Nur die See kennt die Wahrheit

I am a big fan of Vincent Bugliosi, going all the way back to "Helter Skelter", the book he wrote when he was the lead prosecuting attorney of one of the most riveting crimes of the 20th Century in the USA. I have read several other books he has written; all good. This is a terrific read, but the film is pretty limited, being a "made for TV film". You have to understand this was back in the day when that was not so good. Now (well over 25 years later), "made for TV" is an outdated term, as there are so many different forms and avenues of film production and direction. I read book this on a fairly long plane flight, finishing right before landing. A good friend of mine picked me up at the airport. I mentioned this book, and how I thought it could be made into a very good film. My friend then told me he had read in the local TV listings that not only had it been made into a film; it was scheduled to be shown the very next evening! I was stunned, to say the least. The book had been out for about 2 years, if memory serves correctly. The film follows the book without too many changes; it was a true crime, which I prefer to read (or watch) over fiction. This is the case when you are dealing with Bugliosi, a brilliant true crime novelist. All in all, this is a very good read and a fairly good film; but best of all, a true story

Movie was very good. I'm familiar with Buglioso(sp?) from Manson trial. This was a very difficult case to try either way; no witnesses and ambiguous evidence. If the facts were drawn out I'm sure that screen play writers had much to do with the result. The way Crenna played Buglioso was consistent with my previous recollections of his personality and legal style. To say that an atty. that takes people's cases is an "ambulance chaser" is dumb; professionals of every skill devote their lives to their professions; teachers want to teach, doctors to treat patients, cops want to find the guilty, etc. In fact, for a "made for TV show, I thought that it was very well done and followed legal procedure closely

For a TV miniseries based on a true crime thriller, you'd expect standard movie-of-the-week fare. And The Sea Will Tell is instead a pretty taut thriller, well-written, well-acted and artfully put together. I'm convinced that this film isn't more well known because it had the misfortune to air for the first time the very night the ground campaign began during the first Gulf War. If you were watching CNN (and who wasn't), you missed it.

Rachel Ward, a highly underrated actress, is slightly miscast as the naive "hippie" waif Jennifer Jenkins, but she makes the best of a pretty meaty role, and her chemistry with Richard Crenna is spot-on. There's less chemistry between her and Hart Bochner, but his performance is excellent--he's certainly come a long way from his cartoonish portrayal of a slimy executive in Die Hard ("Hans...boobie...would I lie to you?"). The whole series, however, is stolen by James Brolin and Deidre Hall. The interweaving of flashbacks to the characters' time on the island with the courtroom scenes is skillfully done--something that, incidentally, Buglioisi failed to do well in the book this film is based on.

There's also some attention to detail here, and even (GASP!) some approaches at mise-en-scene. The Palmyra scenes, though colorful and lush, have a strange darkness and malevolence about them. I especially like the moody magic-hour sky in the oft-shown sequence of Ward and Bochner boarding their neighbors' yacht on the crucial night, and the rusty, moldering remains of military hardware that lurk in the underbrush. When contrasted with the chic mid-80s San Francisco in which the courtroom scenes take place, you definitely get the sense that the Rachel Ward character has come a long way. You don't see a lot of that kind of subtlety in a TV feature.

This is a story that probably should have been a Hollywood feature. Barring that, however, it's still an excellent film. Recommended.

I saw this movie at 5am on a Friday morning, on EDrama. It has a cool vibe that pulls you in. Basically a good version of a Lifetime movie. The guy who plays Buck does a good job of playing a real creep. Movie takes place in Hawaii, and the scenes where they are out in the boat are pretty creepy, thanks to some good sound effects and camera work. Richard Crenna is good in this, but of course he basically always plays the same character in everything. Watching this straight through as a movie is a little weird, because every 10 minutes or so there is a weird break in the continuity due to the fact that it was originally made for TV. Rachel Ward plays dumb in this one, and it isn't that believable that she would be with "Buck". I do like Buck's style though; a mix of creepy cheap bar guy and Matthew Mcconaughey (or is that the same thing?).

I read the book a few years after it was published, but I just discovered that they had made this TV movie only recently. It was difficult to track down, but I got a copy. It was worth the time and effort and money.

The story of And the Sea Will Tell is completely fascinating. I read most of the long book on a long flight (I'd love to read it again, but no longer have my copy). The movie does a terrific job of telling this story from start to finish. I would suggest reading the book first.

There are a lot of TV movie screw-ups in the film bit they don't take away from such a great story. For example, when they first see land in Palmyra, there are mountains when the island is a tiny atoll just above sea level. And obviously, there was no diction coach on set to steer Rachael Ward through some American vowels. She had many moments revealing her English roots. Once again, the story survives.

P.S. There is no way the girlfriend was innocent. She should still be in prison. I would imagine that Bugliosi was doing her. It shows once again, if you have money in America, you can literally get away with murder.