Skip to Content

The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

La Piscine

Romy Schneider and Alain Delon in a still from the film.

August 5, 2022
7 Ludlow St, New York, NY 10002, United States

There might be no more erotic a summer thriller than Jacques Deray’s La Piscine (The Swimming Pool). Set in a villa overlooking Saint Tropez, and starring Alain Delon and Romy Schneider, both at the height of their beauty—as well as a 23-year-old Jane Birkin who radiates seduction—it tells the tale of a tidy little ménage à trois that becomes a messy (and mortal) ménage à quatre. Released in 1969, with a score by Michel Legrand, it’s long been considered a masterpiece of French noir. This movie is like the heat of an August holiday in the South of France—it will linger beneath your skin for years afterward. —Michael Hainey

Photo courtesy: Rialto Pictures / Metrograph