‘Noon’ Reemerges as a Compelling, Suspenseful Classic

Miramax Zoe and Martin Scorsese have joined forces to reissue the long-unavailable “Purple Noon,� Rene Clement’s seductive 1960 film of Patricia Highsmith’s 1955 novel “The Talented Mr. Ripley.� Good for them, but let’s hope nobody will attempt to remake what was an international hit upon its release and what today seems clearly a classic of psychological suspense.

Miramax Zoe, a Miramax subsidiary set up to distribute French films old and new, and Scorsese, a dedicated film scholar and preservationist, previously reissued with much success Bun~uel’s “Belle de Jour.�

Like Alfred Hitchcock’s “Strangers on the Train,� also based on a Highsmith novel, it tells of a dangerous man eager to assume the identity of another. But here Alain Delon’s Tom Ripley actually does it. He’s come from San Francisco, hired by a rich man to retrieve his playboy son Philippe (Maurice Ronet) from a seemingly endless Italian sojourn. Spoiled, careless and stupid, Philippe, who has had a casual acquaintance with Tom, treats him abominably and inevitably goes too far. Caught in the middle is Philippe’s beautiful fiancee (Marie Lafore^t).

While the lovely Lafore^t and Ronet, always a splendid decadent, lend flawless support, “Purple Noon� belongs to Delon, who established his career and international renown with this film. His catlike grace, aura of danger, lonely vulnerability and sexual magnetism make him a most compelling antihero. Although Miramax previewed “Purple Noon� with a wretched print, it has promised to release it with a fresh one, showing off its ravishing Italian settings photographed by the masterly Henri Decae.

* MPAA rating: PG-13, for momentary violence and sexuality. Times guidelines: The film is sufficiently discreet to be appropriate for mature adolescents.

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‘Purple Noon’ (‘Plein Soleil’)

Alain Delon: Tom Ripley

Marie Lafore^t: Marge

Maurice Ronet: Philippe

Elvire Popesco: Mme. Popova

A Miramax Zoe presentation of a Franco-Italian co-production: Paris/Panitalia/Titanus. Director Rene Clement. Producers Robert & Raymond Hakim. Screenplay by Clement and Paul Gegauff. Cinematographer Henri Decae. Music Nino Rota. Art director Paul Bertrand. In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.

* Exclusively at the Royal, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West Los Angeles, (310) 477-5581; scheduled to open July 3 at the South Coast Village 3, on Sunflower next to Planet Hollywood, South Coast Plaza, Costa Mesa, (714) 540-0594.