Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August (), The beach of the landing of the two shipwrecks is Cala Fuili, in the municipality of Dorgali. The beach of Cala Luna, on horseback between the municipality of Dorgali and Baunei, was another location used for filming. The Carunchio refuge and the most sensual scenes were shot in the dunes of Capo Comino, a town in the municipality of Siniscola.
Although in the film, it seems that the shipwrecks travel a single beach, in reality these beaches are several kilometers apart. The final scene of the helicopter departure is set in Tortolì, in Ogliastra, also in the province of Nuoro. The same locations were also chosen for Guy Ritchie's remake of the film.
Release
Swept Away was released in Italy on 19 December 1974 by Medusa Distribuzione.
Reception
Box office
Swept Away was the fifth highest-grossing film released in Italy during the 1974–1975 season.
Other reviewers and analysts responded that those who focused on the misogyny did not understand the film's message about class warfare. James Berardinelli defended the film, writing, "Those who view this film casually may easily mistake it for a male fantasy... The reality, however, is that Wertmuller is exhibiting the courage to show things that other filmmakers shy away from." John P. Lovell wrote, "The sexual violence can be analyzed as political violence within the framework of patriarchal politics and the film's concern with a symbolic presentation of social revolt."
In her review in Jump Cut, Tania Modleski dismissed those justifications, contending that critics would not have been so kind to those who made films which reinforced stereotypes—culminating in violent subjugation—about oppressed ethnic groups, so there was no justification for critics to praise a rape-fantasy film. Responding to the film's message about class warfare, she wrote "So even if Wertmuller wanted to convey only a political message, she has clouded rather than clarified the issues. She should have made both parties male."
Accolades
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|-
! scope="col" style="width:250px;"| Award
! scope="col" style="width:50px;"| Year
! scope="col" style="width:250px;"| Category
! scope="col" style="width:250px;"| Recipient
! scope="col" style="width:50px;"| Result
|-
! scope="row"| David di Donatello
| rowspan="7"| 1975
| Best Score
| Piero Piccioni
|
|-
! scope="row"| National Board of Review Awards
| Top Five Foreign Films
| rowspan="2"| Swept Away
|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3"| New York Film Critics Circle Awards
| Best Film
|
|-
| Best Director
| rowspan="3"| Lina Wertmüller
|
|-
| Best Screenplay
|
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| Tehran International Film Festival
| Best Film
|
|-
| Best Actress
| Mariangela Melato
|
|}
Remake
The film was remade in 2002 as Swept Away, starring Madonna and directed by her then-husband Guy Ritchie. The film was a critical and commercial failure. The male lead was played by Adriano Giannini, the son of Giancarlo Giannini.
See also
- The Admirable Crichton
- Overboard
- Liza