Product Description

Peter Gallagher (Mr. Deeds) and Daryl Hannah (A Walk to Remember) ignite the screen in this scintillating story of love, lust and obsession from the director of The Blue Lagoon. Michael (Gallagher) and his childhood sweetheart Cathy (Hannah) go to Greece to spend the summer on the isle of Santoriniwhere, despite his love for Cathy, he finds himself lured by Lina (Valerie Quennessen), a vacationing French archeologist. Lina's exotic beauty mesmerizes Michael, andhe becomes torn between the woman he loves...and the woman he lusts after. But when he finally reveals his feelings to Cathy, she surprises them both by confronting Lina. When the two women discover that they are drawn to each other, the three lovers find themselves forever affected by the most passionate and inspiring summer of their lives.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9062 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-01-07
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 98 minutes

Amazon.com
After the breezy successes of Grease and The Blue Lagoon, director Randal Kleiser made what can only be described as one of the greatest guilty-pleasure movies of all time. Summer Lovers is a bubble-brained movie if ever there was one, involving a love triangle between characters who have all the depth of a Calvin Klein commercial; but you don't care because the movie's so irresistibly alluring. Daryl Hannah and Peter Gallagher play a young couple vacationing in Greece when they meet one of the island locals, a gorgeous paleontologist (French actress Valérie Quennessen) who quickly proves that when it comes to love on a Greek island, three is better than two. This innocent flirtation endures a bit of ego-bruising animosity, but suspicion eventually subsides and blossoms into a sensuously delightful ménage à trois, accompanied by a soundtrack full of early-'80s pop by Chicago, Elton John, Blondie, the Pointer Sisters, and others. In addition to suggesting an interesting use of candle wax during foreplay and treating viewers to the vision of Ms. Quennessen cavorting topless whenever the impulse strikes her (and it strikes her frequently), Summer Lovers is like a time capsule from the earliest years of MTV. It's mindless entertainment, but on vacations like this, who wants to be an intellectual? --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

A great escape from day to day life.....
I never knew about this movie until the Summer of 1987 when I saw the video cover in a local video rental store. I had gone to Santorini in 1981 and spent 3 weeks there exploring it alone. The movie brought back many memories and I thought the portrayal of life on Santorini was very accurate. I admit I did not have a three-way while there, but I enjoyed it none-the-less!

It was only recently that I discovered that Valerie Quennessen had passed away from an automobile accident. I found her to be the life of the movie and thought her beauty was unbelievable. One of her great lines was "Jealousy doesn't prove how much you love someone, it proves how insecure you are - Margaret Mead: I think I have that book here somewhere" At that time (1987) I found myself healing from a broken relationship and somehow that line of Lena's made me understand a lot.

I had been to Akrotiri and Perissa Beach while visiting and found the film captured the feeling one gets when you are actually there. Unlike a couple of reviewers who were so disgusted about the nudity in the film, I thougt it was done with accuracy and in good taste. Europeans don't have the same hangups that we Americans do about our bodies. I applaud the director for not 'Americanizing' the film.

Overall, it was a great reminder of my Summer in Santorini and I now occasionally watch the video when I am wanting to escape the day-to-day trials. It's a great video for escape and discovering yourself and life.

Should you ever have the chance to visit Santorini, GO and HAVE the BEST time of your life!

Too many cuts
As a life-long nudist, I was very disappointed with the DVD compared with the theatrical release that I saw in the mid 1980s. The theatrical release opened with many shots of the nude beaches, and continued this theme quite simply and unashamedly throughout the whole movie. Many nude beach scenes have been deleted altogether from the DVD and the few remaining scenes are cut drastically, in my view detracting badly from the spirit and freedom of the Greek islands at the time portrayed in the original movie.

lighthearted and fun
Summer Lovers is a fun little film about a young couple on vacation in the Greek islands. Michael (Peter Gallagher) and Cathy (Daryl Hannah) are on a Summer vacation after college graduation and his father's death, and are apparently headed for engagement and marriage. Michael encounters and is uncontrollably drawn to Lina (Valerie Quennessen), a French Archeologist working at a dig nearby.

What follows is a light but well handled exploration of the complications that ensue when passion and love collide with society's rules and expectations. What could have easily ended up as just another shallow movie sex romp actually does some justice to the theme of adults exploring new relationship territory and the power of overcoming one's barriers. Although lighter and not in the same league as "Same Time Next Year," it is still a good movie and a fun but somewhat thoughtful look at unusual relationships. It does not follow the expected Hollywood pattern, and I like that. (Can't say more without spoiling it.) I disagree that it is bubble-brained and predictable. The story isn't any sillier than the plot of Casablanca or the Wizard of Oz, just not quite the same caliber.

The story is well told, dialog is okay, and the characters are believable. The scenery is gorgeous and well photographed, and the film is much more enjoyable on DVD than it was when I first saw it on cable and on VHS. The details in the scenes and sound track are much better. I caught much more subtlety in the photography on the DVD. I loved the footage of the beautiful whitewashed Greek buildings and the ocean. There are nude beach scenes and some other nudity, but it is relevant to the time, location, and situations of the characters. This is a love story about sexy young people on vacation in the Mediterranean, after all. The sound track is late 70s to early 80s pop (Prince, Tina Turner, Pointer Sisters, etc.), but good songs that drive the story. There are no real extras on the DVD, and I would have enjoyed at least some commentary from the actors or director about the film and its theme, shooting on Santorini, etc. There was apparently a "Making of" documentary done for TV, and that would be a nice addition. Since Valerie Quennessen is dead, something extra about her would be nice. I agree that she is the most interesting in the cast. Her passing is indeed sad. (She also had a small role in Conan The Barbarian, by the way.)

I especially like one line where Hannah remarks that she had a dream where she was a mermaid. This movie was released in 1982 and Splash (with Hannah as a mermaid!) in 1984. Interesting.

This is one of those films I watch every so often to refresh my attitude and have a light but not completely meaningless escape. Hey, not every movie has to be Doctor Zhivago or Schindler's List to be good to watch. Beauty comes in many forms, and should be enjoyed.