The Big Blue (Luc Besson Collection) - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Big Blue (Luc Besson Collection)



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
It’s only fitting that after reviewing Luc Besson’s underwater documentary, we get to take a look at a film he made 3 years prior, ALSO focusing on the underwater world. This time, instead of a short documentary, we get a long diving drama, with its director’s cut version that spans nearly three hours (and strangely, no Atmos track like the previous four 4K UHD films).

Le Grand Bleu (Luc Besson’s first English-language film) tells the story of young Jacques (Jean-Marc Barr) and his childhood friend Enzo (Jean Reno), who grew up together in Sicily. Jacques was always drawn to the sea, having seen his father die in a freak diving accident, only to be inexplicably drawn to the deep (and has a strange connection with dolphins). Both are sea lovers, and both have spent their lives diving. Now Enzo is the diving champion of Italy, while Jacque lives in the Andes mountains at a remote research station. Enzo tracks down his childhood diving friend and offers him the chance of a lifetime. Come diving with him in the upcoming diving competition and take the world by storm.

Agreeing to come back with his friend, Jacques brings his new American girlfriend, Johanna (Rosanna Arquette), and the two begin their journey. While Enzo’s invitation to dive is a friendly one, the two men soon begin to challenge each other and push the other past their limits, culminating in the pair pushing each other underwater as well. Jacques, who has always had an inexplicable draw to the sea beings to push himself harder and harder, leaving the world behind and slowly becoming one with the sea as he finds an affinity with the water more alluring than those of the human world.

The Big Blue is a film that just wouldn’t be made today. Not because it is pushing any major boundaries, or because it is edgy, but because nobody would sit through a 2.25 – 2.75 hour film about spiritualism and becoming one with the sea. This is pure 1980s glory when Besson was just starting, and filmmakers could make films that would cater to niche audiences without too much pushback. In fact, the story itself is less about a cohesive narrative but rather an introspective contemplation on two eccentric men and their individual love of the sea.

The film has mostly been seen in the original theatrical cut, which has more of a traditional feel to it. But the 31-minute-long director's cut turns this into a completely different film. The humor and the human interaction are slightly trimmed down, but the real protagonist of the director’s cut is the sea itself. Jacques and Johanna’s affair is still very much prevalent in the film, as is the competition between Enzo and Jacques, but this cut is all a love affair with the sea, and that final ending drastically changes the direction that the film ends on. Honestly, I love both cuts, but the director’s cut is that pure arthouse vibe that allows the viewer to become entranced with what is happening, vs. just enjoying a story.

Jean Reno plays his typical brusque character that made him so famous, but it’s really German-born actor Jean-Marc Barr that steals the show. He doesn’t really talk a whole lot, but his facial expressions and eye movements tell more than his lips do. Rosanna Arquette is solid as the love interest, but she’s still a bit young and raw in her career, and it shows.

From a cinematography standpoint, this is a 5/5 rated film hands down. It elevates the solid storyline to something that it wouldn’t have achieved without Carlo Varini’s loving touch. The shots of the Mediterranean are absolutely mesmerizing, and the use of black and white for the opening scene is just perfection. This is really a story told through visuals and cinematography, with the spoken narrative simply being the delivery method for Besson’s artistic vision.




Rating:

Rated R by the MPAA




4K Video: Video:

Previously released on Blu-ray back in 2009 via Optimum Entertainment across the pond, The Big Blue was not exactly treated well. The Optimum encode was rather mediocre and full of artifacts due to an outdated master. Luckily, this is very obviously a fairly new master that breathes new life into the film. Colors are bright and vivid, with the lush Mediterranean ocean side view looking absolutely magnificent with clear blues and pale beiges of the sandy area. Fine details look great, with every line and crease on Jean Reno’s bearded face showing through perfectly, and underwater shots look STUNNING. Compared to the underwater shots in Atlantis, this is a revelationary. Black levels are nice and inky, with plenty of depth and shadow detail, which extends to the final underwater scenes in the darkness. I did notice some softness in a few shots above the sea, and I also noticed that the director’s cut doesn’t look AS good as the theatrical cut (although only by a tiny amount). I’m guessing this is mostly due to the fact that the 2-hour and 48-minute director’s cut is limited to a mid-50 50mbps bitrate, while the theatrical is closer to 60-70 Mbps. It’s not a big deal, but the theatrical cut just looks a little sharper and a little cleaner to my eye.







Audio:

The 5.1 DTS-HD MA is perfectly fine, but it also doesn’t stretch the boundaries of the 5.1 lossless format. The best way of describing the mix is “good, but not groundbreaking”. Dialogue is crisp and perfectly balanced, without any hint of degradation or thinness. Distortion is nonexistent, and the roar of the ocean, along with the hypnotic score, just flows throughout the sound stage. The rears are used quite often, but very lightly, as they act as an accentuation vs. playing a prominent role in the mix. LFE is moderate but never truly explosive, and overall, this is a track that just simply works without being too ambitious.









Extras:

• The Adventure of The Big Blue
• Composer Eric Serra
• Actor Jean-Marc Barr
• Actor Marc Duret
• Underwater Camera Operator Christian Petron
• Gaumont Technical Director Andre Labbouz
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

The Big Blue marks a turning point for Besson as he stretches out and reaches towards the English-speaking audiences and creates a beautiful love story about the sea with his director’s cut (that is available in the U.S. in HD for the first time), and the 4K UHD set is glorious. Putting both the director’s cut and the theatrical cut on separate discs (both in 4K and Blu-ray), this lavish set is probably my most desired film out of the entire 9-film set. It’s been loooooooooong time coming since the last time it was released back Optimum Entertainment back in 2009 across the pond, and now we get BOTH the 4K, Blu-ray, and BOTH cuts of the movie in one fell swoop. It looks and sounds amazing, and a treat to make this collection even more enticing.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette, Paul Shenar
Directed by: Luc Besson
Written by: Luc Besson, Robert Garland, Marilyn Goldin
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH, English
Studio: Sony
Rated: R
Runtime: 168 Minutes (Director's Cut) / 138 Minutes (Theatrical Cut)
Blu-ray Release Date: November 11th, 2025

Recommendation: Fun Watch