Blu-ray review: Plein Soleil
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Film: ★★★★☆ Blu-ray transfer: ★★★☆☆
Patricia Highsmith’s compelling and disturbing psychological thriller The Talented Mr. Ripley was famously made into a lavish, handsomely produced film by Anthony Minghella in 1999. However, many British audiences may not be aware that its first adaptation was an equally glamorous French film titled Plein Soleil (Purple Noon) released in 1960. This version has been given a brand new restoration and is released on Blu-ray in September by StudioCanal.
Alain Delon plays Tom Ripley, a young man with very little money to his name. He is charismatic and charming and knows how to manipulate people. At the start of the film he is in Rome spending time with his attractive friend Philippe Greenleaf. Tom has been commissioned by Philippe’s father to bring his son back home, but the two young men never really go back home. They spend time in the sun, on Philippe’s boat with Marge, his beautiful partner, and enjoy their lives. Things start to spiral out of control when a prank during a sailing trip goes horribly wrong, leading a nightmarish situation that forces Tom to commit a series of crimes.

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