
If you were stuck on a desert island, the surefire pick for which stuck on a desert island movie you would want to have with you is the new 4K restoration of the 1974 Italian classic Swept Away (Travolti da un Insolito destino nell’azzurro mare d’agosto), written and directed by Lina Wertmüller.
Privileged Raffaella Pavone Lanzetti (Mariangela Melato) is not accustomed to having to rough it like she is on the Mediterranean yacht trip she is on. Her coffee is reheated instead of made fresh, and the pasta is overcooked. She gets little sympathy from her husband, Signor Pavone Lanzetti (Riccardo Salvino), and their wealthy friends, all members of the Italian Communist Party.
Raffaella constantly argues with them about the contradiction between being rich and communist. At the same time, they throw back that the Party has been able to get critical social reforms from the Church, like divorce and birth control. They also claim camaraderie with the downtrodden, like the servants serving them on the yacht, including the infuriated Gennarino Carunchio (Giancarlo Giannini).
Gennarino has to slave all day and endure Raffaella’s strict orders and verbal abuse. Raffaella demands Gennarino take her out in the lifeboat for an impulse excursion, which he does begrudgingly, as it is getting late. They lose the yacht, and the motor on the lifeboat goes out, leaving them adrift.

“They lose the yacht, and the motor on the lifeboat goes out, leaving them adrift.
They finally come across a deserted island, and right away, Gennarino gets to work on food and shelter. Soon, Raffaella finds herself at a severe disadvantage, as she can’t fish, and he can. Gennarino sees how the tables have turned and starts to put her in her place, which is groveling at his feet. Her money is no good on this island, so how will Raffaella get some fish from Gennarino?
Yes, I also noticed the Italian title seems a lot longer than the English one. The full translation is Swept Away…by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea in August, which is so Italian in its operatic opulence. But it was a good idea to call it Swept Away, as I imagine the word on the street about this one in 1974 was like wildfire, made easier by a simpler title to pass around.
It is unbelievable just how good a good movie can be. And I would have completely missed out on it, as I never planned to see it. This was due to the radioactive cloud surrounding the remake in 2002 with Madonna, which almost destroyed the ascent of the directing career of her new husband, Guy Ritchie.
It is all thanks to Film Threat publisher Chris Gore, who saw it decades ago at the Detroit Institute for the Arts and said it was amazing. Everyone knows Chris Gore is discerning to the point of annihilation, so his endorsement on this one got me wicked curious. Turns out that Swept Away is truly an amazing movie that is still as potent at 50 years old as it was back in the day.
And it is still as erotic. Yes, the nudity is brief and surprising in how restrained it is for the early ’70s, with much of the actual sex left up to the imagination. However, the eyebrow-raising dialogue explodes across the screen as hard as it ever has.

"…still as potent at 50 years old as it was back in the day."