Classic film renowned for it's stunning underwater scenes... oh and a couple of gorgeous blokes!

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #64928 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-08-15
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Colour, Director's Cut, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds
• Running time: 168 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
A hit in Europe but a flop in the US--where it was trimmed, rescored, and given a new ending--Luc Besson's The Big Blue has endured as a minor cult classic for its gorgeous photography (both on land and underwater) and dreamy ambiance. Jean-Marc Barr is a sweet and sensitive but passive presence as Jacques, a diver with a unique connection to the sea. He has the astounding ability to slow his heartbeat and his circulation on deep dives, "a phenomenon that's only been observed in whales and dolphins until now," remarks one scientist. Kooky New York insurance adjuster Joanna (Rosanna Arquette at her most delightfully flustered and endearingly sexy best) melts after falling into his innocent baby blues, and she follows him to Italy, where he's continuing a lifelong competition with boyhood rival Enzo (Jean Reno in a performance both comic and touching).

Besson's first English-language production looks more European than Hollywood, and it suffers from a tin ear for the language. At times it feels more like an IMAX undersea documentary than a drama about free divers, but the lush and lovely images create a fairy tale dimension to Jacques's story, a veritable Little Merman. More dolphin than man, he's so torn between earthly love and aquatic paradise that even his dreams call him to the sea (in a sequence more eloquent than any speech).

Besson has expanded the film by 50 minutes for his director's cut, which adds little story but slows the contemplative pace until it practically floats in time, and has restored Eric Serra's synthesizer-heavy score, a slice of 1980s pop that at times borders on disco kitsch. Most importantly, he has restored his original ending, which echoes the fairy tale he tells Joanna earlier in the film and leaves the story floating in the inky blackness of ambiguity. --Sean Axmaker, Amazon.com

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Customer Reviews

Dreamy
If you want 2 1/2 hours or so of pure escapism then this is the film for you. Besson's epic film will take you to beautiful lands (Peru, Greece, Sicily) and also to the bottom of the sea. Brilliant performances from the cruelly underatted Jean Marc Barr, Rosana Arquette who starts out as the ditzy blond but becomes much more emotional and Jean Reno who stills every scene he's in and also provides much of the humour.

The film won several awards for the underwater photography which is absolutely breathtaking and also for Eric Serra's dreamy music which gives the movie a whole new feel and puts your right in the action.

Wonderful filmwork and a moving story
I've just finished watching this film for the first time. I loved it! As a diver and sailor, I really enjoyed Besson's portrayal of a man caught between the two worlds of land and sea, and the filmwork is superb. The original ending seems infinitely superior to the tacky US 'happy' version.

The story becomes even more tragic when you know that the real life Jacques Mayol committed suicide recently, at the age of 74, after suffering from depression. He was a great diver, and a real inspiration to many who free dive today. If you haven't seen the film, and have a passion for the water, watch it as soon as you can!

as beautiful as a film can get
i decided to write something about big blue as it is one of my top 20 films of all time and i cant understand people who give it one star.. they really dont understand cinema do they ????
it really is an amazing film, dreamy is the right word, one of bessons best together with nikita and leon (especially leon, great but not as unique). music and cinematography are oscar worthy, acting is sublime, photography breathtaking.. story maybe slightly frivolous but touching at same time. a drama with a few drops of comedy here and there, on a subject that was never touched before or after this film came out.
if u generally love the sea and never seen this film just go buy it, u will be enthralled..& if u are indifferent on the sea subject, but u think u can still appreciate a stunningly beautiful film then still go buy it. 6 stars ........