The Big Blue

"Danger...Like Passion...Runs Deep"

1988 2h 48m FR

👍

7.4

SOLID

★7.4TMDB · 1,632

RomanceAdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Childhood friends Jacques and Enzo share a passion for the danger of free diving. Jacques, following in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy, harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing patterns in the water, with his vital signs more closely resembling those of dolphins than men.

“Danger...Like Passion...Runs Deep”

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Cast

Rosanna Arquette
Johana Baker
Jean-Marc Barr
Jacques Mayol
Jean Reno
Enzo Molinari
Paul Shenar
Dr. Laurence
Sergio Castellitto
Novelli
Jean Bouise
Uncle Louis
Marc Duret
Roberto
Griffin Dunne
Duffy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Luc Besson
Writers: Luc Besson, Luc Besson, Marilyn Goldin
Languages: English, Italian, French
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Clocks in at 168 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 30% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

38 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Luc Besson, shot by Carlo Varini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Éric Serra. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Olivier Mauffroy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Rosanna Arquette and Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Luc Besson directs. Carlo Varini behind the camera. Éric Serra scores. Olivier Mauffroy cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France. Dialogue in English, Italian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Clocks in at 168 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
2Earned back only 30% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
338 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Italian, French.
5Directed by Luc Besson, shot by Carlo Varini. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Éric Serra. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Olivier Mauffroy shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Rosanna Arquette and Jean-Marc Barr and Jean Reno carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Danger...Like Passion...Runs Deep".
10IMDB entry: tt0095250 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 13 themes, including "dying and death", "friendship", "suicide", "diving".
12Released under 21 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Carlo Varini
Original score: Éric Serra
Editing: Olivier Mauffroy
Production design: Dan Weil
Costume design: Mimi Lempicka
Makeup / hair: Geneviève Peyralade
Sound: Pierre Befve
Runtime: 168 min · 2h 48m
Status: Released
Budget: $13,500,000
Box office: $4,000,000
Return: 30% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Big Blue (1988)

Also by

Luc Besson

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

Andres Gomez2012-12-03
★ 6.5/10
Introspective story with a good Jean Reno and innocent Rosanna Arquette. Sound track, for those loving Eric Sierra. Not for all tastes. A little bit too long but entartaining.
Filipe Manuel Neto2023-04-20
★ 8/10
A film unjustly forgotten these days. I confess that I didn't quite know what to expect from this movie. All I knew was that it was wildly successful in the decade it was released, and that nowadays hardly anyone remembers it. It is directed by Luc Besson, a French director whom I respect and consider competent. The screenplay is based on the relationship between Jacques and Enzo (I assume one will be French and the other Italian). They are childhood friends, but grow apart shortly after the accidental death of Jacques' father. Already in adult life, the two become apnea diving champions and rivals for the world title of the specialty. The story works reasonably well, but it skids a lot on the amorous subplot created around the character of Johana Baker, which feels very underwritten. The film has a strong French cast led effectively by Jean Reno, who is one of the best French actors working today, at least for me. He gives his character a dour humor and a certain sassiness that I felt was very fitting. Jean-Marc Barr also does a good job, but he lacks Reno's charisma and presence. Rosanna Arquette is beautiful, elegant, but nothing more than a pretty face for the film. The material she received is downright poor. Luc Besson likes the sea, and films where the cinematography and the soundtrack artistically dominate and absorb our senses. With this film, he gives us all that, in generous doses, thanks to the beauty of the Mediterranean Sea, magnificently filmed in superb scenes, below and above the water level, and to an excellent soundtrack, by Eric Serra. The editing was also very well directed and the film has a very pleasant pace. All of these are reasons to revisit and revalue a film that seems to me to be unfairly forgotten.