on screen chemistry together. Goodman is pitch perfect, showcasing a rare dramatc side, as well as his knack to be the perfect chum. On her own, Barkin gives her best performance here, and makes it her own. Harold Becker is a solid director The film is in good hands. The DVD has a fairly good audio commentary from Becker. The 15 minute featurette on the making of the film is pretty slim though. Only Becker and film producer Martin Bergman are interviewed. The lack of cast member participation is very noticed and seems very odd. The deleted scenes are very raw looking and don't amount to much. The theatrical trailer tops off the disc Sea Of Love, is no Basic Instinct or Seven, but it does put Pacino back on track, where he's been ever since Recommended
Rating: 
Summary: Not as good as it should have been
Review: Sea of Love should be credited for one thing that most erotic thrillers don't even take a glance at and that's developing the characters. The film does a good job of creating an honest relationship developing between Al Pacino and Ellen Barkin, despite the fact that Barkin's character may be a killer. There's just a couple of problems. First off, nobody in the film-except for Pacino near the end-really ever seems to care about the actual situation on their hands. There's not a sense of urgency and the police officers take time looking at the murders a little too slowly. As a matter of fact, there are even intervals in the film in which not the whole situation is dropped. Granted, this is in favor of character development but the suspense of factor takes a steep decline. The swerves into suspense are at best sporadic. Of course, there's the ending, which is somewhere between good and mediocre. The good part is that it did somewhat surprise me and it made a lot of sense when I saw the film over again. The part of it that doesn't work is that the solution didn't require any sort of ingenuity by the cops, it just happened. The performances may be the only real reason to watch the film. Pacino and Barkin are stellar and John Goodman in the supporting role does steal some of the scenes. Be sure to watch for Samuel L. Jackson in the beginning.
Rating:
Summary: Steamy Murder Mystery!
Review: Smartly written erotic thriller. Al Pacino fits perfectly into his tailor-made role and gives a stellar performance. Ellen Barkin also shines and delivers one of the sexiest performances of the 80's. Great characters and story-line, suspense and doubt is kept throughout most of the movie but the ending and ultimate conclusion are a bit weak. But the chemistry between the two leads, dynamite screenplay and good character development make it more than just another cop movie. Extras: spot a young Samuel L. Jackson in a small part. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film an 8!
Rating:
Summary: Watch this for Pacino and Barkins Sexy Love Scenes
Review: The movie is really good because of the chemistry between the two lead actors! Barkin really slinks and prowls the scenes with Pacino. She knows how to emote sex appeal, without alot of wordiness. This movie came out after her sucess in the Big Easy. Pacino had been gone awhile, I think he had been acting on or off broadway. He had gained weight. After being signed to this film he had obviously lost alot of the weight. He is playing his masculine cop role to the limit and it is fun to watch him! The ending leaves alot to be desired. I felt it was to farfetched. I wish there had been a little more to a good start of a psychological thriller that deflates into a formulaic television mystery piece. There could have been more to this plot. It starts out with all the right stuff. The loneliness of two thirty somethings or possibly forty, the things that have caused their lives to go wrong, etc. I would have rated it 3 but just watch Barkin strut her acting stands out, Pacino too does a very nice job!! Lisa Nary
Rating: 
Summary: The DVD Doesn't Hold a Candle to the VHS in Picture Quality
Review: This is a wonderful film, and sad to say, poorly translated onto DVD. The picture is grainy and washed out. The studio should seriously consider doing a remastering of this in lettebox format so that the video quality is maintained.
Rating:
Summary: Barkin, baby, where'd you go?
Review: This is one of those films I love- the kind that sits on my shelf, I forget about for a while, and when I finally remember it one rainy day and put it on, it seems like new all over again... and I remember why I got it in the first place. Pacino is Frank Keller, a NYC cop who is a little beat by life, doesn't get all his daily recommended allowance of beauty sleep, and who, on occassion, has a wee problem with the drink. Maybe not the sort of a man you'd be beating down mama's door to show off, but, ya know, a decent kinda guy. He's working on a murder investigation, assisted by the always reliable John Goodman, and due to circumstances and the trouble with 3am, becomes romantically involved with one of the suspects. Enter Ellen Barkin- as the tagline reads, she may be the love of his life... of the end of it. Either way, she is definitely working the celluloid charm that made "The Big Easy" so steamy- although here it's more edgy and direct than bashful. The film rolls along at a good pace, never quite spelling anything out for sure so you're thankful that it's on DVD and don't have to throw things at the TV when commercials cut in. Beyond the intensity of his scenes with Barkin- and there is some damn fine sizzle to 'em- there are some great moments that really help bring out Pacino's character and make him more human- vulnerable, profane, sore, sweaty- than other roles I've seen him in since; when he tells a guy the "Yankee's meet'n'greet" is all booked, and his mutterings when he sees one of the blind dates still at the bar don't have the theatrics of some of the more "Al Pacino movie" characters, and are all the better for it. Also, the scratchy, tense relationship his Frank Keller has with his co-worker nicely sets off the easy partnership he strikes up with Goodman's Queens detective; their camraderie and somewhat comical difference in stature made for an unexpectedly great part of the film. Altogether, a terrific watch, and makes you wonder just how the hell Barkin ended up playing a Minnesota beauty queen's mom. Musta been 3am somewhere then.
Rating: 
Summary: Beware - full screen version cropped to fit widescreen
Review: This version (Collector's Edition)
is worse than the previous pan & scan full screen version. Here the studio cropped the top and the sides of the full screen version to make it fit anamorphic widescreen format, so you lose more of the picture than the full screen version.
Universal is deceptive in not saying it is a matted widescreen version Buyer beware!
This is not a true widescreen and doesent even say that the original apect ratio was modified to fit 16x9 tvs.
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