Leon (Director's Cut) [DVD]

What a fabulous film! The acting is amazing and I loved the idea - very original They relationship between the 2 key characters is fabulous

**SPOILERS** This is great movie. It centres around Leon a hitman who because of his job is a very isolated human being. He has had very little contact with the real world and mentally he is like a child. Leon's boss knows Leon is very simple and easily manipulated, but he also knows Leon is very gifted in the art killing. Leon lives in a apartment block next door to a family (husband, wife, two daughters and a son). The father of this family is holding a large amount of drugs for a crooked police chief (Gary Oldman). When Gary Oldman and his team come to retrieve his drugs from the father it is discovered that the father has stolen 10% of the drugs and cut the remainder of the drugs with something to bring it back to the original quantity. He is soon found out and the family are massacred. All except Matilda a 12 year old girl, the youngest daughter of the family, who has been at the local store while the massacre has taken place. She returns from the store back to the apartment and sees what has happened to her family. Knowing that if the corrupt cops knew she was part of the family she would also be killed, she walks past her families door trying to remain calm she knocks on Leon's. Meanwhile Leon has seen what has happened and is faced with the decision of helping the girl or turning a blind eye. Eventually he lets the girl in. Knowing that the girl has no family and she is unlikely to survive without his help and reluctantly decides to take care of her. What follows is a gritty story of Leon learning to care for, and protect somebody other than himself. As you would expect Matilda is a very messed up kid, and after finding out that Leon is a Hitman she sets her sights on becoming his apprentice. Leon who is against the idea at first eventually agrees to train her. Matilda in return teaches him how to read and to enjoy life more. As the movie goes on and Matilda is being trained up, her desire for revenge against those who have killed her family grows. She begins to become more skilled, and more capable of taking revenge, but will her desire for revenge destroy her and Leon's world forever. This director's cut blu ray is very good and has added scenes going into more detail of Matilda being trained up by Leon. Great performances from Jean Reno (Leon), Natalie Portman (Matilda), and Gary Oldman. This is a truly great movie especially as the action begins to pick up in the second half. Would recommend.

I am glad I purchased the Directors Cut of 'Leon' as this version is brilliant. Both Leon (Jean Reno) and Mathilda (Natalie Portman) give outstanding performances in this fast action thriller. There is also fine contribution too from Gary Oldman as the loony, corrupt DEA official who is responsible for killing Mathida's family. Leon is a backward, damaged assassin who reluctantly takes in Mathilda - a lovely 12 year old orphan who is experiencing all the turmoil of revenge, puberty, adolescent love, abandonment and rebellion in a short time. This film is a gripping rollercoaster of violence, fun, revenge and affection that works despite it's thin plot and underdeveloped secondary character roles. The scene where Mathilda and Leon are taking part in one of many hit contracts and she shoots red paint pellets into the drug dealer's chest just for killing practice is hilarious. The Director handled the off limits sexual tension between Leon and Mathilda very well by solidifying a substitute father/daughter relationship which reminded me of the wonderful Professor Higgins/Elisa Doolittle relationship in the legendary 'My Fair Lady' with Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn. I always rather under estimated Natalie Portman's performance before this and realised my error was due to the wooden dialogue she was given by George Lucas when she played Padme in the final Star Wars trilogy. I saw her again in Black Swan recently and together with this film , I think has earned her a reputation as the marvellous actress she is. Jean Reno manages to gain a strong sympathy with the viewer as Leon in his protective role for Mathilda whilst carrying out the hit contracts for a manipulative boss who 'keeps his money safe' whilst Leon lives an impoverished lifestyle with no ambition other than his next hit and caring for a potted plant ! I highly recommend buying this film - you will love it.

Stunning. A classic and you need to get it. Absolutely one of my top ten films. To say it was written and shot within 90 days is remarkable. They were waiting for Bruce Willis to be free before they could start shooting 5th Element. The crew and equipment were going to go to waste so Besson shot Leon. The story and direction is very good however the film shines because of the high level of acting talent. Oldman certainly, Reno definitely, Portman is just remarkable though. She was 12!!! the depth she brings to Mathilda is breathtaking. Damaged, precocious, world weary but still just a child. Stunning and probably one of the best child actor performances ever. The "Lolita" scene that some people find disturbing (and was taken out of the American edit because audiences started awkwardly giggling through it) shows just how damaged Mathilda is. Russo plays, and had planned to play, Leon as a slightly slow minded and an emotionally repressed character who had been hurt by a past love. He adopts Matilda and never saw her as a sexual partner and rejects any notion she has of such a relationship. The sexual undertones and tension comes from a disturbed and abused Mathilda. If you want to see the first film appearance of the Leon character then get your hands on Besson's "La Femme Nikita". The character is called Victor the cleaner in it. Besson felt the role was under utilised so hence Leon: The Professional

Un drama policíaco de lo más interesante. Un título imprescindible en la carrera cinematográfica de Luc Besson. Un gran papel de Jean Reno y Gary Oldman y un debut cinematográfico de 10 de Natalie Portman, sin duda muy recomendable

Sony tiene un buen récord en sacar películas de los 90's con una calidad increíble, Léon es una de estas películas. Review del 4K y del 2K (2015). Recuerden que los slipcovers son para los primeros, o el primer tiraje del lanzamiento, en este caso ya paso un tiempo y ya no se manda con slipcovers, esto es normal. La resolución es increíble, el film grain es lo más natural, me refiero que a que no lo limpiaron digitalmente ni lo aumentaron. El color esta increíble. El disco 4K y el 2K (que es el mismo del 2015, el "Mastered in 4K") corrigieron los problemas con el color y saturación de los lanzamientos anteriores, pero lo llevaron a otro nivel, es sinceramente increíble como se ve esta película. El código de la copia digital sigue funcionando, ya saben que Movies Anywhere solo permite hacer redeem en US, así que en ese aspecto ya deberían de estar preparados. Ambos discos contienen los 2 cortes de la película, al empezar la película el menú te da la opción de iniciar la versión de cine o la extendida. El código de copia digital igual te da acceso a los 2 cortes. El disco 4K no incluye ningún extra, pero el 2K (al ser el mismo del 2015) incluye "10 Year Retrospective, Jean Reno: The Road to 'Leon', Natalie Portman: Starting Young, y Fact Track". Ninguno de los 2 incluyen el audio latino, ni los anteriores lanzamientos en BR llevan el doblaje. El mix atmos esta bueno, no es que la película te llene con cosas volando ni la gran acción, pero sirve para dar más ambiente a las escenas, y de pasada tiene mayor bitrate. El 4K y el 2K (2015) se ven increíble, muy recomendables estas versiones de la película. Sonara extraño para algunas personas, pero esta película (así como otras de esta época) si puede ser un tech demo para tu tv 4K. Por ejemplo The Fifth Element, Matrix, y pues son muy buenas películas. Los discos no tienen arte, el 4K viene en negro y el 2K en azul con sus respectivos logos, hay otra versión que si llevaba artes en el disco, en ese ámbito si flaquea un poco, pero también esa versión es más costosa, entonces unas por otras. Amazon lo mando rápido, en un sobre como mandan las cosas de este tamaño, pero va bien protegido.

Il film è magnifico ma questo è noto. La versione proposta è quella con alcune scene tagliate dalla prima versione proiettata al cinema. Spedizione nei tempi previsti.

Whether you view the original "Leon" or the American version "The Professional", you will be in for a rare treat. In lesser hands, this could easily have been nothing more than a reasonably good action movie, or worse yet, an exploitation film taking advantage of a highly taboo piece of subject matter, and that being pedophilia. In Luc Besson's hands, it becomes a small masterpiece. The additional 24 minutes of footage in the original movie version changes the meaning of this film to a surprising degree. As one reviewer put it (and I paraphrase here), the American version is more innocent, and takes into account American sensibilities (or non-sensibilities, as I like to put it). The American version is a very good film, but the deleted footage added plot holes while lacking the depth and nuances in the original. Leon (played by Jean Reno) is an odd-looking 40 something year-old man with almost a childlike mind. He may even be close to being an idiot savant in that he can do only one thing well (actually exceptionally well), and that is killing (he is a professional hit man, and the deadliest of his kind). Although he can speak English, he cannot read, and since coming to this country has been under the influence of a mafia boss, Tony (played by Danny Aiello) who takes full advantage of Leon's abilities and especially his disabilities. Tony hires Leon for specialized contracts, but keeps his money as his banker and only doles out a little at a time (the audience knows full well that Leon will never see much of what he has earned). Leon is a pathetic individual who lives a secluded and lonely life. He sleeps in a chair fully clothed with a loaded gun within arms reach. He is an outsider with no social skills, loves only a plant, drinks only milk, and who escapes his brutal and barren reality by involving himself in old, nostalgic movies. In contrast, Mathilda (played by Natalie Portman) is a beautiful 12 year-old girl raised in a drug influenced and unloving home. She's a young girl who is continually the brunt of her father's anger, often beaten and always neglected. She is also a girl who, because of her environment, is streetwise well beyond her years. She escapes her brutal reality by immersing herself into cartoons. The tragic incident that brings these two lost souls together is the murder of Mathilda's entire family (but particularly her 4 year-old brother who she dearly loves) by out-of-control DEA agents led by a truly psychotic agent, Stansfield (played by Gary Oldman). Once this unlikely pair are forced together, they begin to complement each others deficiencies and needs, and this is the heart and soul of this fine film. Leon as the reluctant protector, actually becomes her guide into the world of killing, while Mathilda, needing revenge for her little brother's death, teaches Leon to read, and ultimately to care, feel, and love. Is it any wonder that by fulfilling such basic needs, it turns into love? But what kind of love are we talking about? Basically, it's the love of a father and daughter, yet there is a seething undercurrent suggesting so much more. Mathilda easily mistakes this love as being "in love", and in her limited knowledge, she IS in love. Leon, meanwhile, denies his attraction for Mathilda to himself, and to her. Besson handles all this with utmost care and realism. My hat goes off to the entire cast (even Oldman, although his performance is over-the-top, it is extremely chilling). However, what makes or breaks this movie is the performance by Natalie Portman under Besson's wonderful direction. Her roll is the key, and she lights up the screen every single second she is on it. Her big, beautiful brown eyes sparkle with a child's laughter in one scene, then steams the screen seductively in the next. There are so many memorable scenes that there just aren't enough words allotted to describe them all. Suffice it to say, this movie kept me on the edge of my seat and totally captivated. Between 1 and 10, "The Professional" gets a marginal 8, while "Leon" gets a solid 9. Admittedly, this film is not for everyone, especially those who are easily offended either by the topic or the language. That being said, I don't think you can possibly lose with either film version. So what could make this film a 10? To tell you the truth, the action scenes (as intense and as good as they were) often took away from the real story (I sometimes wonder what was left on the cutting room floor in lieu of some of these action scenes). One can readily understand why this was done. "The Professional" could reach a much larger audience if it highlighted the action. Unfortunately, we live in a world where violence and death are glorified and love, especially forbidden love, is a topic that most find extremely difficult to handle, or even understand.

Excelente filme.