Plein soleil (1960)

Director:

René Clément

Writers:

Patricia Highsmith (novel)
René Clément (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 March 1960 (France)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller | Drama

Tagline:

Passion at ten. Envy at eleven. Murder at noon.

Plot:

Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.

Plot Keywords:

Forger | Moocher | Mimic | Police | Bare Chested Male

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Alain Delon	...	Tom Ripley / Philippe Greenleaf
Maurice Ronet	...	Philippe Greenleaf
Marie Laforêt	...	Marge Duval
Erno Crisa	...	Riccordi
Frank Latimore	...	O'Brien
Billy Kearns	...	Freddy Miles (as Bill Kearns)
Ave Ninchi	...	Signora Gianna
Viviane Chantel	...	The Belgian lady
Nerio Bernardi	...	Agency Director
Barbel Fanger
Lily Romanelli	...	Housekeeper
Nicolas Petrov	...	Boris
Elvire Popesco	...	Mrs. Popova
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Paul Muller	...	Blind Man (uncredited)
Romy Schneider	...	Freddy's companion (uncredited)

Directed by
René Clément

Writing credits
Patricia Highsmith		(novel "The Talented Mr Ripley/Monsieur Ripley")
René Clément		(adaptation and dialogue) &
Paul Gégauff		(adaptation and dialogue) (as Paul Gegauff)

Produced by
Raymond Hakim	....	producer
Robert Hakim	....	producer

Original Music by
Nino Rota		(as Nino Rotta)

Cinematography by
Henri Decaë

Film Editing by
Françoise Javet

Production Design by
Paul Bertrand

Costume Design by
Bella Clément

Makeup Department
Louis Bonnemaison	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Albert Gardone	....	assistant director
Pierre Zimmer	....	assistant director

Art Department
Bruno Avesani	....	assistant art director
Eugène Roman	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Jacques Carrère	....	sound mixer
Jean-Claude Marchetti	....	sound
Maurice Rémy	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean Rabier	....	camera operator
Jean-Paul Schwartz	....	assistant camera

Editorial Department
Madeleine Lecompere	....	assistant editor
Hadassa Misrahi	....	assistant editor
Maryse Siclier	....	assistant editor
Walter Spohr	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Jacques Métehen	....	conductor

Other crew
Maurice Binder	....	title designer
Christopher Gambale	....	assistant to harvey weinstein
Jean Guélis	....	choreographer

Production Companies

• Robert et Raymond Hakim
• Paris Film
• Paritalia
• Titanus

Distributors

• Times Film Corporation (1961) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed) (subtitled)
• Titanus Distribuzione (1960) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Studio Canal (2000) (France) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1977) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Miramax Films (1996) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (subtitled)
• Miramax Zoë (1996) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release) (subtitled)
• Seven Films (2008) (Greece) (theatrical) (reissue)
• Victoria Films (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• EuroVideo (West Germany) (VHS)
• Kinowelt Home Entertainment (2000) (Germany) (DVD)
• Miramax Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Blazing Sun" - UK
"Delitto in pieno sole" - Italy
"Full Sun" - Australia (literal English title)
"Lust for Evil" - USA (reissue title)
"Plein Soleil" - UK (imdb display title)
"Purple Noon" - USA
"A pleno sol" - Argentina, Spain
"À Luz do Sol" - Portugal (imdb display title)
"Der Zeuge schweigt" - Austria
"Gymnoi ston ilio" - Greece (transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title)
"Het sol" - Sweden
"Kizgin günes" - Turkey (Turkish title)
"Kun solen var vidne" - Denmark
"Kuuma aurinko" - Finland
"Nur die Sonne war Zeuge" - West Germany
"O Sol por Testemunha" - Brazil
"Ragyogó napfény" - Hungary
"Taeyangeun gadeukhi" - South Korea (imdb display title)
"Taiyou ga ippai" - Japan (DVD title)
"W pelnym sloncu" - Poland (imdb display title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for momentary violence and sexuality

Runtime:

118 min | Argentina:115 min | France:115 min | Hungary:110 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | Italian | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:PG | Japan:G (2009) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Ischia Island, Naples, Campania, Italy

Company:

Robert et Raymond Hakim

Trivia:

John Malkovich remarked in an interview with the BBC that he came close to directing The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) and that he was in negotiations to obtain the rights to direct a remake of the first "Talented Mr Ripley" adaptation, "Plein Soleil." Malkovich later played Tom Ripley in Ripley's Game (2002).

Goofs:

Continuity: The position of the boom on the sailboat.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Coming Apart (1969)

Delon shows his stuff!

Up until he starred in this movie, Alain Delon was considered a light romantic lead--not surprising at all since his breathtaking good looks would naturally lend itself to that sort of matinee idol typecasting. It was only when director Rene Clement tapped into the dangerous undercurrent held in reserve behind the placid, beautiful surface that Delon's wholly unique, dark, sociopathic persona would emerge--the persona which would put him on the map and he would forever be identified with. In "Plein Soleil" AKA "Purple Noon," Delon exudes all the stealth and sleekness of a panther--dark-haired, riveting gaze, smoldering, seductive and sinister. And like a panther, he proves himself to be just as lethal. Delon stars as Tom Ripley, a pretty-but-poor young man who takes off to Rome as an errand boy to fetch the wayward Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet), and bring him back home to San Francisco to his impatient, rich father in exchange for $5000. Not surprisingly, the spoiled, unsupervised Philippe doesn't want to return and give up his profligate, libertine lifestyle, and neither does Tom, when he gets a taste of how the other half lives. And he soon determines he doesn't have to, when he concocts to take over Phillippe's money, his beautiful girlfriend Marge Duval (Marie Laforet), his identity. But of course, even in a perfect scheme devised by a cunning mind, one can't plan for everything and things eventually go south for our man Ripley.

I haven't read the Patricia Highsmith book on which this is based, but I've seen the other film version of it, "The Talented Mr. Ripley" so I have only that to compare it with. First the titles: The latter one gets right to the point and is intriguing for that; the original has a certain romantic appeal, but is sinister behind the pretty sound of it--it portends of dark (purple) clouds (of evil) converging upon a bright sunlit horizon. The latter film has outward homoerotic aspects that is very latent in this version (so much so that those expecting it to be overt will probably not notice--but it had to be given the era in which the movie was released), but it's there all right. Tom is ostensibly supposed to covet Marge, but even when she's in a scene with him and Phillippe, the tension and electricity fairly crackles between the two intense young men, but not with her. Another difference, and I understand the latter version to be faithful to the book in this way, is Marge is not affluent, which rather puts her more in Tom's position as she is also at the mercy of Phillippe's money and volatile moods, and that lends another aspect to the film. These differences I found negligible and didn't take away anything for either movie to me.

However, I must say I found Delon's Ripley far more appealing than Matt Damon's one. Not taking anything away from Mr. Damon as he is a capable actor and an attractive man, but he simply is not in Delon's league, either in the looks or magnetism department. Damon really downplayed his pleasant looks for the role, and I really think that was a minus--he not only looks, but acts so unsettling that even a new born babe wouldn't take candy from this man. Delon, on the other hand, is a much more refreshing villian and, strangely enough, more believable. Refreshing because he's such a change from the usual villians that you would peg right from looking at them they're a heavy--they look unsavory (or at the very least not attractive). Believable because despite whatever sinister intentions Delon's Tom might emit, he's outwardly likeable and what's more, is so devastatingly handsome that it's easy to see how people would not take their instincts about such a person seriously and would let their guard down. Ronet is fine in his portrayal as the not-so-nice rich boy Phillippe, but Laforet as Marie--to me she came across like an afterthought, she's bland and forgettable, but that's ok because the dynamics are between the two men, and later with how Tom handles his predicament. This being said, I didn't care much for the pat crime-doesn't-pay finale in this one and thought the latter version far more satisfying in that respect. Both are excellent movies in their own respective ways, I don't know if anyone can really say one vastly outdoes the other, but see this one if you want to see Delon unleashed.

P.S. Look for Romy Schneider, Delon's fiancee at the time, in the beginning of the movie as one of Phillippe's companions. The beautiful, Austrian-born Ms. Schneider followed Delon back to France after she fell in love with him during the making of "Christine."