Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Though the plot of "The Sandpiper" is thin and obvious, the film has enough virtues to make watching it time well spent. Mainly, the chance to wallow in Elizabeth Taylor's beauty, here just about as undone and natural as she ever allowed; Hair blowing in the gentle breeze wafting off the magnificent Big Sur coastline. Richard Burton looks pretty good too, the couple still oozing the magnetism that brought the stars together in the first place. Eva Marie Saint gives expert support in the thankless role of a neglected wife. The scenery is fantastic, the music ('The Shadow of Your Smile") nothing short of sublime, and last but not least, are Herb Rosenthal's gorgeous calligraphic titles.

Liz Taylor plays a pre-hippie who lives in a "shack" (prime real estate in real life) by the sea. She paints already-finished works of art. The sandpiper is an injured bird whose wing she helps to heal, although the sandpiper is an obvious metaphor for for the free-spirited Liz.She hangs around in designer clothes with her hair perfectly coiffed, which makes it hard to take seriously her role as free-spirited nonconformist. At one point she shows up at her son's school in a fashionable yellow dress and large white hat. After seeing the interior of her "shack", I couldn't help wondering where she keeps all those clothes. Blue jeans and T-shirts (braless) would have been more realistic as attire for her beach-bum life style. Oh well.Richard Burton cannot resist her allure despite his religious convictions and his marriage to Eva Marie Saint.They fall in love, all the while spouting soliloquies about life, love, the existence or non-existence of God, etc. In one scene, where they are on the beach, Liz is espousing philosophy and the wind keeps whipping her hair into her face and I couldn't help but wonder why they didn't pin in back for that scene. In another scene, as Liz is pontificating again, the sandpiper perches on her head! (How did they get it to do that? ha ha ) Liz is made out to be the wiser of the two, Richard Burton being tied down to such terrible things as responsibility and fidelity.Despite being madly in love in real life, I couldn't see a lot of chemistry between them.I watched this because I read the book "Furious Love" - a really good book by the way. The movies they made together are documented in it so I was motivated to watch their films. So now I have seen this one and it's on the "Taming of the Shrew."

I recommend this film for one huge reason--the location. Although not terribly far from Hollywood, I am very surprised that more films have not been set around Big Sur and Point Lobos (just south of Carmel and Monterey, California), as it's one of the most beautiful places on Earth. See this location in person if you can--I just did and was captivated by its beauty and the film just brought back memories of the place. But,...back to the film itself! "The Sandpiper" begins with a VERY free-spirited mother (Elizabeth Taylor) being hauled into family court because her young son has had another brush with the law. The problems are not serious but the judge is shocked that Taylor is so unrepentant in the way she raises the kid. She's an atheist, is extremely permissive and home schools the boy with her own blend of unusual teaching. Nowadays or even in the late 60s, this sort of child raising wouldn't have gotten much notice (particularly in California)--but here in 1965 it's a bit scandalous--especially since Taylor's character never married nor does she care about legitimizing the boy. Because of this and the child's actions, he is sent to live at a nearby residential school run by the church. Taylor thinks that the Episcopal priest running the place (Richard Burton) is shocked by all this and immediately dislikes him, but he seems rather patient and caring. However, through the course of the film, the two begin to see each other more and more and it's apparent that soon the two will be hitting the sheets together--even though he's married (to a woman, not just God). What's to come of these two? See the film if you'd like.Apart from the great location shooting, the film is a mixed bag. Some would clearly be offended by its irreverent plot, others bored (as it's VERY talky at times and the dialog becomes awful at about 80 minutes into the film) and others would love it. Those who like really salacious soaps of the era (such as "Peyton Place" and the like) will probably adore the film--as it is filled with fiery content (not just the affair but an attempted rape) and a good looking couple (well, at least Liz). And, in many ways, these same folks often felt like they were peering into the real life relationship between this couple. As for me, I loved the scenery and laughed at the love story. It seemed contrived and you wondered just how any priest could be that stupid. Plus, the dialog between Liz and Dick on the beach was pretty laughable as was the fight at the 106 minute mark and Dick's sermon towards the end. I see the film as a guilty pleasure you see once...and only once. Then, afterwords, to make penance for this, you should watch a really GOOD film! By the way, despite the name, San Simeon School is supposed to be in nearby Monterey (just north of Big Sur) and has no relation to the Hearst mansion (San Simeon) a couple hours south. Also, I was impressed by a supporting role by James Edwards. For a black actor, it was a great role--a non-black and non-stereotypical role. For its era, it was ahead of its time.

This is a very compelling love story, full of truth and pain.The movie starts out slowly and beautifully with sweeping vistas of the Pacific coast of California. Romance infuses the film like the crashing surf sending up a spray beside free spirit Laura's beach-front home. This movie was made early in the first marriage of its stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton and the chemistry between them is palpable. One really senses the painful conflict Burton experiences in the presence of a woman he finds so enticing -- as his loyal, responsible, conventional wife buys into his increasingly outrageous lies.The film seems prescient in anticipating the women's movement and conveys some timeless verities about temptation and guilt.Taylor excels in exuding a raw sexuality along with real psychological complexity.I found the artwork Laura created to be worse than poor, and since it was taken seriously in the film perhaps a little more work should have gone into providing better examples of her creativity.This quibble is minor in light of the quality of the rest of the film.