# Leon, The Professional



## Leon (Sep 5, 2007)

Léon (1994)

given that my name is Leon, one of my professors from BGSU would always call me The Professional. he lent me the movie to watch (which i did, with this Russian grad student, one of the hottest chicks on the planet, in the control room of our observatory...), and i really liked it.

anyone else seen it?


ha! some interesting movie trivia:


> During the filming involving all of the police cars on the street, a man ran from a store he had just robbed. When he encountered the movie set by accident, he saw all of the "police" and gave himself up to a bunch of uniformed extras.


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## Ciprian (Sep 5, 2007)

It was aired today on TV. I didn't watch it though, because I've seen it many times. Great movie. Did you see the censored or the uncensored version? The uncensored one has 30 extra minutes.


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## Leon (Sep 5, 2007)

i'm not positive... i think i'll pick up the special edition at some point


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## BigM555 (Sep 5, 2007)

Great flick!


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## jaxadam (Sep 5, 2007)

Yes, that movie is tha shit.


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## Ivan (Sep 5, 2007)

I agree. The Professional kicks ass!


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## playstopause (Sep 5, 2007)

I've seen it many times.
Definitely a great movie.

Love the avatar


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## BCrowell (Sep 5, 2007)

playstopause said:


> Love the avatar



Ditto, is that Ringo Starr?

I'll have to add this movie to my netflick list!


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## Leon (Sep 5, 2007)

BCrowell said:


> Ditto, is that Ringo Starr?





i guess you'll see when you watch it


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## playstopause (Sep 5, 2007)

BCrowell said:


> Ditto, is that Ringo Starr?












Leon said:


> Léon (1994)


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## darren (Sep 5, 2007)

One of my favourite movies of all time. Gary Oldman is fucking awesome, and Natalie Portman was amazing.

One of my favourite scenes:



(followed by a cut to a scene of sirens and a huge fleet of cop cars, fire trucks, ambulances, etc.)


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## neon_black88 (Sep 6, 2007)

yeah I love this movie, ive been meaning to buy this on dvd but its nowhere to be found in Australia exept ebay.


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## Shawn (Sep 6, 2007)

Great movie. Natalie Portman was cool in that too. I remember when the movie first came out on HBO, I liked it back then too. It is one of favorite movies. Nicely done, Leon!


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## Karl Hungus (Sep 6, 2007)

Absolutely one of my favourite movies ever.

Quite honestly, it's just about cinematic perfection. The acting, direction, action, music, every single facet of the film is flawless.


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## Zepp88 (Sep 6, 2007)

Quite an excellent movie. 

Natalie was very good in this role, and I rarely like child actors.


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## noodles (Sep 6, 2007)

What a great fucking movie. I first caught it on HBO late one Saturday night years ago, bored and flipping through the channels. By the end, I was at the edge of my seat, waiting to see what happens next.

This is probably the _only_ Natalie Portman performance that I like. I pretty much despise her acting in just about everything else I have seen her in, but her performance in this ranks as one of the best performances by a child actor ever. Of course, Gary Oldman was as brilliant as he always was, and Jean Reno showed all the Americans who watched that god awful Mission Impossible movie exactly what he can do when he sinks his teeth into a real script.

If you like Jean Reno, go rent Ronin right fucking now. The interplay between him and Robert Di Nero is the stuff of legend, the plot is a knot of twist and turns, the action scenes have that same stripped-down, no backing music quality of "Heat", and the car chases are some of the best in cinema history.


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## darren (Sep 6, 2007)

Agreed on all counts. 

Natalie Portman played her role with phenomenal sensitivity. She was really good in "Beautiful Girls" too... a real charmer. But somewhere along the way, she "learned" how to "act" and her performances have been forced and unnatural ever since.

Ronin and Heat are also two of my faves. The Transporter, too. The brilliant thing about Heat (and what Michael Mann has always done so well) is the integration of the music with what's happening visually. There's some great backing music in Heat that you don't even notice, because it's so perfectly matched. And there's a Michael Brook track in there, too! 

But The Professional is probably one of those movies that many Americans haven't seen, and once they do, they instantly love it.


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## Drew (Sep 6, 2007)

Awesome movie - you Netflixers, note that this is simply called "The Professional" in the states.


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## BCrowell (Sep 6, 2007)

Drew said:


> Awesome movie - you Netflixers, note that this is simply called "The Professional" in the states.



 Yeah it took me a few minutes to figure that out last night! I bet they're wondering why all these people have suddenly requested the movie...hmm I wonder how many copies they have...


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## noodles (Sep 7, 2007)

darren said:


> Ronin and Heat are also two of my faves. The Transporter, too. The brilliant thing about Heat (and what Michael Mann has always done so well) is the integration of the music with what's happening visually. There's some great backing music in Heat that you don't even notice, because it's so perfectly matched. And there's a Michael Brook track in there, too!



Wait, are they all the same director? 

He does do a good job integrating the music in "Heat", but I really like how many of the actions scenes have no music through most of them. The sound of a gun firing is absolutely monstrous when it is laid bare across a silent sound scape, and as such, is far more impactful.


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## darren (Sep 7, 2007)

No, but Michael Mann was the creative force behind Miami Vice back in the '80s, and that show really set the bar for how an effective soundtrack can enhance the overall experience.


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## Variant (Sep 8, 2007)

noodles said:


> If you like Jean Reno, go rent Ronin right fucking now. The interplay between him and Robert Di Nero is the stuff of legend, the plot is a knot of twist and turns, the action scenes have that same stripped-down, no backing music quality of "Heat", and the car chases are some of the best in cinema history.



 Yup, Ronin = phenominal. A fav of mine as well, along with Leon: The Professional.


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## Zer0 (Sep 12, 2007)

The Professional is exceptional cinema, especially for an action (sorta) movie!



noodles said:


> If you like Jean Reno, go rent Ronin right fucking now. The interplay between him and Robert Di Nero is the stuff of legend, the plot is a knot of twist and turns, the action scenes have that same stripped-down, no backing music quality of "Heat", and the car chases are some of the best in cinema history.



I keep trying to convince my girlfriend to watch this movie with me, but she won't.


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## Karl Hungus (Sep 14, 2007)

I'll put my support behind the recommendation of Ronin. Not as good as Leon, mind you, but a brilliant film in it's own right.


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