Product Details

• Actors: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello, Peter Appel
• Directors: Luc Besson
• Writers: Luc Besson
• Producers: Luc Besson, Bernard Grenet, Claude Besson, John Garland, Patrice Ledoux
• Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0), English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: October 3, 2000
• Run Time: 133 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (182 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00004YYDI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,744 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

LEON:THE PROFESSIONAL - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

125 of 137 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Love Story and Action Packed Adventure, June 9, 2003

By 

Domonic Torretto - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version) (DVD)

This is the story of Leon(Jean Reno), the highly efficient contract killer who's known as a cleaner due to his ability to kill you without you ever knowing he's there. He's cold blooded, but at the same time lovable due to his obvious innocence, seen as he affectionatly waters his plant and his love for milk. He lives a loners life until he meets Matilda(Natalie Portman), who was soon to change his life. Luckily for Matilda, she was running an errand for Leon while the corrupt villian and lead antagonist of the movie Normon Stansfield(Gary Oldman), and his group of thugs decide to wipe out her entire family, due to some drugs, which were cut by her father while he was supposed to be just holding them. When Matilda returns, she finds that her family is dead and turns to Leon for help.

When Matilda learns what Leon's trade is, she is intrigued, and convinces the reluctant Leon to teach her the ways of the cleaner. As Leon trains Matilda, their relationship grows, and to the dismay of Leon, she develops a crush on him, while at the same time he develops a paternal love for her. This is a great movie, from the action packed beginning, to the thrilling climax.

I definately feel that the uncut DVD version is better than the original version. It let's you see more deeply into the relationship between Leon and Matilda, and you get to see more of the "training" scenes, which show how Matilda develops from an unknowing child to a novice cleaner.

I'd also like to say something to the prudes out there that feel the relationship between Leon and Matilda is perverted. You see it as a sick man trying to take advantage of a young girl, but if you recall, it was Matilda who continually came on to Leon. Leon clearly tells her in one scene that a sexual relationship is not possible. And even then, it should be clear to anyone that Leon loves Matilda in a way that a father would love his daughter. I can clearly see this and I'm only 14. Apparently, there are a lot of low IQ people out there. The UNCUT, INTERNATIONAL version is the way to go if you want to see a more meaningful, touching movie. I'm a very cold person at heart, and this is the only movie I've ever watched that made tears swell up in my eyes. It's the greatest movie I've ever seen. It features a brilliant cast, and a touching, and very unique storyline.

37 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superbit / "Uncut International Version", December 24, 2004

By 

db (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version) (Superbit Collection) (DVD)

The Superbit version has the same extra scenes as the "Uncut International Version". Amazon has it accurately labeled, but the packaging is not obvious. Both are 133min instead of 110min. The non-Superbit version has a couple extras like theatrical trailers and talent files. If you want those extras, get the non-Superbit version. If you don't care about those extras and are more of a quality freak, get the Superbit version. The film content is the same either way.

Two scenes deal with Leon buying a dress for Mathilda. One shows Mathilda threatening to possibly kill herself (Russian roulette) to force Leon to admit he cares about her. There is a scene showing Leon taking Mathilda on her first cleaning job. Another involves Leon taking Mathilda to an upscale restaurant, and Mathilda makes a minor scene trying to kiss Leon and drinking champagne. Then there is a sequence where Leon takes Mathilda on a series of cleaning jobs. In a later scene, Mathilda implies that she wants Leon to be her "first", and then Leon tells her the story of his first love (and first cleaning job), and Mathilda gets Leon to concede to start sleeping (only literally) with her.

Most of the extra scenes start at around 68min. They are integrated smoothly and are fully finished; it sounds like these scenes were in the original theatrical release for European markets, so they're only "extra" to the U.S. If you appericate the film, the extended version is definitely worth it.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Film Ever Made. Natalie Portman is Perfect., February 6, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version) (DVD)

This movie has, what I beleive, the best performance from a child actor ever, from a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. Her character Mathilda shows the innocence of a kid, and the depth of a person out for revenge. Why she didn't get an Oscar is beyond me. And this was her first movie.

The story is really good. A hitman named Leon (Jean Reno) helps a girl named Mathilda after her family is shot down by corrupt DEA officers led by Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman). When she finds out about Leon's job as a "cleaner" she asks to be trained as a hitman to avenge her little brother's death. Despite Leon's concerns he teaches her anyway, but over the course of his teachings, Mathilda develops feelings for him. This is something the uncut version explores a little deeper.

I suppose some of the scenes were taken from the American release for their subject matter. A scene where Mathilda wants to take her love for Leon to the next level really gives a good insight into Leon's past. It dosen't lead to anything between the two, so I don't see why they cut it. Other scenes included are Leon giving Mathilda some on the job training when he goes on his hits. I can see where some groups in America could have protested that, but it makes their relationship more deeper and complex.

An outstanding film, you really should see this version to get the whole story. I highly recommend it, it is my favorite of all time. Luc Besson's masterpiece can be fully appreciated on this release. I've been hearing rumors about a sequel in the works. I can only pray it's true, but this film is a tough act to follow.