The Big Blue

1988's The Big Blue (French: Le Grand Bleu) was the first film made in English by French director Luc Besson. The film starred Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and it depicts a fictionalised account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers. Amazon.com described the film as: "... 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."

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 as "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.

Production

With its extensive underwater scenes and languid score (as with all of Luc Besson's films to date, the soundtrack was written by Eric 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 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 Eric Serra score. The film was dedicated to his daughter Juliette Besson who required surgery, having become ill whilst he was working on the film.

Filming locations

Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
Egia Anna, Amorgos, Cyclades, Greece
Kalotaritissa bay, Amorgos, Cyclades, Greece
Marineland, Antibes, Alpes-Maritimes, France
Peru
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Taormina, Messina, Sicily, Italy

Awards

The Big Blue was nominated for several César Awards and won Best Music Written for a Film (Eric Serra) and Best Sound in 1989. The film also won France's National Academy of Cinema's Academy Award in 1989.

Trivia

The movie was banned in Italy for years because Enzo Maiorca felt that his portrayal in the movie was unfair and distorted. The script was co-authored by his rival Mayol, who sued later and reversed the banning.
The most financially successful French film of the 1980s.
The film was played for over a year in French theaters.
Besson makes a cameo appearance as a diver
Jacques Mayol worked as a technical consultant for the film

External links

Free-diving | 1988 films | French films | Films directed by Luc Besson