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Purple Noon
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG-13 // January 22, 2002
List Price: $32.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Purple Noon" is a 1960 thriller, based upon the novel by Patricia Highsmith; the film was remade again recently as "The Talented Mr. Ripley". "Noon" is Rene Clement's 1960 adaptation, starring Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, a role which was played by Matt Damon in the remake. In the opening, Ripley has been sent to retrive playboy Philippe (Maurice Ronet, played by the somewhat similar-looking Jude Law in the remake), whose parents want him to return home to the states.
Phillipe is dating Marge (Marie Laforet, Paltrow in the remake) and living the good life in the midst of some incredibly beautiful scenery. While the two strike up an easy friendship at first, it becomes clear to Tom that Phillipe has no plans to return to the States at any point in the near future. The two eventually set sail, with Marge in tow. Tom moves in on Marge, which angers Phillipe, who ends up setting Tom afoat in the raft, which is tied (although not for long) to the boat.
Tom's saved, but the second he comes back, it's obvious that his plan has begun to go into action. Marge and Phillipe have a fight; although Phillipe has mistreated Tom, it's he that continues on the boat, while Marge is set ashore. Tom's jealousy of Phillipe's perfect life starts to become a bit too much, resulting in Tom murdering Phillipe on the seas. His plan: to assume the identity of Phillipe and take over all that comes with leading such a life - including Marge.
It's interesting to see director Anthony Minghella's 1999 edition, then view this film. Things seem a bit more streamlined and condensed. Delon also makes Ripley into a bit more interesting and vivid a character than Matt Damon did in the remake. The two share in common some phenomenal scenery, but the cinematography of the original seems to capture both the striking backgrounds as well as the events of the film in a somewhat more elegant and interesting fashion.
Overall, both films are very good on their own, but I thought that Clement's thriller did a bit of a better job at slowly, but surely, bringing up the tension.
The DVD
VIDEO: In a move that will likely dissapoint many (as will the new edition of "Belle De Jour"), Miramax presents "Purple Noon" in 1.66:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. While the fact that the title is non-anamorphic alone will dissapoint many, fans of the film will have other issues to contend with, unfortunately. Sharpness and detail vary throughout the film; there are scenes that appear soft, there are scenes that appear sharp and there are scenes that appear too sharp and rather edgy.
Several issues arise during the film. The opening credits look decidedly worn, with mild-to-heavy grain and a few considerable marks on the print used. While things calm down a bit after that, the presentation isn't out from under the problems yet. Minor-to-mild grain continues throughout the picture, as do the occasional appearance of specks and marks. Edge enhancement is also noticable and somewhat distracting during a fair amount of scenes. There's even a strange red streak that appears from top-to-bottom (on the right side) twice at about 10 minutes into the picture. While its appearance is brief, it was still on-screen long enough for me to catch it.
Colors generally looked pleasing, as they appeared nicely saturated for the most part, but occasionally could look slightly on the faded side. Yet, that was little comfort, considering the rest of the presentation was okay at best and pretty worn at worst. While I understand that this picture is now 42-years-old, Criterion has shown that restoration and work can do remarkable things to films of this age. Buena Vista/Miramax doesn't seem to have done much here, which is suprising, given that this certainly isn't an film without a considerable amount of fans.
SOUND: The original French mono soundtrack, as well as an English dubbed version are available on this edition. In a move that will cause some irritation, the dubbed English soundtrack is the default option on this edition of the picture. To get to the original French soundtrack, one must visit the menu. As for the French soundtrack, it generally sounds good, considering the film's age. Nino Rota's wonderful score comes through clearly, as do sound effects. Both can sound slightly thin at times, but at least there didn't seem to be any hiss or other distortion on the soundtrack.
MENUS: Basic menus with film-themed images as backgrounds. A bit of Rota's score in the background would have been nice.
EXTRAS: The extras are very dissapointing. All that's offered are trailers for the other titles releasing during the same week: "Belle De Jour", "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" and "The Young Girls Of Rochefort".
Final Thoughts: "Purple Noon" is a clever and well-acted thriller, which is why it's all the more dissapointing that Miramax didn't simply license Criterion to do this DVD release right. The picture quality is lackluster, while supplements would have really added to the enjoyment of the DVD. Although fans of the film will still certainly want to own it, given the high retail price ($32.99), lack of supplements and mediocre presentation, even fans may want to consider renting this DVD first.
"Purple Noon" is a 1960 thriller, based upon the novel by Patricia Highsmith; the film was remade again recently as "The Talented Mr. Ripley". "Noon" is Rene Clement's 1960 adaptation, starring Alain Delon as Tom Ripley, a role which was played by Matt Damon in the remake. In the opening, Ripley has been sent to retrive playboy Philippe (Maurice Ronet, played by the somewhat similar-looking Jude Law in the remake), whose parents want him to return home to the states.
Phillipe is dating Marge (Marie Laforet, Paltrow in the remake) and living the good life in the midst of some incredibly beautiful scenery. While the two strike up an easy friendship at first, it becomes clear to Tom that Phillipe has no plans to return to the States at any point in the near future. The two eventually set sail, with Marge in tow. Tom moves in on Marge, which angers Phillipe, who ends up setting Tom afoat in the raft, which is tied (although not for long) to the boat.
Tom's saved, but the second he comes back, it's obvious that his plan has begun to go into action. Marge and Phillipe have a fight; although Phillipe has mistreated Tom, it's he that continues on the boat, while Marge is set ashore. Tom's jealousy of Phillipe's perfect life starts to become a bit too much, resulting in Tom murdering Phillipe on the seas. His plan: to assume the identity of Phillipe and take over all that comes with leading such a life - including Marge.
It's interesting to see director Anthony Minghella's 1999 edition, then view this film. Things seem a bit more streamlined and condensed. Delon also makes Ripley into a bit more interesting and vivid a character than Matt Damon did in the remake. The two share in common some phenomenal scenery, but the cinematography of the original seems to capture both the striking backgrounds as well as the events of the film in a somewhat more elegant and interesting fashion.
Overall, both films are very good on their own, but I thought that Clement's thriller did a bit of a better job at slowly, but surely, bringing up the tension.
The DVD
VIDEO: In a move that will likely dissapoint many (as will the new edition of "Belle De Jour"), Miramax presents "Purple Noon" in 1.66:1 non-anamorphic widescreen. While the fact that the title is non-anamorphic alone will dissapoint many, fans of the film will have other issues to contend with, unfortunately. Sharpness and detail vary throughout the film; there are scenes that appear soft, there are scenes that appear sharp and there are scenes that appear too sharp and rather edgy.
Several issues arise during the film. The opening credits look decidedly worn, with mild-to-heavy grain and a few considerable marks on the print used. While things calm down a bit after that, the presentation isn't out from under the problems yet. Minor-to-mild grain continues throughout the picture, as do the occasional appearance of specks and marks. Edge enhancement is also noticable and somewhat distracting during a fair amount of scenes. There's even a strange red streak that appears from top-to-bottom (on the right side) twice at about 10 minutes into the picture. While its appearance is brief, it was still on-screen long enough for me to catch it.
Colors generally looked pleasing, as they appeared nicely saturated for the most part, but occasionally could look slightly on the faded side. Yet, that was little comfort, considering the rest of the presentation was okay at best and pretty worn at worst. While I understand that this picture is now 42-years-old, Criterion has shown that restoration and work can do remarkable things to films of this age. Buena Vista/Miramax doesn't seem to have done much here, which is suprising, given that this certainly isn't an film without a considerable amount of fans.
SOUND: The original French mono soundtrack, as well as an English dubbed version are available on this edition. In a move that will cause some irritation, the dubbed English soundtrack is the default option on this edition of the picture. To get to the original French soundtrack, one must visit the menu. As for the French soundtrack, it generally sounds good, considering the film's age. Nino Rota's wonderful score comes through clearly, as do sound effects. Both can sound slightly thin at times, but at least there didn't seem to be any hiss or other distortion on the soundtrack.
MENUS: Basic menus with film-themed images as backgrounds. A bit of Rota's score in the background would have been nice.
EXTRAS: The extras are very dissapointing. All that's offered are trailers for the other titles releasing during the same week: "Belle De Jour", "Hunchback Of Notre Dame" and "The Young Girls Of Rochefort".
Final Thoughts: "Purple Noon" is a clever and well-acted thriller, which is why it's all the more dissapointing that Miramax didn't simply license Criterion to do this DVD release right. The picture quality is lackluster, while supplements would have really added to the enjoyment of the DVD. Although fans of the film will still certainly want to own it, given the high retail price ($32.99), lack of supplements and mediocre presentation, even fans may want to consider renting this DVD first.
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