The Big Blue (Director's Cut)
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Movie Reviews of The Big Blue (Director's Cut)
Movie Review: The Big Blue
Summary: 5 Stars
Bring me the Frenchman ...! Why have we had to wait so long for what is undeniably one of the most visually and aurally intoxicating films of all times? This film which pays homage to the world-famous free diver, Enzo Majorca, deals with a subject matter that few could find scintillating. However, Serra's score is both haunting and beautiful while the photography is some of the best use of light and shadow in a colour film. Whilst this all sounds rather "arty", there is a considerable amount of humour and interaction between the main protagonists of Reno, Barr and Arquette (not to mention a dolphin or two!). Many will think that the Director's cut is too long but the short version leaves you unsatisfied. Best watched with ALL the lights turned off and the bigger the screen the better (irrespective of damage to one's eyes! ). Few films today can succeed without graphic sex or violence of which this film has none. The worst crime was releasing this film to the US market with a different ending which misses the whole point of the film. Thankfully the Director's cut stays true to the original version. A cult film it may be - but it stands at the number 1 position on my top films of the past twenty years. It appeals to both sexes and is a must for anyone's library. I have seen it more times than most people could stand, why? - because it does not depend on any one element to keep you hooked.Movie Review: Beautiful Blue
Summary: 5 Stars
This is one of the most seductively beautiful movies of all time. I kept smiling throughout this very long director's cut and I observed that others too get captivated and just keep smiling all the time. It's a very European work but also easy to watch and not boring at all. It also funny and tragic, and the music really weaves through it and adds depth to the visual experience. There are a lot of breathtaking scenes, but two are truly memorable: one is a scene of the hero awakening in the morning and seeing the ceiling of his room change into sea waves that ultimately engulf him; the other is the very last few seconds of the film, done with such mastery that it seems magical. There is probably not much sense in trying to find a deeper meaning in such a beautiful film, but I can't help it: I think the story is about our struggle between the real world filled with light, reason, friends, competition, wives and children - and the other unreal and irrational world of pure emotion, which is dark and cold and dangerous, where you are alone, but also the only place where you can see mermaids. Nietzsche wrote about the Apollonian (rational) and Dionysian (emotional) aspects of tragedy, and I think this movie is an interpretation of the same idea.
Movie Review: it's about time!
Summary: 5 Stars
i have been waiting for this picture on dvd for a long long time! and to finally get it, with additional footage, no less! this was the first besson picture i ever saw. i was immediately taken with his style & feel for subject. the american version was good, only, unbeknownst to me at the time, it felt somewhat incomplete-- now i know why. this director's cut fills in so many gaps, answers so many unspoken questions. it rounds out the romance between jacques & joanna as well as gives more depth to the friendship/competition between jacques & enzo. the "drinking in the diving bell" scene is a riot, mimicking the drinkng in the pool scene. in my opinion the film needs those extra "director's" minutes to evove from a good picture with potential to an awesome picture, period. i am so much happier seeing this movie with those formerly "lost" european additions. Mr. Reno is worth his weight in gold, a great job by Mr. Barr, and Ms. Arquette provides a nice american counterpoint to these euro stars. interesting to see arquette & griffin dunne together again (from "after hours-- m. scorcese"). a great "new" ending... you'll see when you compare it to the version americané.Movie Review: Never Knew What I Was Missing
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw The Big Blue three times on the big screen as a 17 year old. I walked a mile each direction from my dad's office where I was working part time that summer. I wanted to become an oceanographer because of this film, despite my irrational fear of water. (I later changed majors, to business.)Flash-forward 13 years later - I heard there was a "Director's Cut" on DVD and ran out and bought it. And was awed. So many questions were answered, particularly about the relationship between Jacques and Rosanna. I always thought it was ridiculous when Arquette kneeled on the edge of a dock in the pitch black night, screaming pathetically at Barr "I'm here, I'm real," and then begging for acknowledgment of her confessed love for him. **NOW** I understand why she had grounds for being so desperate to stop him from disappearing into the deep dark sea. And the music? I bought the original soundtrack when I first saw the movie and thought it was great music, but had trouble picturing the scenes with the music in my minds eye. When they imported that film and removed the original musical intentions they castrated it. Now it's whole and can stand on its own two feet. Thank you, Besson! The world is a more beautiful place because of you.
Movie Review: Visual, Aural and Emotional Ecstasy
Summary: 5 Stars
In the Summer Cinema under the stars next to the sparkling Mediterranean Sea in Monaco, I experienced the original (I suppose it's the European version after all I've read here) version of this unforgettable masterpiece for the first time. Luc Besson created and filmed the, based on fact, competition between freediving (diving to incredible depths without tanks) champions Jacques and Enzo, as the ethereal experience that the aching-to-be-active layman can only hope it to be. Roseanne Arquette (granted, as a ditsy blonde) brought welcome levity, yearning and romance to the story as we experienced the drastically varying levels of the storyline through her eyes, many of which she herself was unaware.The imagery, romance and chilling soundtrack (Eric Serra, who also did La Femme Nikita) of The Big Blue haunted me until I purchased the CD soundtrack (in France) and finally the PAL VHS version of the film in England (to be viewed countless times). I unfortunately loaned the video 4 years ago to an East German acquaintance who was learning English and never received it back. I look forward to re-purchasing this, my favorite film. Hmmm, do I buy DVD or VHS?