PURPLE NOON
PLEIN SOLEIL
DIRECTED BY: RENÉ CLÉMENT
STARRING: ALAIN DELON, MAURICE RONET, MARIE LAFORÊT, ERNO CRISCA , BILLY KEARNS
Purple Noon (Plein Soleil) is a classic French 1960 crime thriller directed by René Clément, loosely based on the 1955 novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith. The film propelled Alain Delon to instant stardom in his first major role, becoming one of France’s greatest sex symbols.
Tom Ripley (Alain Delon) travels to Rome on a mission to bring his privileged friend Phillippe Greenleaf (Maurice Ronet) and Phillippe’s new fiancée Marge Duval (Marie Laforêt) home to San Francisco. Instead, Tom develops a taste for the glamorous life he finds there, mingling with the rich and famous. But when the funding for their extravagant lifestyle is abruptly cut off, Tom resorts to increasingly desperate and violent measures to maintain his newfound way of life.
Purple Noon is a wonderfully twisted affair, filled with unpredictable and ingenious turns. A story of lust and murder, set against the backdrop of the bright Italian sun and the wild and dangerous beauty of Alain Delon.
The film has been remastered for 2022!