The Big Blue

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Le Grand Bleu" redirects here. For the yacht, see Le Grand Bleu (yacht).
The Big Blue
Le Grand Bleu

Theatrical poster
Directed by Luc Besson
Produced by Patrice Ledoux
Written by Luc Besson (also story)
Robert Garland
Marilyn Goldin
Jacques Mayol
Starring Rosanna Arquette
Jean-Marc Barr
Jean Reno
Music by Éric Serra (Original)
Bill Conti (US version)
Cinematography Carlo Varini
Editing by Olivier Mauffroy
Distributed by Gaumont
Release date(s) Flag of France May 11, 1988 (France)
Running time 132 Min
119 Min (US edit)
168 Min
Director's Cut
Country Flag of France France/Flag of the United States United States/Flag of Italy Italy
Language English, French Italian
Budget ₣ 80,000,000
IMDb profile

1988's The Big Blue (French: Le Grand Bleu) is the first English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.

Contents

[edit] Plot

The film charts the competition and friendship of real-life champions Jacques Mayol (played by former model Barr) and Enzo Maiorca (renamed in the film to "Enzo Molinari", and played by Reno). The action is divided into two timelines - the nascent rivalry between the two divers as children, and (as adults) their final competition at the world free-diving championships at the Sicilian town of Taormina. Mayol's search for love, family, "wholeness" and the meaning of life and death is a strong undercurrent of the latter timeline.

[edit] Production

With its extensive underwater scenes and languid score (as with all of Luc Besson's films excepted Angel-A, the soundtrack was composed by Éric Serra), the film has been both praised as beautiful and serene, and in equal measure criticised as being dull and uneventful. While popular in Europe, the film was a commercial failure in North America in part due to the studio's[clarify] recutting of the movie to include a simplified "happy" ending and the replacement of Serra's score with one composed by Bill Conti. The director later released a longer Director's Cut on DVD, featuring the original ending and an extended version of the Éric Serra score. The film was dedicated to his daughter Juliette Besson who required surgery, having become ill whilst he was working on the film.

[edit] Filming locations

[edit] Awards

 This section needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008)

The Big Blue was nominated for several César Awards and won Best Music Written for a Film (Éric Serra) and Best Sound in 1989. The film also won France's National Academy of Cinema's Academy Award in 1989. The movie was also given highest grade by an American psychiatrist Dr. David R. Hawkins who notes in his book Power vs. Force that there is a hidden meaning behind the Big Blue whose significance is missed by the majority of viewers. This references a method of consciousness calibration which registers The Big Blue as the highest calibrated movie of all time.

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Films directed by Luc Besson