U.S. Version

Anyone who knows me knows that I’m a film buff, a movie lover, a home theater enthusiast. One of my favorite films is (the U.S. release of) Luc Besson‘s 1988 film, Le Grand Bleu (The Big Blue to U.S. audiences.)

A unique and captivating film, it won France’s (National Academy of Cinema) Academy Award in 1989. Ostensibly about the sport of free-diving, it’s really much more about an unusual and extraordinary man named Jacques Mayol (played by Jean-Marc Barr) – his special connection to the sea (and dolphins), the woman who falls in love with him (Joanna, played by Rosanna Arquette) and his life-long friendship and competition with another free diver (Enzo, played by Jean Reno).

People who love this film tend to be quite passionate about it – especially those who saw the U.S. release, loved it, then bought/watched the Director’s Cut and hated it. I am one such person, and I’ve run across many others – not only online, but in meatspace, as well.

While I generally prefer director’s cuts (and found Luc Besson’s director’s cut of Léon to be far superior to the U.S. release The Professional), the director’s cut of The Big Blue is, in my opinion, terrible. 50 additional minutes of scenes that (for the most part) seem completely incongruous and unrelated. These scenes (especially the ones with Jacques’s Uncle Louie) don’t seem to develop anyone’s character nor do they advance the plot or even a subplot. On top of that, they’re visually ugly, while the rest of the film tends to be quite beautiful. Another good example is when Jacques becomes very vocal and angry after Joanna leaves. In the U.S. version, Jacques is quiet and enigmatic, paralleling the sea – as he does in so many other ways. (And yes, you could make the case that the sea sometimes becomes angry and volatile, but that just makes it more awesome and mysterious; in Jacques’s case it just makes him more human and ordinary.) To me, these scenes are a perfect example of the difference that a good editor makes. To me, they belonged on the cutting room floor.

Years ago I actually created (using DVDShrink in reauthoring mode) a version of the director’s cut that cut out all the extra scenes. Of course, it still had the director’s cut ending, but I actually prefer the somewhat mystical ending. I was excited to (sort of) be able to see the original version again. How disappointed I was. It’s incredible what a difference the soundtrack makes. Compare for yourself…

Director’s Cut

You tell me… which one seems to “fit” better? (Frankly, the whole thing reminds me of this.

The score for the U.S. release was written by Bill Conti. It’s very “new age” (which is generally not my cup of tea) but in the context of a film that’s heavily focused on the mysteries (and tranquility) of the sea, the ethereal nature of Conti’s score is perfect. The score (by Eric Serra) in the director’s cut is much more electronic and not (in my opinion) in keeping with the character of the film. Serra, however, is a good friend of Luc Besson’s, so there can be no question that the Eric Serra score is what the director had in mind. (Although, in this case, that doesn’t necessarily make it better!)

The big problem with all of this is that the U.S. version was only released on VHS. Reportedly, Luc Besson hated this version, so it never made it to DVD. Now that the director’s cut has been released on Blu-Ray, I’m considering a project in which I would remaster the Blu-Ray, cutting the scenes which (for me) ruin the director’s cut and replacing the Eric Serra score with the Bill Conti score (which I have – just this morning – obtained in high bitrate (320kbps) MP3 format – though a copy of a CD, with uncompressed/never compressed audio would be a better starting point.)

There are three problems with such a project…

1. I need another project like I need another armpit.
2. I have no idea where my VHS copy of this movie went (and, disappointed with the soundtrack, I threw out the DVD I made long ago.) The good news is, it’s somewhere (I think) in my storage locker – which I’m planning to go through at the end of this month.
3. While I can easily blend in the Bill Conti soundtrack, I’m not sure it’s possible to strip away Eric Serra’s music while leaving the film’s non-music sounds and dialog intact. There are tools for doing this, but I’ve never used them and have no feel for how well they work.

If you, like me, have a fondness for the original U.S. theatrical release of this movie and would like to see this project completed (and copies made available) please let me know. (Especially if you can provide a VHS copy of the original U.S. release.) I’d also like to know your thoughts on the following…

If I do this, my inclination would be to make a hybrid version… using the ending in the director’s cut and probably keeping the Jacques-Joanna sex scenes. (Not for any lurid reasons, but because I think the scenes that follow are better for their inclusion.)

If I make copies available, they’d have to be on DVD, because I have no means for burning Blu-Ray discs.

Please see the comments for this post for updates.

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