Rating: 
Summary: A bittersweet and violent tale of revenge!
Review:
A 12 year old girl named "Mathilda" ( Natalie Portman) is a troubled young girl in New York City as her family got slaughtered by an insane cop ( Gary Oldman), she stays in with her neighbor named "Leon" who's a professional assassin as he teaches her the methods of assassination to enact her revenge for the death of her family.
A provocative and startling action-crime drama from The Fifth Element's Luc Besson, it's his first time of directing an American production. This movie also sparked the debut of Natalie Portman, it's a little risky role for Portman but was definitely a fine performance for her, Jean Reno is perfectly casted as the title character. The film is a little brutal but moving and thought provoking at the same time, this film has became a new classic in the action crime genre.
The 2-Disc Deluxe Edition contains the Uncut international version with the correct title "Leon" instead of the original U.S. title " The Professional" with some never-before-seen footage shown in America, great Superbit picture & sound that is CD-esque quality and it's extras A 10 Year Retrospective documentary, Jean Reno: Road to Leno Feauturette, previews to other movies from Columbia DVD and a documentary on Natalie Portman as well.
It's not a movie for everyone, but this movie is a true action crime classic for every DVD collector to have.
Also recommended: "Scarface", " The Punisher" ( Both versions), " L.A. Confidential", "Gangs of New York", "Assault on Precinct 13", " Speed", " Executive Decision", "Lethal Weapon", "Die Hard Trilogy", " The Crow", "I Spit on Your Grave", " Death Wish", " Reservoir Dogs", "From Dusk Till Dawn", " Terminator 1 & 2", "Pulp Fiction", " The Godfather".
Rating:
Summary: Intense Thriller that Never Fails
Review: French director Luc Besson ("The Messenger"; "The Fifth Element") made his U.S. film debut with this intelligent thriller of an Italian hitman who is untouchable. "Leon" stars Jean Reno ("The Big Blue") plays Leon, a professional hitman with ninja-like skills, who eliminates rivals for a mob boss (Danny Aiello). After a corrupt cop (Gary Oldman) eliminates the family residing next door due to a drug transaction gone wrong, Leon finds himself the guardian of young Mathilda (Natalie Portman in her screen debut). Taking Mathilda under his helm, Leon teaches her the art of the "cleaner". However, danger lurks around every corner, and Leon must protect Mathilda from the same cops who killed her family. Considered by many to be his masterpiece, "Leon" was originally released in the United States under the title "The Professional". However due to the feeling that American audiences might find some material unacceptable, over 24 minutes of the film was edited out. Finally, Columbia/Tri-Star has made an excellent decision in releasing the uncut, international version of this excellent film in the U.S. While the film's central theme revolves around Leon and his job, the subplot where Mathilda develops an attraction for Leon is reminiscent of the novel/film "Lolita". The chemistry between both characters in a father/daughter relationship can be intense, especially as we notice that Mathilda is in her puberty-stage. Jean Reno is excellent as always, and Gary Oldman gives a chilling performance as Stansfield, the wicked DEA officer who murdered Mathilda's family in cold blood. However, the real scene-stealer in this film has to be Natalie Portman. This beautiful young girl radiates beauty and professionalism throughout the film. Her porcelain-looking skin, and her big brown eyes are well utilized in this film, making her character more childish, yet mature to a certain extent. Portman proved to audiences in this film that she was no flash in the pan, and in her subsequent films, she continues to be a scene-stealer. She is truly Hollywood's most gifted young actress. In this version, most of the 24 minutes that were left out in the film's 1994 release in the U.S. mainly involves both Leon and Mathilda going on "cleaning sweeps" where she gets first hand training in the art of assassination. The other half of these minutes focuses on Mathilda's attraction to Leon. Her persistent attempts to be intimate with Leon all fail, but we finally understand why Leon remains a loner when it comes to affairs if the heart. Some might be uncomfortable about the idea of Mathilda and Leon sharing a bed together, but Besson paints this scene as one involving platonic love and not sex. In wrapping up, I recommend this film for anyone who enjoys a nonstop, high-impact thriller in the same tradition as the "Matrix," "Blade," or "Dead Calm". Luc Besson truly is one of the world's greatest action directors, and "Leon" captures his magic. An excellent, pulstaing film from beginning to end!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, Must-See Film!
Review: French director Luc Besson ("The Messenger"; "The Fifth Element") made his U.S. film debut with this intelligent thriller of an Italian hitman who is untouchable. "The Professional" stars Jean Reno ("The Big Blue") who plays Leon, a professional hitman with ninja-like skills, who eliminates rivals for a mob boss (Danny Aiello). After a corrupt cop (Gary Oldman) eliminates the family residing next door due to a drug transaction gone wrong, Leon finds himself the guardian of young Mathilda (Natalie Portman in her screen debut). Taking Mathilda under his helm, Leon teaches her the art of the "cleaner". However, danger lurks around every corner, and Leon must protect Mathilda from the same cops who killed her family. Considered by many to be his masterpiece, "The Professional" was originally released internationally under the title "Leon". However due to the feeling that American audiences might find some material unacceptable, over 24 minutes of the film was edited out. Finally, Columbia/Tri-Star has made an excellent decision in releasing the uncut, international version of this excellent film in the U.S. as it originally was called in August 2000. While the film's central theme revolves around Leon and his job, the subplot where Mathilda develops an attraction for Leon is reminiscent of the novel/film "Lolita". The chemistry between both characters in a father/daughter relationship can be intense, especially as we notice that Mathilda is in her puberty-stage. Jean Reno is excellent as always, and Gary Oldman gives a chilling performance as Stansfield, the wicked DEA officer who murdered Mathilda's family in cold blood. However, the real scene-stealer in this film has to be Natalie Portman. This beautiful young girl radiates beauty and professionalism throughout the film. Her porcelain-looking skin, and her big brown eyes are well utilized in this film, making her character more childish, yet mature to a certain extent. Portman proved to audiences in this film that she was no flash in the pan, and in her subsequent films, she continues to be a scene-stealer. She is truly Hollywood's most gifted young actress. In the international version, most of the 24 minutes that were left out in the film's 1994 release in the U.S. mainly involves both Leon and Mathilda going on "cleaning sweeps" where she gets first hand training in the art of assassination. The other half of these minutes focuses on Mathilda's attraction to Leon. Her persistent attempts to be intimate with Leon all fail, but we finally understand why Leon remains a loner when it comes to affairs if the heart. Some might be uncomfortable about the idea of Mathilda and Leon sharing a bed together, but Besson paints this scene as one involving platonic love and not sex. In wrapping up, I recommend this film for anyone who enjoys a nonstop, high-impact thriller in the same tradition as the "Matrix," "Blade," or "Dead Calm". Luc Besson truly is one of the world's greatest action directors, and "Leon" captures his magic. An excellent, pulstaing film from beginning to end!
Rating:
Summary: A Worthy Special Edition
Review: Fresh from the international success of La Femme Nikita, Luc Besson attempted to conquer America with Leon. Trimmed of a few minutes for a potentially uncomfortable scene involving a little girl proclaiming her love for a hitman and renamed The Professional, it became a bonafide hit that would pave the way for his magnum opus, The Fifth Element. Eventually, the European cut of the movie was released in North America with all of the excised footage intact. Now, Sony/Columbia has released it on a DVD for the third time with a few new extras.
Sony/Columbia has released several copies of The Professional on DVD. This latest incarnation includes the Superbit version of the movie with optimum sound and picture quality and a whole new selection of extras celebrating its 10th anniversary. Also of note, this is Besson's European cut a.k.a. "version integrale."
On the first disc is a fact track, which allows one to watch the movie with running subtitles that display all sorts of factoids and interesting bits of trivia about the movie and the people that worked on it.
The second disc starts off with a "10 Year Retrospective" featurette. There are new interviews with Portman and Reno who talk about how they got involved with the movie and their experiences working on it. The most glaring omission with this doc is the lack of involvement from the director or Gary Oldman.
"Jean Reno: The Road to Leon" briefly examines the life and career of this talented actor. Reno speaks very eloquently about his character.
"Natalie Portman: Starting Young" is a good interview with the young actress. There is footage of her audition that clearly shows how talented she was so early in life. Portman is as charming as ever and fans of hers will enjoy this extra.
Rating:
Summary: brrilliant, imaginative, explosive thriller for the ages!
Review: got my copy today, finally, and was it ever worth the wait! it was always an astounding flick, but now, with all the footage back, the superbit/dts audio all add up to makimg this masterpiece a classic! like "the fifth element" newly restored dvd to superbit and dts sound, these components take both films to the nth level of quality. get both for over 4 hours of 2of the very best films of the 90's! bravo, mr. bessun, bravo to sony/columbia house for lavishing such loving care on both great films.
Rating:
Summary: Natalie Portman in her best role!
Review: I don't usually like to watch movies about hit men or cops and robbers. I remember I got interested in this movie because of two things: Luc Besson's movie the Fifth Element, which was so wildly different and fascinating that I wanted to see what else this French director had done; and secondly, seeing Natalie Portman for the first time in the Star Wars: Phantom Menace movie. Behind all of the dense make up and bad script and horribly non-existent directing from George Lucas in Phantom Menace, I sensed in Natalie Portman one heck of a terrific young actress struggling to come up with a meaningful performance. In "Leon - The Professional", working with a superb director, her acting talent is on full display. When one thinks of modern day child actors, Anna Paquin comes to mind, in "The Piano", because she aced out some terrific adult actresses in 1993 to win the Oscar. Well, Natalie Portman, at age 12, had Anna Paquin beat by a mile in this movie, since her character takes up about half of the movie. If not for the truly unusual and off-beat story line of this movie, Portman would have gotten a lot more attention for her role in this movie, I think. If you just focus on Portman's facial expressions and the way she carries herself in this movie, she goes through an amazing acting range in this movie, from hurt, terrified, bored, stuck up, cool and calculating, manipulative, sweet, child-like, and pubescent sexual allure. As mentioned by other reviewers, the uncut version restores scenes that basically give a harder edge to Natalie Portman's character. The additional scenes of her assassin training with Leon and her efforts to attract and get closer to Leon definitely put her character in a harsher light. I remember from my first viewing of the cut U.S. version that Mathilda came across as a much more sweet and innocent child. The uncut version shows her more to be a hardened child of the mean streets of New York. Given the usual Hollywood propensities, it's not that surprising that these scenes got cut for the U.S. release. The uncut version does show the fullest acting range of Natalie Portman, even if they make her character less sympathetic. Basically, the movie skates close to, but avoids the pedophilia controversies of the "Lolita" movies by having the character of Leon adhere to a strict code of ethics that firmly blocks all of Mathilda's advances. Even at the end, when he kisses her good-by and says that he loves her, it is clearly in the vein of being her protector and a big brother/father surrogate figure. All in all, this was a great movie. Jean Reno was just so hauntingly sad as the loner-assassin Leon. Gary Oldman was definitely over the top in his portrayal of the crazed DEA agent - you almost expected his Dracula fangs to come out and his eyes to glow red when he popped those pills into his mouth. So all of you Natalie Portman fans, this movie is a definite must-see. All of you Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones haters who think that Natalie Portman can't act, you've got to see this movie to understand that no, Natalie Portman is a terrific actress. It's just really, really tough to play opposite total stiffs like Hayden Christiansen and Jake Lloyd, working with an idiot director like George Lucas.
Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest films ever.
Review: I think this film is a masterpiece. Luc Besson has beautifully directed this achievement and it is probably his best film (Fifth Element aside). The best thing about this film is the different emotions you feel. You feel hatred, happiness, worry, and sadness all for one character. Leon is a professional (hence the title) cleaner, or hitman. He is a very alone person who has no friends. He does have a soft spot for the 12 year old girl Mathilda(wonderfully portrayed by Natalie Portman). When Mathilda's family is killed, she stays with Leon, but she wants revenge. Leon begins teaching her the tricks of the trade which provides some very funny moments. They begin to get very close, and he feels love for the girl. I will not ruin the whoile story for you but it really is a must see.Jean Reno was born for this part and Gary Oldman plays the eccentric bad guy very well. This movie does have some explosive action scenes, but it is really more of a drama. Yes there is a directors cut which in my opinion isn't much better than the regular and the regular is 10 bucks cheaper. Buy this film either way and you will be wonderfully happy with your purchase.
Rating:
Summary: Really great new EXTRAS!!!
Review: I'm a HUGE Luc Besson fan, so I couldn't wait for this DVD to come out. And I think the new Extras on this DVD are very cool -although not quite what you might expect for a Leon DVD. There's a full length conversation with Natalie Portman in which she talks about making the movie, in detail, how her parents were against it at first, what conditions they made for her to make the movie, etc. Then there's a companion documentary with Jean Reno -- in which you get to hear about his growing up in Casablanca, how he got into acting, his relationship with Besson. The piece really has the feel of an in-depth, intimate conversation with this enigmatic star -- and is beautifully shot. This piece also includes some rare photos of the star - including childhood shots of him as a little boy in Casablanca. Any fan of Reno or Portman will love this DVD. The real big feature is called the Ten Year Retrospective - where you get to meet many cast and crew members (Ellen Greene, the DP, the Fat Man, Michael Badalucco, the Costume Designer, editor Sylvie Landra) - shot all over the world - the Producer stands in front of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Michael Badalluco stands in front of the Statue of Liberty, the editor sits in a beautiful cadillac outside a hollywood studio - and they each share their very best stories about making the movie (including what REALLY happened at a not-very-successful test screening during which the audience laughed). Lot's of really good inside scoops here. (Including a rare appearance by French actress Maiwenn, who claims that she was 12 when she met Besson and 15 when she fell in love with him - "so in a way, this is my story" she says. The show ends with an incredible shot of the cast celebrating Natalie Portmans very final shot and the cast dumping huge amounts of confetti on her in the middle of the shot. It's also revealed just how they did the movie's amazing "rocket shot" in the climactic final scene. All in all, very rewarding - 3 really interesting and engaging pieces. (Oh - and there's an interesting trivia track too).
Rating:
Summary: Thank you!
Review: I've been a fan of Luc Besson's "The Professional" of years and the original DVD was one of the most charished in my collection. So imagine my excitement when I picked up my copy of the Deluxe Edition. It was a joy to see the interviews with the cast, especially some of the casting outtakes of Natalie Portman. Her masterful acting is without a doubt the driving force of the movie and I can't fathom anybody else playing the role of Mathilda. But the draw of the dvd is the extra footage, which doesn't disappoint. We get to see Leon show Mathilda the ropes of the Professional business and a touching scene when Leon uses some of his money from Tony to take Mathilda out to a fancy restaurant. There are some instances where it's easy to see why some footage was cut. In one part Mathilda offers to lose her virginity to Leon. I thought this was pushing their relationship in the wrong direction. I guess Luc thought so also and cut it from the final product. A downside to to losing that scene is that we see that Leon refuses her and gives us a glimse into his past and why he came to the U.S. Everyone involved in this film was amazing, from Luc to Natalie to Jean to Gary. The cut and uncut versions of the film are great additions to any DVD collection but I'd recommend this version because it's the way Luc intended it to be. If you love great film making, action, and acting then you must own "The Professional".
Rating:
Summary: Enveloping, fascinating, unique...incredible film
Review: Sometimes I think to myself, how did this movie not receive immediate critical acclaim and box office success upon its release in 1994? But then I remember how it was marketed. It was marketed as a hip, fast-paced, hitman action movie. But in reality it is a poetic, moving, elegant drama that happens to include a few great action scenes. Sometimes I wonder how Gary Oldman didn't receive a Best Supporting Actor nod for his work in this film. But then I remember that the Academy seldom gives such honors to over-the-top villains, no matter how well they are played. I don't know how many times I've watched and rewound the moment where Oldman's character swallows a mysterious pill in the hallway (the "calm before the storm") and subsequently how he reacts to the drug. Amazing. You know what, there are too many good things to say about this film. Basically, every performance is perfect, every character is cast perfectly, the music is perfect, the direction and cinematography are perfect. It is truly a flourishing work of art; a master stroke from director Luc Besson. Time will attest to that.
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