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
The Arts Intel Report
La Piscine
Romy Schneider and Alain Delon in a still from the film.
When
August 5, 2022
Where
Etc
Photo courtesy: Rialto Pictures / Metrograph