Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

La Piscine Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 26, 2009

Jacques Deray's sexy "La piscine" a.k.a. "The Swimming Pool" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors M6. The disc contains the French and English versions of the film as well as a number of informative supplemental features. It is also Region-Free.

The lovers - Alain Delon and Romy Schneider

Jean-Paul (Alain Delon, L' Eclisse, Un Flic) and Marianne (Romy Schneider, L' important c'est d'aimer, Le trio infernal) are on vacation in beautiful St. Tropez. They are residing in a luxurious villa with a large private pool perched on a hill overlooking the ocean. Jean-Paul loves the area. He hopes that one day he and Marianne can afford to have a similar place which they can call home.

Marianne’s ex-lover, Harry (Maurice Ronet, Elevator to the Gallows, The Bitch Wants Blood), who is in the area, phones and asks if he could stop by and see her. He is also an old friend of Jean-Paul, who has not seen him in years. Marianne immediately invites Harry and tells Jean-Paul that they are expecting a very special guest.

A few hours later, Harry arrives in the villa with his daughter Penelope (Jane Birkin, Je Taime Moi Non Plus, Slogan), a beautiful eighteen year old girl, who immediately catches Jean-Paul’s interest. After a few drinks, Marianne asks Harry if he would be interested in staying for a couple of days before he heads back to Milan. At first, Harry is unsure, but Marianne insists and he agrees.

Jean-Paul begins to flirt with Penelope. At first, she is unsure how to react, but then her curiosity leads her straight into Jean-Paul’s hands. Marianne begins suspecting that there might be something going on between the two. Meanwhile, Harry and Jean-Paul get drunk and fight. Shortly after, a dead body is discovered in the large private pool.

Delon and Schneider reunited on the set of La piscine in 1969, after their highly publicized breakup in 1964. Jacques Deray and Jean-Claude Carrière’s adaptation of Jean-Emmanuel Conil’s screenplay seemed like the perfect opportunity for the former lovers to appear once again in front of the camera. They did and the press loved it.

La piscine is about a classic foursome affair with all sorts of predictable twists that should not surprise those of you familiar with the films of French director Claude Chabrol. Temptation, jealousy and murder are the three key themes in it, and they are blended into what could best be described as crime melodrama.

The first half of La piscine is the better one. It is deliciously elegant – with some truly beautiful panoramic vistas from St. Tropez - and fresh. The subversive elements from the second half of the film are nowhere to be found and, for the most part, the dialog is convincing. Delon’s flirtations with the young Birkin in particular are very entertaining.

The second half has a darker, more intense tone. Director Deray focuses on the main protagonists’ inability to control their emotions and consequently the murder case, which changes the entire complexion of the film. The dialog, especially on the English version of La piscine, is also notably rougher.

I cannot imagine too many people enjoying this film without being at least partially fascinated with Delon and Schneider. There is a very subtle sense of nostalgia the film evokes that brings back memories of a time when movie stars were truly beautiful and elegant. Naturally, the story is practically unimportant because the film simply celebrates an era and two iconic European actors who were an inseparable part of it.

La Piscine Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Deray's La piscine arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors M6.

Approximately a year ago, Lionsgate Films produced a lavish DVD box set of Alain Delon films in North America, which contained the French version of La piscine (licensed from Studio Canal). The transfer for it was fairly strong, conveying good detail and plausible contrast. The Blu-ray transfer by M6, however, offers a substantial upgrade over the existing Lionsgate Films release – on the Blu-ray disc, contrast is dramatically improved, clarity substantially better and the color scheme far more convincing than that seen on the DVD. The close-ups in particular look terrific. Furthermore, neither edge-enhancement nor macroblocking are a serious issue of concern (both are very problematic on the DVD). The actual transfer is also notably healthy – there aren't any disturbing debris, specks, or scratches to report in this review. (Note: Even though this Blu-ray disc is marketed as Region-B, it is actually Region-Free. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

La Piscine Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French Dolby Digital 2.0 (48 kHz) and English Dolby Digital 2.0 (48 kHz). Both of these tracks belong to the two version Jacques Deray filmed for La piscine - French and English. On the French version, Alain Delon and Romy Schneider speak their lines in French (as well as everyone else). On the English version, the two speak their lines in English (this isn't a simple dubbed version of the film, but an entirely new presentation that was filmed alongside the French version). This being said, I opted for the English Dolby Digital 2.0 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the French Dolby Digital 2.0 track.

Generally speaking, there are no issues to report with the English Dolby Digital 2.0 track. The dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow. Michel Legrand's lovely soundtrack is also trouble-free. There are no serious balance issues between the dialog and the music score – I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings. There seems to be enough depth here that will please those of you expecting a strong audio treatment.

The French track is the preferable one - the actors sound a lot more convincing when they speak their lines in French. As far as the actual quality of the French Dolby Digital 2.0 track is concerned, I believe that it is practically identical to the English Dolby Digital 2.0 track. With the scenes I tested, there were no balance issues, cracks, pops, or hissings. This said, I would like to make it clear that the French subtitles on the English version of La piscine are optional – you could turn them off from your remote control. However, there are no optional French or English subtitles on the French version of the film.

La Piscine Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

There are a number of terrific supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc. Please note that only the ones marked below as 1080p are viewable on US TV sets; all other extras are in standard-def PAL. Therefore, you need to have a Blu-ray player that converts PAL-NTSC, or a multi-system TV set, in order to view them.

Notes de production – a short, text-size, summation of the production history of the film (in French).

Interview de Jean-Claude Carriere – writer and scenarist Jean-Claude Carriere talks about his collaboration with Jacques Deray, his work on the original text/dialog for the film as well as his interaction with the cast. The interview was recorded in November of 2007 (in French without optional subtitles, PAL) (27 min).

Fin alternative – an alternate ending showing the St. Tropez police arriving at the luxurious villa (1080p) (1 min).

Archives: Les retrouvailles R. Schneider/A. Delon – An archival footage showing Alain Delon and Romy Schneider arriving at St. Tropez and being interviewed by the local press (in French without optional subtitles, PAL) (3 min).

La bande-annonce – the original theatrical trailer for La piscine (1080p) (3 min).

Le film version anglaise – The English language version of the film.

La Piscine Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

French distributors M6 deliver yet another fantastic Blu-ray release. This time around it is Jacques Deray's La piscine, a film that meant a lot to former lovers Alain Delon and Romy Schneider. The transfer is excellent and the Blu-ray is Region-Free. Obviously, we recommend it.