The Big Blue (Director's Cut) |  | Actors: Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $29.95
Buy Used: $24.94
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Rating:  235 reviews
Sales Rank: 13463
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Director's Cut, Dolby, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Languages: English (Unknown), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Discs: 1
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Running Time: 168 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5 x 0.6
MPN: 3927
ISBN: 0767836294
UPC: 043396039278
EAN: 9780767836296
Theatrical Release Date: October 10, 1997
Release Date: August 15, 2000
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
A hit in Europe but a flop in the U.S.--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
Product Description
Experience the peril and intensity of free-diving the world s most dangerous sport in The Big Blue. Jacques (Jean-Marc Barr Breaking The Waves) and his friendly rival Enzo (Jean Reno The Professional) are considered masters of free-diving and have made a career out of this one-of-a-kind competition. Jacques life-long obsession with diving comes from his unusual bond with the sea while Enzo thrives on the challenges of its inherent danger. In his travels Jacques meets Johanna (Rosanna Arquette Pulp Fiction) who is attracted to his innocent qualities and follows him across Europe to share his adventures triumphs and ultimately tragic bond with Enzo. With breathtaking underwater photography and matching musical support from Eric Serra (The Fifth Element) The Big Blue immerses you in a life and death adventure you ll never forget.System Requirements:Starring: Rosanna Arquette Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno. Directed By: Luc Besson. Running Time: 168 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2000 Columbia TriStar Home Video.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: R UPC: 043396039278 Manufacturer No: 3927
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 235
 Hold your breath February 22, 2010
C. McGhee (Hutchinson,Ks.)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
There are three versions of this movie out & I've seen them all. Each one left me with a different take on the show. Not bad considering it's basically the same story & with the same stars. The Director's cut 168 min's, the French release 132 min's & the American release 118 min's.
Its a show done around the world free diving championships (meaning no air tanks but your lungs). I thought it would bore me but discovered that Jean Marc-Barr, Jean Reno & Rosanna Arquette (I like her) put together a fun, quirky & believeable show. Marc-Barr plays Jacques Mayol who starts the show as a little French kid that likes to dive on the same island as Enzo played by Reno. Mayol's father is a sponge diver that dies picking sponges. It has an impact on young Jacques. Fast forward 15 - 20 years & Enzo is the worlds best free diver. He is not content however as his old competitor Jacques is not in sight.
We find Jacques diving for the sake of science in the Andes mountains. The scientific expedition has had an accident that requires the insurance company to send a rep down to investigate. Thats Arquettes entrance as Johana Baker a quirky fun lady. She is immediately smitten with Jacques & that begins the rest of the show that revolves around the three of them & the dolphins Jacques admires. Jacques gets involved in Free diving because Enzo has him located & big Enzo who must be first in all things believes he will successfully romance Johana. The competition for Johana & the free diving world record begins. It plays much better than it reads with interesting looks at the world of diving as a sport, as a living, as fun & as science. The world of human relationships isn't left out. The love story is from as slightly unusual aspect due to Mayol's character.
The american ending differs from the others but that didn't upset me. It wasn't that big a thing & I'm not big on the integrity of a storyline as I believe the rash of director cuts are more tied to ego than integrity. Their validity or necessity surely isn't much.
The Directors cut I thought a travesty of time waste so many of its scenes really served no purpose. The French version was a much better length but I thought it suffered from having the same score as the Director's cut. Done by Eric Serra (the original composer) I felt the music was unrelated to the subject of the movie. The American version was cut a little short but had a new score done by Bill Conti. That score was perfectly suited to the water theme & as the music is a large part of your experience I prefer it by alot. The American ending is over dramatic but I'll put up with that for the change in music. I really like this show & when it comes to mind I always hear the American score not the original. Sometimes change is good as they say. I feel you should watch both the French & the American version. The Director's is just not good film.
I give the Director' 2 1/2 Stars. The French 4 Stars. The American 5 Stars.
I'm rating all three versions together as 4 Stars. Take a look!
Better than i remembered March 7, 2009
Brandy Allen (Torrance, California United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I saw this movie years ago and i just re-discovered it on netflix. I don't remember how the American version was, but don't bother, there is no need to see that version when you have such a beautiful version in the director's cut. The movie is long (almost three hours), but it's definitely worth it. The beautiful water sequences with the dolphins. Jean Reno is so funny as Endo and i just think Jean-Marc Barr is beautiful and so fascinating as Jacques. I am not a big Rosanna Arquette fan, but i definitely liked her in this movie. I loved Eric Serra's music, i think it just brought it all together. It's just a shame that there aren't enough people who really like this movie. And at the end, right before it fades to black. I think the dolphin is pulling Jacques back up to the surface. At least, that's what i hope, the movie made me cry, it was definitely better than i remembered.
 ZE BIG BLEW! March 6, 2009
Francisco J. Calderon (Mexico City, Mexico)
1 out of 14 found this review helpful
This movie is baaaaaad but loooooooooooooong...
Talk about a Giant Sucking Sound!
Sure, it's got beautiful scenery and lush cinematography, plus two very likable stars (three, if you count Griffin Dunne doing a bit role). But that doesn't ammount to much when the movie lacks a credible screenplay, and what poses as such is full of unnerving clichés and stereotypes that sink the entire thing deeper than the main character on a quest for the Titanic!
Rossanna Arquette plays the dopey American blonde in love with the ultimate "cold fish", a dreamy French American effete whose only desire in life is to become a dolphin and swim away for all eternity (eventually he does, thank God, but you'll have to spend a great deal of yours to get to that particular scene). Jean Reno plays the (stereo)typical Italian bachelor (obnoxious mother in black included) in a "boastful performance" most humble moviegoers would describe as plain overacting. Even Dunne is given lousy lines the few seconds he's in -something like "You deliberately lied to me, embezzled the company's money, and should go to jail this very instant if I'm not to lose my own job as well. But never mind all that; tell me: is this love for real?".
No kidding: there's an old uncle who dives in a bathtub, a bipolar dolphin who feels out-of-water, and an aquarium where you can break in and walk away with whatever you please without a care in the world. There's daddy dying on cue, mamma frowning on spaghetti -although she cooks lots of it in hotel bedrooms- and Honey getting pregnant and abandoned (tears and all) in a -literally- fishy finale. And there's this guy who grew in an impoverished idyllic Greek vilage, doesn't have a job, doesn't own a suit, and yet stays at the Nice Carlton and lives in a posh apartment. But mostly there's me, the bemused-confused audience, wondering why this pretentious deadweight is hailed as a cult film, when it should be shelved in the far off corners of the Hallmark Channel where it belongs!
P.S.: As any licensed diver can tell you, these guys are fakes! The first and foremost rule in diving is SAFETY. That is, if someone tells you something is not safe, or seems not safe, or may not be safe, or lurks in the vicinity of perhaps not safe, YOU DON'T DO IT, PERIOD! To show otherwise is like showing cops goofing around with a loaded weapon. Whatever one may think about them, professionals is not likely to be on the list. And one is to believe these hotshot divers are pros, let alone World Champions, when hey routinely ignore every warning they're given? Please..!
The Big Blue-Loved it! February 9, 2009
Heather A. Heslop (Mount Joy, PA)
I watched this movie back in the 80s, when I used to work in a video store, because I love dolphins and saw one on the cover. It's definately different, but in a good way. It is slow in a few spots, but overall a good movie. I normally can't stand Rosanna Arquette, but can watch this movie over and over again because of the story and great scenery/photography. Also, Jean Reno is always good as a villain and it's great to see him before he became known in the States.
The Big Blue October 14, 2008
Richard C. Sims (Columbus, OH)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Big Blue is a joy to watch. The scenery, on land or in the sea is beautiful. The acting is very good. The movie is humorous and mellow. There is a spiritual theme that unfolds towards the end of the movie, but I will not be specific lest I spoil it for others to uncover.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 235
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