DVDfever.co.uk - The Big Blue: Version Longue Blu-ray reviewDVDfever.co.uk - Charts, News and Reviews of Blu-rays, DVDs, Games, CDs, Hardware, Laserdiscs, Cinema Films & more
(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 Longue
is 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 speaking
English, but soon was back to French-dubbed again. In fact, the English language jumps back in now and again when there's
no 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's
crazy 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've
come 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 Besson’s request. The film
was largely recorded in both languages at the same time, with Jean Reno and the rest of the bilingual cast recording their
parts in both languages but Rosanna Arguette was dubbed into French later. I understand that Besson regards the French
version as the original, as he was obliged to make various alterations for the American market, and the Engish version was
intended for including removing the Eric Serra score. I also understand that Optimum are hoping to have the English
language 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 image
with his 2.35:1 anamorphic vision, whether it's the close-ups of any of the key cast's faces or the glorious Paris and
Venice locations. Like the
Subway release, there's occasionally some shimmering
that's mostly notable in the black sections of the image, while at other times it just looks a rather hazy print. It
affects 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 problems
make 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 this
disc 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 the
168-minute running time.
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
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Blu-ray: 
