The Big Blue (1988)
Le Grand Bleu
Romance, Drama, Adventure • 2h 48m
Overview
Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques and Enzo are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men. As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest -- determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear -- Jacques meets Johana, a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea.
Director: Luc Besson
Cast: Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette, Paul Shenar, Sergio Castellitto, Jean Bouise, Marc Duret, Griffin Dunne, Valentina Vargas, Kimberly Beck, Alessandra Vazzoler, Andréas Voutsinas, Patrick Fontana, Geoffrey Carey, Jan Rouiller, Pierre Semmler, Pierre-Alain de Garrigues, Claude Besson, Bruce Guerre-Berthelot, Gregory Forstner, Eric Do, Jacques Lévy, Paul Herman, Franco Diogene, Konstantin Aleksandrov, Luc Besson, Valentina Castellani, Christian Gazio
Director: Luc Besson
2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.
StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.
2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.
2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps
2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1.
The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.
Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.
Director: Luc Besson
2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray vs 2017 Sony 4K Blu-ray (20th annivesary) vs 2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray (Luc Besson Box Set). The first two have totally different texture.
StudioCanal: More natural looking. Better defined grain. The white balance is rather yellow/orange. Some say it is closer to the original theatrical release.
2017 Sony: More vibrant and impactful. The white balance is rather neutral. While color noise and grain can look busy because it had been sharpened and had micro-contrast boosted.
2025 Sony: Supposedly an improved version of the 2017 release? Shows around 20mbps-higher overall video bitrate. caps
2025 Sony US 4K Blu-ray has the original 5.1.
The Atmos on the Sony release is reportedly better than StudioCanal's.
Disc info of the box set discs. This film have recieved multiple encode/versions in different regions over the years. The 2017 Germany4K Blu-ray is encoded differently than the 2017 Sony but not better. Also, the same can be said to 2024 France Gaumont 4K Blu-ray while comparing to the 2020 StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray. The StudioCanal 4K Blu-ray omits all the extras from previous releases, being barebones.
Director: Luc Besson
Director: Luc Besson
Sony 4K Blu-ray included in the Luc Besson Collection
Sony 4K Blu-ray included in the Luc Besson Collection see caps
Original DVD has a few exclusive extras like a isolated score
Sony 4K Blu-ray included in the Luc Besson Collection
Sony 4K Blu-ray included in the Luc Besson Collection see caps
Original DVD has a few exclusive extras like a isolated score
Director: Luc Besson
LaserDisc is best for stereo.
While Sony 4K Blu-ray has Original Stereo, it is compressed like the 5.1 on the 4K Blu-ray.
The TrueHD 5.1 from the 2008 Sony Blu-ray is free of compression. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22484238&postcount=94
Director: Luc Besson
LaserDisc is best for stereo.
While Sony 4K Blu-ray has Original Stereo, it is compressed like the 5.1 on the 4K Blu-ray.
The TrueHD 5.1 from the 2008 Sony Blu-ray is free of compression. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=22484238&postcount=94
Director: Luc Besson
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray from the Luc Besson 9-Film Collection: has Dolby Vision, better than 2017/2020 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray from the Collection: has the English Original 5.1
This title was released many times on 4K Blu-ray and Steelbooks, there was a TC Entertainment 4K Blu-ray with 5.1 and Dolby Vision too before the Luc Besson Collection was released but differences are unknown, so not recommended for English users.
Director: Luc Besson
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray from the Luc Besson 9-Film Collection: has Dolby Vision, better than 2017/2020 Sony 4K Blu-ray
2025 Sony 4K Blu-ray from the Collection: has the English Original 5.1
This title was released many times on 4K Blu-ray and Steelbooks, there was a TC Entertainment 4K Blu-ray with 5.1 and Dolby Vision too before the Luc Besson Collection was released but differences are unknown, so not recommended for English users.
Director: Neill Blomkamp
France Metropolitan 4K Blu-ray, glitch fixed from Sony
The Sony 4K Blu-ray has a glitch around the 40 min mark where a shot is repeated; no word from Sony about a replacement at the time of writing, i.e. 8/1/8/22
Director: Neill Blomkamp
France Metropolitan 4K Blu-ray, glitch fixed from Sony
The Sony 4K Blu-ray has a glitch around the 40 min mark where a shot is repeated; no word from Sony about a replacement at the time of writing, i.e. 8/1/8/22
Directors: Frank Oz & Jim Henson
Directors: Frank Oz & Jim Henson
Director: Jim Henson
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray, Shout! Factory doesn't have the low-pass filter that's on the Sony US 4K Blu-ray from 2021 with Dolby Vision (or the worse HDR10 only release from 2016). Shout! Factory retains more high-frequency grain and detail.
Embassy Home Entertainment JPN LaserDisc or 1999 Sony US DVD 2.0
Director: Jim Henson
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray
Shout! Factory replacement 4K Blu-ray, Shout! Factory doesn't have the low-pass filter that's on the Sony US 4K Blu-ray from 2021 with Dolby Vision (or the worse HDR10 only release from 2016). Shout! Factory retains more high-frequency grain and detail.
Embassy Home Entertainment JPN LaserDisc or 1999 Sony US DVD 2.0
Director: Will Gluck
Director: Will Gluck
Director: George Sidney
Director: George Sidney
Director: Jack White
Director: Jack White
Director: Will Gluck
Sony 4K Blu-ray see comparison
The 4K Blu-ray is low-passed, Sony Pictures Core Streaming is heavily DNR
Director: Will Gluck
Sony 4K Blu-ray see comparison
The 4K Blu-ray is low-passed, Sony Pictures Core Streaming is heavily DNR
Director: Danny Boyle
Sony 4K Blu-ray see caps
Recovers quite a bit of highlight detail, looks less harsh and clipped in the video footage than the old BD.
Dolby Atmos Remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1 mix: old OOP Fox Blu-ray
5.1 on the 4K is a downmix of the Atmos remix.
Director: Danny Boyle
Sony 4K Blu-ray see caps
Recovers quite a bit of highlight detail, looks less harsh and clipped in the video footage than the old BD.
Dolby Atmos Remix: Sony 4K Blu-ray
Original 5.1 mix: old OOP Fox Blu-ray
5.1 on the 4K is a downmix of the Atmos remix.
More Romance on Blu-ray
Undercrank Frank Borzage: 1922 Silents Blu-ray
Undercrank Frank Borzage: 1922 Silents Blu-ray
Undercrank Frank Borzage: 1922 Silents Blu-ray
Undercrank Frank Borzage: 1922 Silents Blu-ray
Director: Henry Koster
Director: Henry Koster
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Robert Wise
Disney 4K Blu-ray, see caps https://slow.pics/c/hE3HUCdj
Disney 4K Atmos is great, a reference quality track. It's a very slight remix (music seems to be from a better source), but it's completely seamless and faithful to the original, better fidelity than anything since the 1994 30th Anniversary Edition LaserDisc.
All DVDs (and 2010 Blu-ray) sound far worse than the 4K Blu-ray/LaserDisc and have various missing sound cues.
Director: Griffin Dunne
Director: Griffin Dunne
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Rob Reiner
Director: Stanley Donen
Director: Stanley Donen
Director: George Sidney
Director: George Sidney
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