Neither the Sea Nor the Sand (Blu-ray Review)
- Review Date: Mar 25, 2025
- Format: Blu-ray Disc
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Director
Fred BurnleyRelease Date(s)
1972 (November 29, 2024)Studio(s)
Tigon Film Distributors/Portland Film Corporation (Vinegar Syndrome Labs)- Film/Program Grade: B-
- Video Grade: B+
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: A
Review
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is a melancholy romance that considers love’s ability to transcend mortality. About a third of the way through, it takes a sharp turn in tone to lead the viewer through a world usually dominated by pure horror, yet it maintains a balance between reality and the supernatural.
While on vacation on the Channel island of Jersey, unhappily married Anna (Susan Hampshire) meets local resident Hugh (Michael Petrovitch). Both are brooding souls, and they connect. About to return home, Anna decides to remain with Hugh instead. They spend their days bicycling, hiking, and walking on the deserted beach as they engage in a passionate affair. They have found their soulmates.
As they run along a rocky beach during a getaway to Scotland, Hugh suddenly drops down and dies. Anna is devastated, feeling lost and depressed, until a shadowy figure appears at her door one night. It’s Hugh. But he doesn’t speak and stares blankly, seeming to see only Anna. How can this be? A doctor pronounced him dead and gave Anna the death certificate. Despite this eerie impossibility, Anna is so happy to have Hugh back that she treats his return as if he’s been away to do some minor chores. She makes him breakfast (which he doesn’t eat), chats with him (though he never answers), leads him from one part of the house to another, and carries on as if he had never died.
The scene of Hugh turning up in the middle of the night has the earmark of a genuine horror film, and we assume that’s where the film is headed. Yet none of the tropes of zombie pictures are present. Hugh doesn’t crave human flesh and doesn’t attempt to kill the living. In fact, he’s completely docile, a living-dead mannequin. The idea is that love between Anna and Hugh is so great that it transcends even death and she has somehow willed him back to a semblance of life.
The development of the relationship between Anna and Hugh seems rushed despite the film’s leisurely pace. A plot point is needed to transition between the two parts of the picture. The film is very good at sustaining an otherworldly atmosphere as the story becomes something more than a romance.
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is an unusual picture that employs the theme of reaching out to a beloved partner in death, as did such films as Ghost, P.S. I Love You, Wuthering Heights, and Blithe Spirit. There are also elements of W.W. Jacobs’ short story The Monkey’s Paw. Longing for a loved one who dies without warning can be traumatic. Anna refuses to accept the finality of death and wills her lover back into the world of the living to continue a relationship that has given her joy and comfort.
Hampshire is convincing as a woman who finds love and plays her scenes with the dead Hugh as if his return is the most natural thing in the world. Her chemistry with Hugh in the early scenes is not the best, however, mostly due to the stiffness of Petrovitch’s performance. When he should be sunnier and more cheerful, he’s only a shade livelier than his zombie self. Because both characters are introverted, brooding types, it’s difficult to grasp their head-over-heels passion for one another, and that hurts the film. A leading man who could elicit more empathy would have been an improvement.
Frank Finlay turns in a fine performance as Hugh’s older brother, George, a strait-laced antiques dealer who shares a home with Hugh and disapproves of his bringing Anna to live in their house without benefit of marriage. George brought Hugh up after their parents died. Finicky and often overbearing, he’s the opposite of the passionate Hugh and fails to understand his brother’s love for a woman he’s just met. Yet he puts up with what he regards as Hugh’s foibles.
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand was adapted for the screen by Gordon Honeycombe from his own 1969 novel. Director Fred Burnley has made the film’s locations an integral character in the story with their desolate, wintry beauty. Cold, damp, muddy, windy, with rocky cliffs and constantly overcast skies, the setting contributes to a sense of gloom. David Muir’s cinematography captures the beauty of the remote, deserted beaches and the raging sea, which have brought the couple together and figure prominently in establishing the film’s all-important mood. Director Burnley establishes an eerie mood in the film’s later scenes while tying it to Anna and Hugh’s enduring love, and wisely refrains from going the route of monster make-up for Hugh and turning Anna into a scream queen. Her gentle care of the reanimated Hugh drives the narrative and makes us wonder how this unlikely love story will play out. The film was released in the U.S. under the title of The Exorcism of Hugh.
Shot by director of photography David Muir on 35 mm Eastmancolor film with spherical lenses, Neither the Sea Nor the Sand was processed photochemically and presented in the aspect ratio of 1.85:1. The Blu-ray edition has been newly-scanned and restored in 2K from a 35 mm answer print. There’s a slightly bluish cast to the outdoor scenes that contributes to the film’s bleak, chilly atmosphere. A scene by a fireplace throws illumination and the fire’s flickering images onto Anna’s face. The Jersey locations are beautifully photographed, showing the power of the sea and highlighting the island’s remoteness. Details such as stubble on Hugh’s face, patterns in rocky formations, decor in Hugh and George’s home, and crowds boarding a ferry are nicely delineated. A montage shows Anna and Hugh hiking, bicycling, walking and running along the deserted beach, and enjoying being together. The film’s two love scenes are shot with discreet angles and close-ups of Anna’s face.
The soundtrack is English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio with English SDH subtitles an available option. Dialogue is clear and distinct. Sound effects include waves crashing against rocks on the shore, wind, the occasional seagull, and a violent van crash and explosion. The score by Nachum Heiman provides a dreamlike accompaniment for the Jersey visuals, with guitar and flute dominant in key sequences. The love scenes are accompanied by a chorus of angelic voices so intrusive that it ruins rather than enhances an erotic mood. The montage of Anna and Hugh enjoying outdoor activities on the island is accompanied by an upbeat theme that is jarring, considering the film’s mostly moody, somber tone.
Bonus materials on the Region-Free Blu-ray release from Vinegar Syndrome Labs include the following:
- Audio Commentary with Writers/Film Historians Jonathan Rigby and Kevin Lyons
- Steering a Course (17:32)
- Both the Sea and the Sand (9:01)
- Jersey Journey (11:14)
- New Shores (7:57)
- Where Credit Is Due (8:00)
Audio Commentary – Gordon Honeycombe, the author of the book on which Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is based, said place was important to the story. The book was subtitled “a modern Gothic novel” when released in the U.S. It has a fatalistic, romantic tone and an “edge of the world” feel. The “somber brilliance of the writing” is reminiscent of Edgar Allan Poe, one reviewer noted. Anna is a townie out of her depth on the island, and her marital problems are never spelled out. Hugh’s background is never clarified. Honeycombe’s theme is love is stronger than death. The author wasn’t happy with the finished film because another writer was brought in to polish the romantic scenes. Susan Hampshire was an established actress when the film was made, but Michael Petrovitch was a newcomer. The Channel islands have a dark history because they were occupied by the Nazis during World War II. George, Hugh’s brother, is a prissy figure who’s keen on family history and who had to raise Hugh like a mother when their parents died. At a particular point, the film transitions into folk horror where things aren’t what they seem. For a time, the film creates ambiguity. Is Anna actually experiencing what we see? By 1972, George Romero’s zombies from Night of the Living Dead had been around for four years. The film treats Hugh in a far less macabre fashion. The film deals with the denial of grief. It’s not clear whether Anna has lost her sanity. In one scene, Anna invites the dead Hugh to make love to her but he, of course, cannot. She also seems oblivious that he’s not eating the breakfast she prepared for him. The premiere in London was a gala attended by many celebrities and received a lot of press coverage. In closing, the commentators point out that Neither the Sea Nor the Sand belongs to the sub-genre of British horror island films that includes Island of Terror, The Shuttered Room, The Lost Continent, Crucible of Terror, Doom Watch, Nothing But the Night, and The Wicker Man, all made around the same time. Likely, they note, “There was something in the air.”
Steering a Course – Producer Peter Letterman was brought up in the East End of London, a violent, depressing area. He was a solitary child who believed there was another world outside the ghetto. Movies gave him hope. He was fascinated by the filmmaking process. Working at a small publisher’s office, he was given the opportunity to meet Gordon Honeycombe and read his novel Neither the Sea Nor the Sand. He was surprised that the book had never been adapted into a film. Obsessed with making a film of the novel, he eventually raised enough money to fund a low-budget production. Fetterman chose Fred Burnley to direct after seeing one of his documentaries on television. The production went smoothly and the company shared a “great esprit.” The location was perfect and the film was shot entirely on the Channel island of Jersey. Fetterman enjoyed seeing the project come to life.
Both the Sea and the Sand – Actress Susan Hampshire recalls the film as having been made at an important time of her life. In the scene in which Anna reacts to Hugh’s death, Hampshire screamed so loudly that the sound man and cameraman recoiled at her intensity. That take was the one used in the final film. She had a body double for the sex scenes, and only her face was shown. She says her co-star Michael Petrovitch fell in love with the body double. Hampshire met author Gordon Honeycombe, read the book, and eventually was cast as Anna.
Jersey Journey – Editor Norman Wanstall moved up from sound editor to become a film editor. He got on well with director Fred Burnley and remembers the shoot as a “very happy film.” A football team was made up of cast and crew members and played a team made up of locals. Wanstall saw the film recently and was surprised by how different it was from what he remembered when he made it. With partners, he established a sound effects library. He explains that most of the time, the sound editor works independently with his own team. Wanstall got his first editing job with the film Joanna (1968). He and director Burnley became friends.
New Shores – Assistant editor Richard Trevor had never worked on location before. Usually the editing team works at the studio. He found the new experience pleasant. The cast and crew were housed in the same hotel. His job was to synchronize the dailies (rushes). The film’s shooting ratio was 5:7, which indicates there wasn’t a lot of footage shot. It was a six-week shoot. The editor, Norman Wanstall, worked hard to get a respectable first cut.
Where Credit Is Due – Standby property man Brian Lofthouse, who had just gone freelance, was hired by the art director. He refers to a lot of “clipped accents” from the cast, which was the acting fashion of the time. Though he enjoyed filming in Jersey, he felt claustrophobic and was happy to return home when filming was complete. The van crash was filmed in pieces to create a dramatic sequence. The fire was set in the van’s wreckage after the van had plummeted down the cliff. The love scenes were shot on a closed set. Lofthouse points out that crew members don’t always see the films they’ve worked on. One of his pet gripes about today’s films is that actors mumble their lines.
Neither the Sea Nor the Sand is both a tragic love story and an overlooked work of 70s horror. With the vast ocean, rocky shores, deserted beaches, and windy summits, the locations provide a chilling atmosphere as the relationship between Anna and Hugh develops into something profound yet bizarre. Director Fred Burnley presents a world in which the rules of devotion are dramatically redefined. The film is visually poetic, somewhat slow-paced, but nonetheless captivating. Like The Innocents or Carnival of Souls, Neither the Sea Nor the Sand depends on a developing atmosphere of apprehension to build suspense.
- Dennis Seuling