So I finally saw "The Professional"

I hope for your sake, then, that you never see Leon, the director's cut of The Professional.

My favorite shot from this film is when Oldman and crew are going to do some damage at the apartment, and the camera slowly moves down the hall, and with Eric Serra's music, wow, it just speaks to me.

But, good for you. A great film, and Besson needs to go back to doing good stuff like this.

Overrated, lacklustre film. Nothing to shout about, nothing I hadn't seen before, or want to see again...

Is It Cool To Like Certain Movies?

This film's one of my faves of all time.

My favorite oldman and my favorite Reno performances.

Eric Serra's best score.

Some really cool action and direction courtesy of Besson.

Portman. Nuff' said.

I'll admit Natalie Portman gave a brave performance in it. Nowadays she's shite.

Well it's about time. What a GREAT film. I agree with Micah though that if you felt unclean after watching it, then you shouldn't watch "Leon: The Director's Cut" as there's an extra scene in there that will definitely take you over the edge.

Overrated. A good ending. But as a whole completely overpraised.

But I just don't see why so many adults get off on watching 13 year old Nat Portman.

I can understand enjoying the performances of Reno or Oldman. Or the violence.

But damned if someone doesn't always mention how smoking hot Portman is in this movie.

Am I the only one who doesn't dig on underaged meat?

About five years too late...

Maybe, in what could be a full circle cycle...Portman accidently off's a couple leaving their son parentless...in which she has the opportunity to fill in the void of the little brother that was taken away from her in Leon part 1...she takes in the child as her own complete with the guilt and emotional baggage the would come with such a choice...at the same time trying to fend off the assasins Tony has hunting her.

However, they'd stay away from the mentor aspect relationship Reno and Portman had and just have "Mathilda: The Amateur" trying to keep her and her new brother alive and well while avenging Tony's betrayal.

I recently saw this movie as well. If the European version is the Director's cut then I think I know what scene you are all referring to. It was definitely creepy, but I think it spoke volumes of the feelings Mathilda had for Leon and vice versa.

Overall I thought it was a very good movie, but not as great as everyone hypes it up to be. I also knew very little about the plot. I came in expecting it to be a mob movie of sorts or a shoot-em-up, but was pleasantly surprised that the movie focused more on their relationship than anything else.

I loved both Portman's and Reno's performances, but absolutely hated Oldman's. He was just so over the top, it was unbelievable to me that he could be a police officer. I don't believe that when he was being interrogated about what occured in the apartment, he would be able to get away with saying, "It's all in the report" and then just walk away. I also don't believe he would be able to call out an entire police force to track down one guy that he had a personal vendetta against.

I don't know if I would want to see a sequel made though. I think it's cooler toleave us wondering where Mathilda would go in life then to make a sequel modeled directly after the first one.

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Anytime I see something screech across a room and latch onto someone's neck, and the guy screams and tries to get it off, I have to laugh, because what is that thing?!.

He was over the top for a cop, but gloriously so, I thought.

But on the other points....improper police procedure and rampany corruption have been going on the NY and LAPD departments for years, so it's not a stretch that this one rogue cop could walk out during an IA investigation in this film.

And you better believe that when cops start getting capped by a guy holed up in a building, they WILL GET EVERY available man down there to take him down. Cop killers are obviously the archemenies of police officers, and are treated as such.

The better question is how the hell did Willie One Blood, the white Rasta guy, get to be a cop?

he went to the Police Academy with Guttenberg.

I saw "The Professional" a long time ago and remembered it being okay.

I just saw the directors cut "Leon" and thought that it was unbelievably brilliant and extremely compelling.

This was the closest thread I could find.

The relationship seemed so much more fleshed out, so much clearer whereas the American cut was extremely ambiguous and obviously edited down. I don't know how I feel. I don't think Leon's a pedophile, but I think he genuinely loved her in some way. Their relationship, strange as it may be, is the heart of this film and something I really enjoyed.

Anyway, this is my favorite type of film. Deep, emotional, stylish, and rough, with a human story and theme.........oh, and badass "cleaner" action and SUPERB gun fights.

It isn't Cool to diss this movie, bub.

Hey did anyone other than Smiling Jack see Besson/Reno's "WASABI"?

I saw "Wasabi" over here in L.A and I thought it was decent. If you have time to kill give it a watch.

Someone recently asked me what movies get me choked up/make me cry. This one is high on the list of honorable mention, mainly because of Portman's performance. All the interaction between matilda and oldman's character, and matilda and Leon is just brilliant. If you can watch this movie and not be movied to help matilda, than you should have your heart examined. I named my dog after her.

I just recently watched the fight club commentary with pitt, norton, and fincher. When Tyler dies, brad pitt says he thought of it as a gary oldman homage. "Nobody dies like gary," he said.

Where can I find the director's cut for "Leon: The Professional"? I don't think Blockbuster has it, or at least the last time I checked.

Blockbuster probably won't carry it since it's unrated. Buy it new or used online, it's readily available and worth owning. I don't think Netflix has the UR cut either.

/willko.

I think Dave davis saw Wasabi as well.

Right now there is a region 1 version comin to DVD soon. Keep an eye out.

Wasabi discussion:

<a href="http://chud.com/board/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=44&t=000321&p=" target="_blank">http://chud.com/board/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=44&t=000321&p=</a>

(OK, at least it started out as one.)

I saw it at Best Buy. Going to get it soon.

VHS or DVD?

My Blockbuster carries the DVD which is the extended cut. Just call around and ask.
Ex.

I got the extended version at my local Best Buy. It's far superior to the American version (which was pretty great in itself). Nice to see that others appreciate this impossible-to-categorize film. Luc Besson's best, IMO.

I thought it was a great film. Reno has never been better and Oldman is awesome in it. I too need to pick up Leon. I will one of these days.

I remeber renting this and TU Suspects thinking I was gonna watch some action/police stuff.. Both movies floored me and my friend (Ecspecially TUS) and we realized had just seen a few great dramas, with a little action in them...

This post makes me wanna go get Leon!

Love this movie, I got the integral cut from japanese import a few years ago.. the european cut is the same but although being in Europe, here in the UK, our cut is no different to the US cut, which I think by missing out some key scenes made a bit of a mess of the relationship in a lot of ways, even though the film was still magic.

I think rather than being dirty or hinting at anything sexual the relationship in this film was touching, I dont really understand all the outrage I have seen a lot of people express, yes THAT scene was a bit hmm but other than that, it was perfectly innocent and beautifully played, Matilda maybe saw it differently, but Leon is her hero, and she is a young girl discovering all those things about her for the first time, its realistic she would develop a crush, im sure we all had a crush on someone older as a child, Leon on the other hand just see's her imo as a daughter figure and his only real friend (plant aside).

In the version they cut for the sake of their perceived narrow minded audiences they actually made things worse, without the character development some of the dialogue towards the end plays horribly as something a lot more suggestive than it is.

Gary Oldman was just the right kind of over-the-top, like Nicholson in The Shining and Batman, And the action kicked some major ass too.

Not sure I want to see a sequel of this, Besson said all that needs to be said about female hitmen prior to Leon with Nikita, and after the mess that was The Assassin I wouldnt want to see another (albeit indirect) remake.

end of ramble

Wasabi was really fun, very lightweight stuff. it's basically Jean Reno going around Japan shooting and beating on people. if that's something that might interest you, you'll probably get a kick out of it.

.....EVERRRYYYYYYYYOOONE

Someone explain the difference between the American cut and the unrated one, please. You can PM me if you don't want to share with everyone. I think I saw Leon: The Professional. Does that mean I saw the extended cut? I'm all confused here.

besides a bunch of nips and tucks, there's about 20 minutes in the middle that builds their relationship and shows him actually training her to be an assassin. she also gets drunk and tries to sex him up. that was all chopped for US release.

Brilliant movie. I never really felt dirty after seeing it, though. I don't see Leon as being in love with Matilda. More of a father-daughter type love. She wants to be with him, & if he wanted to sleep with her, he certainly had the opportunity. He truely cared for her, but not sexually.

Performances were great in the movie. There is a good amount of suble humor & although it isn't an action movie, the action scenes are very well done.

I am not usually motivated to do negative posts, but this one caught my attention because I get so peeved at hit-man films that show the sensitive side of the hit man. You know, underneath it all, he's supposed to be just like you and me. Two other films that do this are "The Mexican" and "Grosse Point Blanc". Lord, these films make me angry! HATE IT, HATE IT, HATE IT!

Well I picked up Leon the euro cut last April. Its really great. It fuses the film with even more meaning and resonance.

^Agreed^. Briliant. Either version.

Although I didn't see their relationship as a father/daughter thing. I always thought that Lèon was "slow", sort of like he had the mind of a 12 year old. When he was watching the Gene Kelly movie, his face had an expression of childlike wonder. I feel like this theory would make him a more efficient cleaner, if he didn't really have the average adults moral perspective on murder. It's just like any other job to him. And it also explains his relationship with Mathilda. I think he was "in love" with her, the way any innocent 12 year old boy & girl might be.



Or maybe, this whole post is the tequila talking.