Leon - The Director's Cut [Blu-ray]

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Unhappy at Besson's departure, Gaumont Film Company "has held The Professional rights close to the vest – and will not budge". Leon’s childlike innocence means that it is Mathilda who has the emotional strength in the relationship, the emotional power.

Although watching it, I had more of a sense of déjà vu than you might expect from someone who barely caught a frame of Leon while channel hopping or watching a review programme. I had an issue with my check disc in that the Director’s Cut drops out of sync between 85:03 and 88:22. In 2014, Time Out polled several film critics, directors, actors and stunt actors to list their top action films; Léon: The Professional was listed at No. The Godfather trilogy, Apocalypse Now, Taxi Driver, Dog Day Afternoon, Goodfellas; all films that I haven’t seen.Mathilda goes to Tony and tries to convince him to hire her, but Tony flatly refuses to hire a twelve-year-old and tells Mathilda that Léon told him to give his money to her if anything happened to him. But don’t just simply label Leon as a gun-toting actioner, for Luc Besson crafted something utterly beautiful with this ’94 offering as he explored the relationship and burgeoning bond between the movie’s two protagonists.

When Léon was eighteen in Italy, he fell in love with a girl from a wealthy family, but Léon's family was poor. When Léon is out on a job, Mathilda fills a bag with guns from Léon's collection and sets out to kill Stansfield. The only light in her family is her little brother, while the only person who notices her is the man who lives down the hall from her apartment.Unquestionably, Leon is an absolute masterpiece with some jaw-dropping performances from Natalie Portman, Jean Reno, and a turned-up-to-11 Gary Oldman. Interview Jean Reno lasts 6:44, and Interview Eric Serra lasts 10:03 and these two featurettes are in HD.

Leon is presented as the Director’s Cut in this release, running to 132:45, but you can also play the Theatrical Version from the main menu which lasts 110:09. She begs him to take care of her and to teach her his skills, as she wants to avenge the murder of her four-year-old brother. Léon: The Professional [a] is a 1994 English-language French action-thriller film [6] [7] [8] [9] written and directed by Luc Besson.

In that case, you’re likely wondering just why this new release of a 25-year-old film would be worth your time. The surround track is vibrant and effective, keeping the dialogue clear throughout, while emphasising the action, making for an immersive presentation.

This could be the sticking point in the film, except the emotional maturity of the characters redeems this story arc. The image quality of this Blu-ray is astounding, and if the audio glitch is confined to the check disc, then this is another must own release. It seems absolutely crazy to think that Luc Besson’s Leon is now celebrating 25 years since its initial release, but it is indeed 25 years and counting since this iconic movie was first released in 1994. The majority of said footage further shines the spotlight on the moments shared by Leon and Mathilda, which adds a few nice touches to the overall narrative of Leon.The site's critics consensus reads, "Pivoting on the unusual relationship between seasoned hitman and his 12-year-old apprentice—a breakout turn by young Natalie Portman—Luc Besson's Léon is a stylish and oddly affecting thriller. Roger Ebert awarded the film two-and-a-half stars out of four, writing: "It is a well-directed film, because Besson has a natural gift for plunging into drama with a charged-up visual style. It took me 25 years, but I have now finally seen Leon, also known as The Professional, alongside Trainspotting, Pulp Fiction and The Matrix, one of those films that really exemplified cinema of the 1990s. Léon, after discovering her plan in a note left for him, rescues Mathilda, killing two more of Stansfield's men in the process.