Jonathan Livingston Seagull: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

It is of course important to mention first off that this is not your standard movie. For a movie going audience conditioned by such spectaculars as Harry Potter, Titanic, Star Wars, and Spider-Man, it would be hard to imagine exactly how this would play out in the theaters today (as I recall, it didn't fair to well back in 1973 either).

All of this doesn't mean this isn't a -good- movie. It contains a lot of sweeping ocean scenery, with of course lots of wonderful footage of seagulls. It also has the great score by Neil Diamond, and then woven throughout this is the original story by Richard Bach. And it is perhaps in that order that this movie exists. It is a relaxing, calming, as well as uplifting (on a very subtle scale) experience. To watch it with the same rapt attention that you might a modern "spectacular", you would no doubt be quickly disappointed and bored. Instead, it should be watched at a time when you just want to relax, no pressing chores calling your name,...Read more

My brother introduced me to this record just after it was first released some 28 years ago. I can remember the occasion as if it were yesterday. I was sleeping late on a Saturday morning and I was awakened by music echoing through the house. Music that was haunting, expressive, flowing. Words that were insightful, thoughtful, introspective and, most of all, moving.

Eventually, I got up and went downstairs to find out what I had been listening to, and I discovered that it was Jonathan Livingstone Seagull by Neil Diamond. Well, I was captivated; truly, deeply captivated. I'd rarely heard such rich, wonderfully expressive modern music before. Yes, I knew of Neil Diamond, but this record made me see and hear him in a new light.

I bought the album and wore it out after many playings over many years. I've seen the film so many times I've lost count, but one thing still gives me shivers as I watch it is the combination of absolutely superb photography matched to the superlative...Read more

This movie is so uplifting! The music and photography are mesmerizing, as well as the messages of striving to reach past your perceived limits to totally new horizons. When I'm troubled I watch the movie or listen to the cd and remember that it's the striving in life that makes us who we are, not our present problems.