The Professional [Blu-ray]

Director: Luc Besson Luc Besson

Overview

As visually stylish as it is graphically violent, this thriller directed by Luc Besson concerns Mathilda (Natalie Portman), a 12-year-old girl living in New York City who has been exposed to the sordid side of life from an early age: her family lives in a slum and her abusive father works for drug dealers, cutting and storing dope. Mathilda doesn't much care for her parents, but she has a close bond with her four-year-old brother. One day, she returns from running an errand to discover that most of her family, including her brother, have been killed in a raid by corrupt DEA agents, led by the psychotic Stansfield (Gary Oldman). Mathilda takes refuge in the apartment of her secretive neighbor, Leon (Jean Reno), who takes her in with a certain reluctance. She discovers that Leon is a professional assassin, working for Tony (Danny Aiello), a mob kingpin based in Little Italy. Wanting to avenge the death of her brother, Mathilda makes a deal with Leon to become his protégée in exchange for work as a domestic servant, hoping to learn the hitman's trade and take out the men who took her brother's life. However, an affection develops between Leon and Mathilda that changes his outlook on his life and career. Besson's first American film boasted a strong performance from Jean Reno, a striking debut by Natalie Portman, and a love-it-or-hate-it, over-the-top turn by Gary Oldman. Léon was originally released in the U.S. in 1994 as The Professional, with 26 minutes cut in response to audience preview tests. Those 26 minutes were restored in the director's preferred cut, released in 1996 in France as Léon: Version Intégrale and in the U.S. on DVD as Léon: The Professional in 2000.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/17/2009
UPC:	0043396329188
Original Release:	1994
Rating:	R
Source:	SONY PICTURES HOME ENTERTAINMT
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Language:	English
Time:	4:02:00
Sales rank:	16,353

Special Features

"10 year retrospective: Cast and crew look back" featurettes; "Jean Reno: The road to Leon" featurette; "Natalie Portman: Starting young" featurette; Fact track - Exclusive to the extended version

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Gary Oldman	Stansfield
Natalie Portman	Mathilda
Danny Aiello	Tony
Peter Appel	Malky
William Harbour	1st Stansfield Man
Don Creech	2nd Stansfield Man
Keith A. Glascoe	3rd Stansfield Man
Randolph Scott	4th Stansfield Man
Michael Badalucco	Mathilda's Father
Ellen Greene	Mathilda's Mother
Elizabeth Regen	Mathilda's Sister
Carl J. Matusovich	Mathilda's Brother
Frank Senger	Fatman
Lucius Wyatt Cherokee	Tonto
Eric Challier	Bodyguard Chief
Luc Bernard	Mickey
Maïwenn	Blond Babe(as Ouin-Ouin)
Jessie Keosian	Old Lady
Abdul Hassan Sharif	Mathilda's Taxi Driver
Stuart Rudin	Leon's Taxi Driver
Jean Reno	Leon
George Martin	Receptionist
Kent Broadhurst	Policeman
Tommy Hollis	Policeman
Peter Linari	Security Man
Betty Miller	Orphanage Headmistress
Joseph Malerba	Stairway Swat
David Butler	Important Jogger
Robert LaSardo	Client #1
Randy Pearlstein	Security Guard
Mario Todisco	Tony's Barber
Marc Andréoni	SWAT Team
Michel Montanary	SWAT Team
Samy Naceri	SWAT Team
Jean-Hugues Anglade	Actor
Geoffrey Bateman	SWAT
Jernard Burks	Stansfield's Man
Éric Serra	Composer

Technical Credits

Luc Besson

Luc Besson	Screenwriter,Director,Executive Producer,Producer,Producer
Nick Allder	Special Effects
Nathalie Cheron	Casting
Todd Thaler	Casting
Patrice Ledoux	Producer
François Groult	Sound/Sound Designer
Gerard Lamps	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Bolstering director Luc Besson's and actor Jean Réno's already substantial American followings, The Professional balances its stylish action with a strong, character-driven story. Réno is León, the quiet, expert killer (a.k.a. "cleaner") who takes 12-year-old Mathilda (Natalie Portman in a breakthrough performance) under his wing when her family is slaughtered by a crooked DEA agent (Gary Oldman). The plot involves Mathilda's intense desire to learn the "cleaning" business and exact revenge, but the real story is the developing relationship between the illiterate, socially inept surrogate father in León and the emotionally precocious Mathilda. Changing the familiar Lolita setup so that Mathilda is the aggressor, The Professional becomes a sexless story about a tender, impossible love set against a backdrop of explosions and highly kinetic shoot-outs. Oldman is at his creepiest as the Beethoven-loving villain whose depravity is greatly contrasted by León's emotional innocence. The European cut, recently made available on DVD and titled León: The Professional, includes 24 minutes of deleted footage originally deemed "too explicit" for American audiences. Mostly, however, the restored scenes explore León's past, adding a complexity to his character that is absent from the American release.

Barnes & Noble - Tony Nigro

With his breakthrough, La Femme Nikita, director Luc Besson injected operatic, Die Hard-style Hollywood action into a European-style storyline; in his first Hollywood feature, Léon (retitled The Professional for U.S. release), he did the opposite, creating a cross between a placid, neorealist fable and a pyrotechnics-laden action movie. Jean Reno is convincing as the quiet, stealthy New York City hitman who reluctantly takes in a rough-hewn, 12-year-old apprentice killer (Natalie Portman, in her first screen role). Their scenes together are sweeter than they are shocking, and Besson keeps their relationship just within the realm of believability. Many critics found the Portman character exploitative, but the actress' preternaturally confident screen presence prevents her from being used as a victim. The only sore spot is Gary Oldman's histrionic performance as a corrupt DEA agent; Besson lets his scenes run for what seems like an eternity.

All Movie Guide - Michael Hastings