Unfortunately this title is currently unavailable for rental. This may be due to the title being deleted or on a limited release. We will continue to rent this title as soon as stock becomes available. Jacques (Barr, BREAKING THE WAVES) and his friendly rival Enzo (Reno, THE PROFESSIONAL) are considered masters of free-.. Read more
| Starring | Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar |
|---|---|
| Director | Luc Besson |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Romance |
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Unfortunately this title is currently unavailable for rental. This may be due to the title being deleted or on a limited release. We will continue to rent this title as soon as stock becomes available.
Jacques (Barr, BREAKING THE WAVES) and his friendly rival Enzo (Reno, THE PROFESSIONAL) are considered masters of free-diving and have made a career out of this one-of-a-kind competition. Jacques feels an unusual bond with the sea and Enzo is in it for the sheer danger involved. A new dimension of their lifelong rivalry is generated by the beautiful Johana (Arquette, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN) who leaves her career in New York to accompany the two men on the international diving circuit. Beautiful underwater cinematography and a stunning score enrich Besson's celebrated English-language debut.
| Starring | Rosanna Arquette, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Paul Shenar, Kimberly Beck, Griffin Dunne, Valentina Vargas, Sergio Castellitto, Jean Bouise, David Brisbin, Marc Duret, Andreas Voutsinas |
|---|---|
| Director | Luc Besson |
| Studio | OPTIMUM HOME ENTERTAINMENT |
| Run time | DVD: 2 hrs 43 mins Blu-ray: 2 hrs 48 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Action/Adventure, Romance |
| Language | DVD: English Blu-ray: English |
| Dubbed | French |
| Hearing-impaired | English |
| Subtitles | DVD: French, Dutch |
| Released | DVD: 30 Jun 2003 Blu-ray: 14 Sep 2009 Production year: 1988 |
| Format | DVD |
Action director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) pays homage to the ocean-exploring documentaries of Jacques Cousteau with this stunning, if slightly pretentious, underwater cult epic. The story — about two rival free divers (Besson regular Jean Reno and Jean-Marc Barr) competing for the depth record — is a little shallow, and Rosanna Arquette's role as a New York insurance investigator who meets Barr in Peru does seem rather like an afterthought. But Reno mines great humour from his macho mother's-boy role, Barr looks impossibly handsome, and the sensational ocean photography is absolutely magnificent — the first plunge into the watery alien blackness is pure cinematic magic.
The action centres on the rivalry between free-divers Barr and Reno - they dive deep without an aqualung - which... read more on Time Out
This is a truly wonderful film. I loved every minutre of it and made my wife watch it. 'One of the best films I have ever seen' she said! Photography is stunning, music is wonderful and the plot, though gentle, is actually quite gripping. Everyone I know who has seen it has loved it. The girls will adore Jean-Marc Barr ('a truly beautiful man') and the boys will love all the diving and the delicious Rosanna Arquette. Rent it NOW!!!!
Luc Besson brings the characters of divers Enzo and Jacque Mayhol to life, in a beautiful and atmospheric insight into the world of Free Diving. Unfortunately, the female lead, played by Rosanna Arquette, is a disappointing and shallow pastiche. The actress struggles to bring a sense of reality to a character who is largely lost in a plot more concerned with the relationships between Enzo and Jacque, and Jacque and the sea.
The love story backdrop never really captures the imagination, but the realistic diving scenes and underwater sequences are superbly filmed and provide a real insight into the insanely dangerous world of Free Diving. Jean Reno turns in a strong performance as the quirky yet heroic diver, Enzo. The characterisation isnt as strong as his character in Bessons Leon (The Assassin), but then again the plot is weaker. However, this film is worth renting.
Controversial French director Luc Besson looks set to adapt Tonino Benacquista's mafia novel Malavita, not to be confused with the 1951 Italian film of the same name. Besson, who found fame in the early 1990s with assassin films Nikita and the exceptional Leon, which featured Jean Reno, Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman, has tried to assure the film's mafia pedigree with the latest appointment to the project. Sopranos staff writer Michael Caleo will help to adapt the story of an American mafia... Read more