LÉON THE PROFESSIONAL (1994, Blu-ray released November 17, 2009 – MSRP $24.95)
I remember 1994 being an important year for me. First year of University. First time living on my own. Music was trying to find itself. Mainstream comic books were becoming shitty. And The Professional was in cinemas. Featuring a killer performance by Jean Reno, the film debut of Natalie Portman, a fantastic soundtrack featuring artists like Bjork and a touching story about an assassin and a little girl, The Professional was necessary viewing for every 19 year old guy. Watching the new Blu-ray edition of the film brings back a lot of memories.
There are parts of Luc Besson‘s Léon, as the film is know everywhere else in the world, that feel dated. As much as I love Bjork and her music, as soon as her song Venus as a Boy started playing over a scene, I felt like I was back in the 90s. That and the fashion on display in every shot of the film, of course. Oh, and Natalie Portman is a little, 11-year old girl. Yeah. That was a long time ago. It struck me while watching the film again for the first time in ages that it must have been very influential for a lot of guys my age. I still see echos of Besson’s screenplay popping up in films and comics – that relationship between sympathetic killer and indigent innocent, the forbidden romance, the over-the-top melodramatic villain. All stuff that’s become commonplace in geek-media in the last decade and a bit. And the way the characters dress is still popular in nerd culture, despite the fashions in question being quite dated (round glasses, trench coats and chokers anyone?) Nevertheless, despite the film feeling of a specific time and place, it still plays. It’s still strong. And it’s such a fun ride!
Léon is somewhat of an extension of the popular “cleaner” character Reno played in Besson’s La Femme Nikita. Léon The Professional is not a direct sequel but it plays that way in spirit where Reno’s character is concerned. And he makes the most out of the starring role. It would be easy to say that Natalie Portman steals the show in this, her very first screen role. But while this is most-likely her finest performance, Reno out-classes her by a mile. His is a winning and subtle portrayal in every regard. I won’t even talk about Gary Oldman‘s over the top, villainous DEA Agent here. Oldman is, without question a genius. But I find everything he does here distracts from the film. It’s all too obvious. Too much “acting”. Reno’s Léon doesn’t need an antagonist to keep me interested. I could watch him take care of his plant, perform pig-puppetry and drink milk for hours. Genius.
Sony‘s new Léon The Professional Blu-ray disc looks and sounds phenomenal! Can this studio do anything wrong with their Blu-ray releases? Every catalogue title they issue, while perhaps not lighting the home video world on fire, is handled with so much respect and regard for the film and its presentation, they might deserve a reward for their efforts. The source material in this case is not the stuff of demo disc material. But this Blu-ray presentation is the best Léon has ever looked, filled with detail and an accurate representation of colour. The contrast has been bumped a little but I think the results are overall quite pleasing. The DTS-HD Master Audio is immersive and quite dynamic for a 15-year old film.
The Blu-ray may not feature as many supplemental materials as you’d hope, but what we’re given is quite good. Chief amongst them is the ability to watch either the American theatrical or “uncut” versions of the film, through seamless branching. Believe me when I tell you, the extra 24 minutes of footage in the longer cut makes all the difference. The longer cut also features an exclusive “Fact Track” that’s far more engaging than I was expecting. It plays along the bottom of the screen, like subtitles as you watch the film. There’s are also a handful of featurettes which are all quite good. Most of them were created in 2004 and show the cast and crew looking back on their experiences 10 years on.
