A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.A detective investigating a series of murders becomes involved with a woman who may be the culprit.
- Awards
- 5 nominations
Luis Antonio Ramos
- Omar Maldonado
- (as Luis Ramos)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaAccording to the DVD documentary, included in the final cut of the film is a scene where Al Pacino's character gets rudely bumped into on 5th Avenue while trying to court Ellen Barkin's character. According to director Harold Becker, this was an unscripted moment caused by a real New Yorker, and not an extra. Pacino incorporates the moment into his performance, and continues without missing a beat.
- GoofsWhen Frank visits Helen in the shoe store, she takes his shoe off. He never puts it back on, and he leaves the store in a huff.
- Quotes
Frank Keller Sr.: [a poem by Frank's mother written in 1934 while she was in high school] I live alone within myself, like a hut within the woods; I keep my heart high upon the shelf, barren of other goods; I need another's arms to reach for it, and place it where it belongs. I need another's touch and smile, to fill my hut with songs.
- Alternate versionsSeveral scenes featuring Lorraine Bracco as Al Pacino's wife were cut before release and reinserted for the film television premiere. These additions were all included on the Universal Thrillers VHS edition of the film. They are as follows: 1) Frank sees a suspicious man on the street and calls for back-up from a nearby pay phone. It is revealed that this man is a personal bodyguard for a child at a nearby school. Parts of this scene were included in the original theatrical trailer. 2) The complete scene with Lorraine Bracco in which she pleads with Frank to stop bothering her and her husband. She also reveals that she is pregnant. 3) Frank comes home to his apartment and is surprised by his father, played by William Hickey, who is already in the apartment. His father tells him about an old partner who just passed away.
Featured review
Frank Keller is a New York detective investigating the murder of a man who was found naked, shot in the back of his head, with the song 'Sea of Love' playing on the record player. It is suspected that the killer may be a woman. This theory is reinforced when it there is a similar killing in Queens. Both victims had placed poetic ads in a lonely hearts column. Keller teams up with Detective Sherman Touhey, from Queens, and place their own advert. They meet various women and Keller ends up going out with one Helen Cruger; unfortunately it is possible that she is the killer; if so he could be in real danger.
This might not be one of the '80s most memorable films but it is well worth watching if you enjoy cop movies. Al Pacino does a fine job as Keller and has a good chemistry with John Goodman, who plays Touhey. He also has a believable chemistry with Ellen Barkin's Helen... simultaneously falling in love and occasionally fearing she could kill him. Barkin is really good as Helen; sexy but slightly ambiguous. Inevitably there are some twists along the way before we finally learn who the killer is. The story has a good neo-noir feel with plenty of tension and ambiguous characters while managing to avoid some clichés I'd expected. Overall a solid film that I'd recommend to fans of the genre; a must see for Pacino's fans.
This might not be one of the '80s most memorable films but it is well worth watching if you enjoy cop movies. Al Pacino does a fine job as Keller and has a good chemistry with John Goodman, who plays Touhey. He also has a believable chemistry with Ellen Barkin's Helen... simultaneously falling in love and occasionally fearing she could kill him. Barkin is really good as Helen; sexy but slightly ambiguous. Inevitably there are some twists along the way before we finally learn who the killer is. The story has a good neo-noir feel with plenty of tension and ambiguous characters while managing to avoid some clichés I'd expected. Overall a solid film that I'd recommend to fans of the genre; a must see for Pacino's fans.
- How long is Sea of Love?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Mar de amor
- Filming locations
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada(as 'New York' interiors)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $19,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $58,571,513
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $10,017,840
- Sep 17, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $110,879,513
- Runtime1 hour 53 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content