Summer Lovers

Released by: Twilight Time
Released on: August 11, 2015
Director: Randal Kleiser
Cast: Peter Gallagher, Daryl Hannah, Valérie Quennessen, Barbara Rush, Carole Cook
Year: 1982
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The Movie:

American couple Michael Pappas (Peter Gallagher) and Cathy Featherstone (Darryl Hannah) are freshly graduated from college and taking a summer break on an unnamed, sunny, disco-studded Greek island. The beaches there are remarkable for their white sand, blue water, tall cliffs, and casual nudity. The latter bothers the uptight pair at first, especially Cathy. But then she gets her hands on a sex manual and attempts to shed her self-admitted "goody two-shoes" persona by tying Michael naked to the bed and dripping hot candle wax on him. Michael apparently takes this new openness on Cathy's part as permission to slip off for some sexy-time with Lina (Valérie Quennessen), a free-spirited French archeologist he's had his eye on. When he confesses to what he's done, an angry Cathy tells him to "get it out of his system" and goes off in search of some extracurricular fun of her own. She meets, goes home with, and then chickens out with a local man while Michael goes back to Lina for seconds. Upon learning afterward that Michael took her at her word, Cathy goes to Lina's place to confront her. In what was likely intended as a plot twist, however, the two women become friends. From there, things among the three take some decidedly open-minded turns, and a sweetly unorthodox (though not unpredictable) love story kicks in.

Randal Kleiser already had Saturday Night Fever, Grease, and the legendarily abysmal The Blue Lagoon under his belt when he helmed Summer Lovers. It stands today as a so-so entry in the "summer romance" subgenre, with an enjoyably hackneyed plot, lots of skin, and a couple of pleasant performances by two actors who'd go on to do much better for themselves. Darryl Hannah had little more than a forgettable appearance in Brian DePalma's The Fury (1978) going for her at this point, but she'd be turning heads a mere nine days after this release, somersaulting across the screen as the deadly Pris in Ridley Scott's incomparable Blade Runner (and lest we forget, her career-making role in Ron Howard's 1984 Splash wasn't that far off). Peter Gallagher would have to wait a bit longer to become a household name, in Stephen Soderbergh's 1985 Sex, Lies, and Videotape, but he's had a fine, steady career since then, one must admit. Valérie Quennessen's had a respectable 13-year run in French cinema, but her English-language film work was pretty much limited to this, 1982's Conan the Barbarian, and its 1984 sequel, Conan the Destroyer. She died in an automobile accident in France in 1989 at the age of 31.

Despite heavy promotion by MTV, Summer Lovers didn't do well when it was released. The best thing about watching it today might just be its soundtrack, a veritable scad of A-list tunes by Tina Turner, Elton John, Prince, Depeche Mode, and The Pointer Sisters, among others. A comprehensive soundtrack recording has never been compiled for the film, and it likely never will be. But the music here provides its own extra level of enjoyment for all but the most hardcore eighties-pop haters. As for the film itself, it's a minor but entertaining cinematic footnote, one that will be of particular interest to those who lived through the period in which it was filmed.

Video/Audio/Extras:

Twilight Time has released Summer Lovers on Blu-ray with an AVC-encoded 1080p transfer and a 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Given the film's location shooting among the ancient ruins, rocky cliffs, blue waters, and pebbled beaches of Greece, there was certainly a great deal for a proper transfer to reveal, and Twilight Time's package does not disappoint. The only soft spots on the screen are areas in which the camera is not focused; otherwise, the image is sharp with a great deal of detail, from facial fuzz to fabrics. Most of the film takes place in broad daylight or brightly lit interiors, and colors pop, though most of the film has a white and blue color scheme befitting the location. Nighttime sequences don't fare quite as well; there's some crush, and grain is increased. Thankfully, these scenes are few and far between, and the rest of the film looks great in comparison. In general, Twilight Time's release is the perfect showcase for Timothy Galfas's cinematography and Randal Kleiser's direction.

The film's primary soundtrack is featured in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 and sounds great given just how musical the movie is. The pop songs that make up the soundtrack come across loud and clear, as does Basil Poledouris's score. Conversations are clear and never disrupted by effects or the score. Speaking of Poledouris's score, it can be heard in isolation, along with the sound effects, on a secondary track, also in DTS-HD MA 2.0. Kleiser, who wrote the film in addition to directing it, provides a commentary track. It's a terrific extra, with Kleiser discussing every aspect of the film, from the locations to the actors to the pop songs. His remarks are clearly prepared, which makes for a more pleasant and educational experience, though there are clearly moments in which Kleiser gets a little caught up in watching the film.

Summer Lovers has a higher number of extras than the average Twilight Time release. In addition to the additional tracks, there are also two trailers, one approved for all audiences (2:28), the other redband (2:06). “The Making of Summer Lovers” is a shot-on-video, 12-minute featurette made to promote the film's original release. It features interviews with various participants, including director Kleiser, Hannah, Quennessen, Barbara Rush, and Carole Cook. “Basil Poledouris: His Life and Music” is a 48-minute documentary made in association with Film Score Monthly about a decade before Poledouris's death as part of a series about film composers. It's a fairly relaxed program, shot on video in Poledouris's home, his family in tow. The program is accentuated by still photographs illustrating films on which Poledouris worked in addition to important periods in his life. Finally, there are 15 minutes of screen tests. While these are certainly interesting, the sound on the videotape is fairly low, making them sometimes difficult to understand in an aural sense. Regardless, for fans they should prove an interesting addendum to the film.

Rounding out the extras are several Twilight Time standards. There's an MGM 90th anniversary trailer (2:06), which accompanies all films licensed from the studio, as well as an on-screen catalog of Twilight Time's releases listing which have gone into moratorium and which are still available. And of course what is a TT release without liner notes from Julie Kirgo? She begins her notes with a sentence that perfectly sums up the period in which the film was shot: “Here, for your delectation, the early Eighties: the feathered hair; the big loose clothing carelessly draped over bronzed bodies; the dying days of disco; the surface boldness about sex combined with a sense of deep exhaustion.” From there, she jumps into a four-page discussion of the film that shows just how much she understands the world in which the film is set, an understanding she imparts to her readers.

Summer Lovers is limited to 3,000 units.

The Final Word:

Summer Lovers is a wistful film, one a bit naí¯ve about how sexuality and society often work in opposition. That doesn't mean it isn't entertaining, particularly for people who lived through the early 1980s with robust and optimistic hopes for the future. And for all those who didn't, well, this film will help you understand just what those years were like for the generations that came before you. Twilight Time's release offers not only a gorgeous transfer with strong sound, it's also chock full of extras, not the least of which is an audio commentary from the director and a near-hour-long documentary about the film's composer. If you're a fan of early '80s cinema, Summer Lovers might be for you; and if you're already a fan of the movie, then it's doubtful the film will ever get a better showcase. You might want to jump on it before the available copies have been sold.

Christopher Workman is a freelance writer, film critic, and co-author (with Troy Howarth) of the Tome of Terror horror film review series. Volume 2 of that series, which covers the 1930s, is currently available from Midnight Marquee Press, Inc., with Volume 1, covering the 1920s, due out later this year.

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