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Purple Noon wouldn't make my top 40 thrillers, but it is the most gorgeous film noir in color. Whether he's photographing an open-air fish market or a killing on the rolling sea, the great cinematographer Henri Decaë comes up with colors and images that are eye-popping and fetid at the same time: He creates a visual hothouse from which evil grows. When Delon's Tom Ripley stares at the face of a slimy ray, it looks like they're exchanging trade secrets.
The Nutty Professor and Phenomenon screen daily at area theaters. Purple Noon opens Wednesday, July 3, at the Embarcadero Center in
