Beyond the Sea (Beyond the Sea – Musik war sein Leben)

Beyond the Sea, a biographical musical drama from 2004 inspired by the life of singer and actor Bobby Darin, takes its title from his song of the same name. Kevin Spacey stars and also directed, co-wrote and co-produced it, singing the musical numbers in his own voice. A German-American co-production shot in English, it runs 118 minutes.

The story begins with young Bobby, whose heart was damaged by childhood illness, clinging to life against the doctors' expectations. It follows his rise in music and film during the 1950s and 1960s and his marriage to the actress Sandra Dee, played by Kate Bosworth. John Goodman, Bob Hoskins and Brenda Blethyn also appear, as do the Turkish actors Tayfun Bademsoy and Orhan Güner.

The idea was not new: Barry Levinson planned a version as early as 1986 and began pre-production in early 1997. When he left the director's chair, the rights passed to Spacey and Darin's son Dodd. Filming ran from November 2003 to January 2004. The film premiered in Toronto in September 2004, opened in the United States on 17 December 2004 and reached Germany on 17 February 2005. Reviews were mixed and it disappointed at the box office, but Spacey was praised, largely for singing himself, and earned a Golden Globe nomination.