The Professional

👍

very high standard and quality both in audio and video. I enjoy it again and again.

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.

This DVD arrived in excellent condition. A very suspenseful movie. Jean Reno and Gary Oldman are fantastic!!

Great movie. Some cringy scenes. It’s all there. It has both versions. See for yourself.

When I explained the premise of the movie, no one could believe it was actually a love story. Perhaps US audience will find it taboo to think of such - a young girl who falls for an older man. I am not saying it's right, but its what the movie is about and people viewing these kinds of movies should always keep an open mind to appreciate the story.- The fact that you are checking out the Deluxe Edition of this movie proves that you already know what it is all about - an Italian cleaner whose methodic life is disrupted by a next-door neighbor, a young girl. It is because of her that he learned to appreciate life and realized what love is once more.- This is a two disc set. It is mastered using Sony's Superbit - optimized video encoded at double the normal rate. Couple this with DTS and Dolby Digital and you have one heck of an experience in picture quallity.- The first disc contains the actual original "Leon" movie. This has been previously released and mastered in Superbit. Apart from that, the only extra feature found here is the "Fact Track". This is activated and replaces the Subtitle. In place are lots of facts that appear throughout the movie regarding the movie, the production experience, the casts and even miscellaneous facts about them that isn't connected to the movie anymore. Hmm. Because of the Superbit mastering, the size of the first disc alone is around 6.84GB.- The goodies are really found on disc 2. A mere 2.58GB, but lots of facts and interviews of almost all the main people responsible for creating the movie - the producer, director, cinematographer, editor, costume designer, casts and even the casting director. Interesting facsts as to how Natalie Portman got the part by showing her audition tape.- Particularly of worthy note are the few peeks on the behind the scenes on how important scenes were done - Leon slipping in and out of the darkness; the rocket launcher setup used to blow up the apartment.- There is a segment each for Jean Reno and Natalie Portman on their life prior to and after this movie. This should be pleased both fans.- All in all a great buy and worthy investment especially since this could be had for less than USD18.72 over at Amazon. If you compare this with other DVD versions of this movie, they are being sold for more than USD20.00 and they carry the same uncut version, but no features like this.- CONS. Yes, there are. Like every great DVD Deluxe Edition, you wonder why there were stuff left out to enjoy.1. Since they already too the effort to produce a segment called "10 Year Retrospective", it would have been nice to see them assemble the important cast and crew in one room, too, and just talk and relive the memories.2. Where is the director commentary? He could talk in French, but it is easy to translate this with another subtitle track for the US audience. It would have been fun to learn what was in his head as he takes us through each scene. This is standard for most DVDs already, I'm surprised they didn't take the time out to do that here.3. The DVD has already been mastered in Superbit for its video and the resulting audio tracks in DTS and Dobly Digital. But why not go the last step and have it mastered in THX. A little more thought could have gone a long way for the fans. Perhaps it is reserved for the agine film negative for a "20 Year Retrospective"? Save the film while it is still intact!4. They talk about Eric Serra, the music composer for all Luc Besson directed films. (Danny The Dog/Unleashed doesn't count because it isn't directed by Besson) as part of the Fact Track. But they fail to mention the fact in the powerful ending of the film where Mathilda plants the, umm, plant. We all know that it is Sting's "Shape of My Heart", but what we SHOULD know is that this is obviously another version and can only be found in the guitarist's (Dominc Miller) album - Shapes. A version worthy of obtaining. A fact worthy of mentioning.- As I said, an excellent purchase. I can't wait for them to produce a Deluxe Version for Big Blue. And can't begin to think how this will look like when produced in the DVD High Definition format.Until the next special edition comes out, this is something to cherish and enjoy.