The Big Blue (1988)

Between what you know and what you wish, lies the secret of... The Big Blue
Cast and Information
Directed By: Luc Besson
Written By: Luc Besson
Starring: Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno, Sergio Castellitto, Griffin Dunne, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Bouise, Paul Shenar, Valentina Vargas, Marc Duret
AKA: Le Grand bleu
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The Big Blue belongs to 21 collections
1. IMDb Top 250 Complete (collaborative: moderated by Jorg - 23 stars)
2. Humanity and the Natural World (collaborative: moderated by paulofilmo - 18 stars)
3. Films available in HD (collaborative: moderated by kubricksucks - 13 stars)
4. List: Taschen (collaborative: moderated by KasperL - 6 stars)
5. edkrak films to see (public: edkrak - 4 stars)
6. DtC Doubling the Canon 2022 Nominees (collaborative: moderated by lineuphere - 2 stars)
7. Sea Films (collaborative: moderated by DougCollins - 1 star)
8. Summer (collaborative: moderated by Midaso - 1 star)
9. French director (collaborative: moderated by iconogassed - 1 star)
10. Cinema du look (collaborative: moderated by Veterini)
11. Netflix France (collaborative: moderated by bfn)
12. DtC Doubling the Canon 2021 Nominees (collaborative: moderated by lineuphere)
13. zae's DVDs & Blurays (public: zae)
14. The DVD collection of sjostrand (public: sjostrand)
15. 1988: Year in Review (public: polanski28)
16. Filmspotting Ratings Project: Week 23 (public: PeaceAnarchy)
17. BF-80 (public: caffe)
18. D:Movies (public: ptkw)
19. Djross French feature films I've seen (public: djross)
20. C-1980 (public: cantahta)
21. nextup (public: valkyrian)
Browse the full list of collections
Date | User | Rating | |
Jan 05 | N1k0o8 | 75 72nd |
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Watched it because of the movie reputation, it was a good movie with amazing 80's touch (especially music) but I'm missing the "legend" as I will not watch it again and again
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Apr 06, 2020 | ![]() |
djross | 45 34th |
Highly fictionalised fantasy that for the most part seems aimed at a female audience until the struggle with the death drive that is the film's real theme (could Big Blue also mean depression?) leads both male protagonists to reject their women, the world and ultimately life (Jacques Mayol would later commit suicide by hanging). Overall, the film has a kitschy aesthetic, but features some undeniably pretty cinematography. Audio was out of sync when I saw it, but probably just a messed-up copy.
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Dec 17, 2019 | ![]() |
k177105 | 45 26th |
About living between worldly enchantment and marine disenchantment (as enchantment). Watched it a long time ago for quite a few times and liked it. Guess what I liked was the blue everywhere giving a feeling of detachment from the entropic world, and the childlike eyes and unreserved enthusiasm of Jacques (though their combination means ultimately orientation towards fantasies).
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Mar 17, 2018 | ![]() |
closedmouth | 50 10th |
Apparently I watched the director's cut. That was a bad idea. There is no fucking reason for this story to go for almost 3 hours. My main problem was the interminable length (plus the hideous music and awful French comedy) so I should probably watch the theatrical version one day. The diving sequences and underwater photography are top-notch.
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Aug 04, 2017 | ![]() |
Sweekoden | 81 82nd |
Love the pacing (with one caveat that I'll get to), the visuals, the soundtrack, the tone, the humor, Jean Reno, and Rosanna Arquette. Main character wasn't too shabby either, but Reno's been my favorite since forever, and wow, Rosanna Arquette probably would've been a since-forever favorite had I caught another 80s movie with her in it. Things happen way too quickly and suddenly towards the end, which is lame considering Besson had 3 hours to wrap things up, but overall it's almost great.
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Jun 10, 2015 | glm01 | 85 83rd |
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85.000
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Jan 13, 2015 | ![]() |
Kaan Kavusan | 90 96th |
Jacques Mayol dalınca sen de dalarsın.
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May 02, 2014 | ![]() |
Feraud | 27 18th |
Not my type of film.
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Feb 10, 2013 | ![]() |
Paxton | 65 46th |
James Cameron gets wet when he watches this.
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Oct 01, 2012 | twisp | 81 79th |
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Transatlantic friendship, best enemies, comix sketches and a lot of blue.
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Oct 06, 2011 | bentien | 37 13th |
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Hugely overrated! Nice cinematography and music, but truely idiotic plot.
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Jun 14, 2011 | ![]() |
lockstock | 64 60th |
score = psi --> te lang niet gezien
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Jan 05, 2011 | ![]() |
bowfinger | 65 59th |
the ending stayed with me
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Dec 15, 2010 | ![]() |
SeanBerndorff | 45 20th |
This was a really weird experience... The plot was almost non-existing and the character were all unrelatable and not very well played. But the setting and the overall feeling of the movie does somewhat make up for some of it. Could have been a truly great movie.
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Jun 02, 2010 | ![]() |
omgfridge | 6 53rd |
Reno puts in a solid performance where good performances were a bit lackluster. At nearly three hours, it seems to not have enough substance to fill that void. Cut the running time, make the girl less idiotic and increase the rivalry/drama between divers and you would of had a better movie. Decent.
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May 30, 2010 | wildshoetwt | 95 87th |
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Watch the Director's Cut. This movie imparts a feeling of peace, love and respect for nature. There's more to it than meets the eye, give the quirkiness of the film a chance, and you will be rewarded. You'll laugh, cry, love.
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Mar 13, 2010 | ![]() |
darkman | 70 38th |
The actors are bad, the music is really bad. It has aesthetics that look like a porno at times. But you can still have some fun watching this movie.
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Jan 09, 2010 | ![]() |
teecee | 33 42nd |
Fransk og tildels gaab mellem de smukke billeder
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Oct 24, 2009 | ![]() |
chemical404 | 70 83rd |
"The Big Blue" isn't for everyone. Director's cut that I watched is almost 3 hours long, there is certain level of cheesiness, and the sentimentality is almost as wide as the oceans that are portrayed. But I enjoyed almost every minute of it. Acting and characters are very interesting, photography is worthy of the best nature documentaries, soundtrack is brilliant, and the story of love triangle between man, woman and the sea is pretty fresh. Oceans are beautiful.
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Apr 29, 2009 | ![]() |
KAH | 3 74th |
For some reason over-the-top sentimentality and cheesy synth-music works in this flick, adding to the sympathy for and identification with the main character. Full of both funny and sad moments, this is perhaps Bessons best movie.
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Oct 09, 2008 | bycore | 94 98th |
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Sensitive, balanced storytelling with very nice photo. I smile when i think of Jean Reno's Enzo and his little red car. B.t.w. ...how do you think it ends? Make sure you read the credits at the end of the film and you may see it differently.
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Apr 26, 2008 | ![]() |
hehejaja | 90 91st |
Some will probably dislike Bessons' sentimentality, but it works just fine in this beautiful film filled with a certain kind of melancholia. A tender film with a compassionate relationship to its characters.
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Aug 15, 2007 | ![]() |
BBBD | 70 36th |
I've only seen the movie once, when I was about 15 or so. I remember liking it overall, but the only thing I remember about the movie is the part where The Professional punches the windshield out of that tiny car. That was awesome.
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Mar 16, 2007 | ![]() |
GravyMaximus | 70 66th |
A decent effort by Besson. I think this movie probably would've gone over a lot better with me if I had watched the theatrical version and not the director's cut. Many scenes seemed useless. Not to mention Rosanna Arquette's character is quite possibly the stupidest, most annoying worthless character in any movie I have ever watched. There was not nearly enough footage to warrant a near 3 hour movie, even for the directors cut. Thankfully Jean Reno is fucking AWESOME.
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Average Percentile 63.05% from 888 Ratings | ![]() |