I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Unlike many of its contemporary offerings, René Clément's distinguished and rather popular "Purple Noon" or "Plein Soleil" (1960) (available on a superb 10/10 Miramax DVD), adapted from a Patricia Highsmith novel, holds up extremely well today. Why this movie still succeeds so well, is undoubtedly thanks not only to the film's first-grade production values, including Henri Decae's glistening location photography, but its wholly engrossing study in sleek, hideously magnetic evil by Alain Delon, of all people. In fact, this was the role that enabled Delon to shake off his vapid, glamour-boy image and seek parts that required real characterization and at least some degree of depth. Churlish Maurice Ronet, plus the delightfully super-sultry Marie Laforet (in her movie debut) also excel.

A superbly atmospheric thriller with an excellent plot and a dream cast. The indisputable star of the show is Alain Delon, more beautiful than ever, who gives the performance of his life as an amoral drifter with a liking for the high life. The expressions on his face may shift and vary but his eyes tend to maintain their blank emptiness, hinting at an almost reptilian otherness. One can easily believe that he is some kind of vampire, killing people and stealing their identity because this is the only way of propping up an hollow interior.Delon's Tom may be a monster, but he is not the only one behaving monstrously : there's a lot of bad behavior going on, fed by such unlovely fuels as entitlement, class consciousness, lack of imagination and unacknowledged homoerotic longing. The satire may be ferocious, but it's also ferociously accurate, showing the dark underside of this whole "having a gap year and bumming around Europe at daddy's expense" phenomenon. (Well, in this case we're talking more about having a gap decade, but you know what I mean.) There is a considerable contrast between the vibrant, generous beauty of the natural environment and the vile shenanigans going on between the humans. This gives the movie a surprising depth and grandeur : it almost becomes a sermon, condensing and recapitulating the Fall of Man, who was given every possible physical and mental advantage, who was offered a place of innocence and plenty, and who still succeeded in finding perdition. Milton would have loved it.The ending, I seem to remember, differs from the ending in the book which is the movie's source material. I can only say that it works well for the movie, giving the whole a final and satisfying twist.

Taking a look at Rene Clement's IMDb page,I discovered that I had unknowingly picked up one of his films last year!,which led to me getting ready to find out how talented Mr. Ripley is.The plot:Penniless, Tom Ripley is offered a lot of money from the father of his old friend Philippe Greenleaf,who Ripley is asked to locate in Italy,and to bring back home to the US. Arriving in Italy,Ripley soon runs into Greenleaf and his girlfriend Marge Duval. Half- heartedly pushing Greenleaf to go back,Ripley puts the task aside,and starts to enjoying indulging in the life of luxury surrounding Greenleaf. Becoming fixated on Greenleaf and his romance with Duval,Ripley starts to do impressions of Greenleaf,which includes doing a perfect copy of his signature.Hating his fixation,Greenleaf starts to become very abusive.Wanting to get revenge on Greenleaf and to stay in the lifestyle,Ripley begins making plans to kill Greenleaf,and to steal his complete identity.View on the film:Riding the lush waves into Italy,co-writer/(along with Paul Gégauff) directing auteur Rene Clement & cinematographer Henri Decaë continue Clement's theme of the movies being based in a claustrophobic Film Noir world,where the high seas that the trio pass around Italy are hidden with dazzlingly tightly held,cramped shots subtly expressing the vacuum which is filled with Ripley's obsessions and Greenleaf's shallow, decadent life style. Keeping Ripley quick on his feet to avoid the game being solved,Clement heats the title up in sun dried Film Noir shades which roll out in gliding tracking shots as Ripley tries to keep his increasingly bloody hands hidden from view.Bringing Ripley in as an outsider for their adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's book,the screenplay by Clement and Gégauff drops Ripley,Greenleaf and Duval on steady plates which allow them each to let their pampered sides run wild, until the frictions buried underneath the glamour cause the relationships to be snapped with a ruthless earthquake. Needing to play down the homosexual and amoral subtext of the book,the writers are still able to brilliantly unveil the lacking in empathy Film Noir shadow hanging over Ripley,by turning each new encounter Ripley makes of keeping his soulless Film Noir "mask" intact,at any cost.Given just a short amount of time before he is met head on with a Ripley special, Billy Kearns gives the delightfully large, chomping at the scenery performance as Freddy Miles. Becoming the object of Ripley's desires, Maurice Ronet gives a great performance as Greenleaf,due to Ronet carefully chipping away at Greenleaf's slick image to break into his viciously self-obsessed Noir heart.Swimming into their lives, Alain Delon initially presents Ripley as laid- back,with their being little sign of the power games laying ahead.Pulled into a new skin,Delon hits the second of the title with a calculated intensity,thanks to Delon pushing Ripley's sharp Noir nihilism slowly out of the darkness and into the burning,doom-laden sun. Caught in the middle,the eye-catching Marie Laforêt gives a very good performance as the fragile Duval,who is asked by Ripley if she believes it or not.

Alain Delon stars as Tom Ripley in "Purple Noon," an adaptation of the Patricia Highsmith novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley." There is another filming of the same book in 1999 starring Matt Damon, Jude Law, and Gwyneth Paltrow, which I didn't care for.Patricia Highsmith was happy with all of this film except for the ending, which differs from her book, the first of a series. She really liked Delon as Ripley, and it's clear why. He does an excellent job as the suave, charming Tom who hides all of his amorality beneath the veil of a chiseled face and beautiful smile. Delon is one of the great matinée idols, really at the height of his fabulous looks here.Unlike the Minghella version, which I found preposterous, this story makes more sense and becomes absolutely riveting once Ripley gets rid of his rival Philippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) and steals his identity. Rene Clement is a wonderful director, and the scene in the restaurant where Tom makes sure he is overheard talking to Marge (Marie Laforet) is especially good. The camera work is excellent throughout and a little unusual.I, too, did not care for the ending, which was not Highsmith's.One thing i've never bought about this story is the fact that Ripley hung around the same area as Marge and Philippe's friends after becoming him. That to me was a big problem in the Minghella film, which was made worse by some dumb scenes. Though I still don't understand it, it was easier to take in this film.Like the Minghella version, Purple Noon is glorious to look at, with a more European flavor than The Talented Mr. Ripley. Highly recommended.