Easygoer10 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 Now (well over 25 years later), "made for TV" is an outdated term, as there are so many different forms and avenues of film production and direction.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

Robert J. Maxwell SPOILERS.Of course Rachel Ward gets off, otherwise Bugliosi would never have written the book, which I don't think I've read. But I believe Vince may have blown it this time around.Hart Bochner is easy to categorize as what used to be called a psychopath but now has a longer, fancier name in psychiatry. He has all the criterial attributes. He's got a sense of humor, he's attractive to women, lives in the unfolding moment, has multiple identities, is easily bored, shows little in the way or foresight or an ability to plan for the future, is impulsive, "lives off the land" in more ways than one, carries guns, and manipulates people readily. He's a done deal.Rachel Ward, as Jennifer, Bochner's girl friend, isn't really much different from the kind of unthinking partner that these kinds of guys pick up along the way. They're kind of attracted to rogue males. Ward has lived with two convicted murderers and she lies all the time. She doesn't tell Vince about her first boyfriend/murderer because, "If I had told you, would you have taken my case?" No comment from Vince, who lets slide the fact that she hasn't told him, even AFTER he's taken the case. No comment from the director or writer either. The remark is taken as, well, maybe not entirely OKAY -- but understandable, you know? I mean, why not lie to your attorney if it will get him involved with you? It's even more understandable when that real-life attorney, the author of the book, is looking over the screenwriter's shoulder as he's reconstructing the dialogue. Ward shows the same kind of carelessness with facts and social dynamics that a good partner for a psychopath would. She lies to the FBI about the fate of the rather crummy sailboat that she and Bochner were in. She not only fibs, she comes on to one of her lawyers in the courtroom where everyone can see it. Little things like stealing someone's yacht and trying to disguise it don't bother her at all.Would murder bother her? Nobody knows because we have only her word for what she was up to at the time they took place. And there are a lot of ways in which she does things that hint at innocence. Why would she help Bochner dump the bodies in the lagoon where they can be found, when they could have buried them in the middle of the Pacific? Why should she interrupt her arrestor with protestations of innocence when he was Mirandizing her? Bugliosi brings these and other incidents up in his summation, claiming that either she was terribly stupid or that these incidents indicated "consciousness of innocence." My "gut feeling" is that he blew it. It WAS really terrible stupidity not "consciousness of innocence". Bochner and Ward act like two people born with no frontal lobes. Everything they DO is stupid in the sense that it's not well planned. What do they care if somebody digs up a couple of dead bodies in the lagoon a year or two from now? They plan on selling the yacht and adopting new identities. They will have melted into the crowd. And anyway, who cares? A year or two is a long time.Palmyra, along with Wake and Johnston Islands, were pretty much uninhabited until before World War II when they became outposts against Japanese expansion. Of the three, Palmyra was often said to be the most beautiful, the kind of tropical paradise people dream about. Of course there were some inconveniences. The many rats for instance. They were brought to the island by humans. So were deceit, the destruction of part of an ecosystem, garbage, dope, and murder.

John Murray And The Sea Will Tell is a haunting murder mystery drawn from a fantastic book.This book is a favorite of mine,and the adaptation is superb.What happened in 1974 on Palmyra Island?The truth may never be known,but this movie will rivet you as you try to figure it out.The cast is superb.John Kapelos is good as Len Weinglass,James Brolin and Deidre Hall are excellent as Mac and Muff Graham,and Hart Bochner made my skin crawl with his chilling potrayal of Buck Walker.The two standouts ,though,are Richard Crenna,one of my favorite actors,who turns in a powerful performance as the tough,dedicated and ultimately compassionate Bugliosi;and Rachel Ward,who flawlessy portrays the contradictory nature of the enigmatic Jennifer Jenkins. 10 out of 10.

cmr12 This made for TV movie is based on one of my favorite books, by the same name, and out of all the true crime books I have ever read, I still feel at odds as to whether the person being tried was guilty of murder or assisting a murderer or not.As other people have already said, it is a story of two very different couples who sailed to an island looking for adventure/escape. The younger couple consists of a hard man in his 30s running from the law, and a girl in her late 20s, who is totally dedicated to aiding his escape and usually going along with whatever he wanted. The older couple are in their 40s, upper middle class, attractive, and their yacht, the "Sea Wind" is a marvel, designed for a couple who would want to exist very comfortably for long periods at different ports.The younger couple were annoying to the older couple, lacking in supplies and begging at times, always needy. They brought along annoying dogs, were always running out of supplies. Although the older man Mac is not fearful of them, the woman really is, and desperate to leave. They have quite a few clashes, despite Jennifer's(the younger woman)attempts to make peace and be friends.Then one day Buck, the younger man, tells Jennifer that the older couple have "disappeared" - he thinks they got lost fishing and are gone. According to Jennifer, she was not with him the whole day and heard nothing. They sail back to Hawaii on the "Sea Wind assuming they are dead, and are eventually arrested.The rest of the movie revolves around Jennifer - was she an innocent who believed her boyfriend's Buck's story and heard nothing, or was she a part of the murders, or an assistant? The character Jennifer is very baffling, lying to achieve certain desires and totally truthful in other areas. Even acting at times like she didn't care what her attorney Bugliosi did or didn't do. She is a complex character, sentimental but sensible, wonderful at chess but deluded in judging character.So did Jennifer help commit these murders or know about them? Read the book/watch the movie. I still can't figure it out.I wish this were on video, so I could see it again. I thought it was well-cast with Richard Crenna as Bugliosi, James Garner and Deidre Hall play the older couple, and Hart Bochner and Rachel Ward play Buck and Jennifer. The only problem I have is that I didn't think Ward was quite right for the cuddly, spacy, cautious Jennifer. I don't know who I would liked to see cast, but is was not her.All in all, a 9 out of 10.