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Between what you know and what you wish, lies the secret of…Distributed by
Optimum Home EntertainmentBlu-ray: 
DVD:
- Cert:
- Running time: 118 minutes
- Year: 1990
- Cat no: OPTBD1641
- Released: September 2009
- Region(s): 2, PAL
- Chapters: 12 plus extras
- Picture: 1080p High Definition
- Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0
- Languages: English
- Subtitles: English
- Widescreen: 2.35:1 (Technovision)
- 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: Yes
- Disc Format: BD50
- Price: £24.99 (Blu-ray); £15.99 (DVD)
- Extras: Theatrical Cut, L’Aventure Du Grand Bleu, Trailers
Director:
- Luc Besson
(Angel-A, Arthur and the Invisibles, Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard, Arthur and the Two Worlds War, Atlantis, The Big Blue, The Fifth Element, The Last Combat, Leon, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, Nikita, Subway)
Producers:
- Patrice Ledoux and Bernard Grenet
Screenplay:
- Luc Besson, Robert Garland, Marilyn Goldin, Jacques Mayol and Marc Perrier
Music:
- Eric Serra
Cast :
- Johana Baker: Rosanna Arquette
Jacques Mayol: Jean-Marc Barr
Enzo Molinari: Jean Reno
Dr. Laurence: Paul Shenar
Novelli: Sergio Castellitto
Uncle Louis: Jean Bouise
Roberto: Marc Duret
Duffy: Griffin Dunne
Priest: Andreas Voutsinas
Bonita: Valentina Vargas
Jaques’ Father: Claude Besson
The Big Blue: Version Longueis director Luc Besson’s definitive version of the film about the timeless, magical, mysterious sea – a place on earth as untouched as the far reaches of space. For two men, its unknown depths will become the ultimate test of their courage. For one woman, the ultimate test of her love.
In a place where man has only just begun to venture, Jaques Mayol (Jean-Marc Barr) has discovered a secret. For Jaques can dive without oxygen to depths never before reached… depths beyond human endurance, beyond pain and reason.For Enzo (Jean Reno), who competes against Jaques, it is the glory and the obsession of winning that drives him to these incredible depths. For Johanna (Rosanna Arquette), it is her extraordinary love for Jaques that will bring them together, although she knows his heart belongs to the sea.
As the very lure of the ocean, which once brought these three people together, seems destined to tear them apart, Jaques’ diving achievements go beyond human capability and it becomes apparent that he is something more… something more than just human.
The three main actors in this film all have a solid role to play and each fulfill it perfectly.Jean Reno plays the cocky know-it-all diving champion who is convinced that no-one will ever beat him, no matter how fierce the competition and sets off on that determined path, while Jean-Marc Barr comes across as the sexually-inexperienced young man who just takes life as it comes and tries to do his best.
Inbetween them is the gorgeous, quirky Rosanna Arquette, the actress who has never seemed to be accepted by the Hollywood in-crowd, only having done a couple of big films, Nowhere To Run, starring Jean-Claude Van Damme and her new film Hope Floats, instead spending most of her time appearing in low-budget, arthouse or low-rent films such as Hope Floats, Pulp Fiction, Desperately Seeking Susan and After Hours, the latter in which she co-starred with this film’s Griffin Dunne who has a brief cameo in two scenes as her boss.
Good support also comes from Marc Duret as Jean Reno’s brother, Roberto, while Besson proves that nepotism rules by giving a cameo to his father early on in the film as the father of Jaques.
And now, the biggest problem with this release: the soundtrack. It was Luc Besson’s first ever English-language film,but the print used here is a French-dubbed one! I flicked a few chapters in and Rosanna Arquette was back to speakingEnglish, but soon was back to French-dubbed again. In fact, the English language jumps back in now and again when there’sno French characters onscreen, and even then it goes slightly out of sync.
My initial thoughts were this: I cannot recommend this disc at all based on this. I used to think it was just Optimum’scrazy chaptering system of allowing a tiny 12 regardless of however long the film was which was their biggest problem,but now they’ve surpassed themselves. It even affects the Theatrical version, even though it’s the extended one you’vecome to see. Come on, Optimum, you’ve GOT to recall this!!
Now, my opinion hasn’t changed, but it turns out that this French version was released at Bessons request. The filmwas largely recorded in both languages at the same time, with Jean Reno and the rest of the bilingual cast recording theirparts in both languages but Rosanna Arguette was dubbed into French later. I understand that Besson regards the Frenchversion as the original, as he was obliged to make various alterations for the American market, and the Engish version wasintended for including removing the Eric Serra score. I also understand that Optimum are hoping to have the Englishlanguage version available on Blu-ray at a later date, but no date can be given at this time.
For the most part, the picture is nicely detailed throughout and reflects well Luc Besson’s sharp eye for direction, filling the imagewith his 2.35:1 anamorphic vision, whether it’s the close-ups of any of the key cast’s faces or the glorious Paris andVenice locations. Like theSubway release, there’s occasionally some shimmeringthat’s mostly notable in the black sections of the image, while at other times it just looks a rather hazy print. Itaffects this release more than the others – even in the brighter scenes, so this disc really needs checking.For the record, I’m watching on a Panasonic 37″ Plasma screen via a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player.
The sound is in Dolby Digital 2.0 and while Eric Serra’s soundtrack is unsurpassable, the aforementioned dialogue problemsmake this a disc to avoid. I think I stated that earlier, but if I didn’t make it clear then – AVOID THIS DISC!
The extras are as follows:
- Theatrical Cut (2:17:26): Does exactly what it says on the tin, which also has a paltry 12 chapters, but I prefer to watch the extended version.
- L’Aventure Du Grand Bleu (1:37:00): This is an extensive supplemental, presented in 4:3, which is a feature all in itself, but you’re not going to buy thisdisc just for this particular extra.
- Trailers (0:43, 1:47): Well, one teaser that doesn’t show anything, and one trailer, in letterboxed 16:9.
The menu mixes footage from the film with a small portion of the music from it.There are English subtitles but the Chaptering is, again for Optimum, appalling with just 12 over the168-minute running time.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
0
OVERALLDO NOT BUY
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.