Having
never seen director Luc Besson’s THE PROFESSIONAL or its longer
international version entitled LEON, I felt the time was right to
check it out now that Columbia TriStar has issued the re-titled uncut
version, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL ($26), under their Superbit
moniker. After having sat through the film, I can honestly say that I was
blown away by this stylized action movie with decidedly European
sensibilities. Like most action movies, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL has
a plot that pretty much defies belief. However, the film resonates with a
certain power, thanks to the superb performances of Jean Reno and a
youthful Natalie Portman, who conveys a loss of innocence with an alarming
quality. As for Jean Reno, he is a marvelous actor, and is so good in this
film, that one has to wonder why he doesn’t get more (and better) roles
stateside. In LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL, Reno is truly outstanding in
the title role of an assassin, who rediscovers his humanity in a very
surprising way.
After
her family is gunned down in the apartment next door, a twelve-year-old
Mathilda (Portman) seeks shelter with Leon. Although Leon initially wants
nothing to do with the child, he takes pity on Mathilda and allows her
into his apartment. Mathilda quickly discovers how the mysterious Leon
makes his living, and then makes a startling request- she wants to learn
Leon’s trade, so she can personally deal with the men that killed her
family. As I stated above, the plot of LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL
sounds absurd, but one director Luc Besson really makes the characters the
focus of the story, instead of the situations. Additionally, Besson stages
the film’s violent action sequences so well, that the audience becomes
lost in the moment, instead of thinking how unbelievable the
ever-escalating situation becomes. The cast of LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL
also features a completely over-the-top Gary Oldman, as well as a more
reserved Danny Aiello.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made their Superbit DVD edition of LEON:
THE PROFESSIONAL available in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that
has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. This is generally a very good-looking
presentation, but it falls short of being outstanding, due to the fact
that the film elements are less than pristine. There are a lot of small
blemishes throughout the course of the movie, and while they are not
terrible, they could have been digitally cleaned up to a greater extent.
The image itself proves to be sharp and well defined, not to the extent of
a brand new movie, but well enough for a European production from 1994.
Color have a fairly natural level of saturation, sometimes a bit
heightened, sometimes less, but otherwise good overall. Blacks appear
accurate, as do the whites and contrast is fairly smooth. This being the
Superbit title, the increased bit rate of the process keeps digital
compression artifacts well concealed.
As
this is a Superbit release, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL features 5.1
channel soundtracks in both Dolby Digital and DTS. That said; the
soundtracks for LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL are mixed in such a way that
there is very little (or should I say almost no) information being sent to
the rear channels. The forward soundstage does a good job of carrying the
track, although ambient sounds and musical fill are missed somewhat during
the course of the film. Stereo separation is effectively demonstrated in
both sound effects and music, which come across with good fidelity.
Gunfire carries the appropriate weight and the bass channel is solid
enough for the material. Dialogue is cleanly rendered, with good
intelligibility. As for the differences between Dolby Digital and DTS,
they aren’t particularly perceivable on this DVD. English, French,
Spanish and Portuguese subtitles have been provided on the DVD. The basic
interactive menus offer access to the standard set up and scene selection
features. No supplements are provided on this Superbit title, since all of
the storage space on the DVD has been allotted to the bit rate for both
the video and audio.
As
action movies go, I found LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL to be more
emotionally satisfying than most. The Superbit release is quite solid,
although this wouldn’t be the title I would use to show off the benefits
of the process.
Having
never seen director Luc Besson’s THE PROFESSIONAL or its longer
international version entitled LEON, I felt the time was right to
check it out now that Columbia TriStar has issued the re-titled uncut
version, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL ($26), under their Superbit
moniker. After having sat through the film, I can honestly say that I was
blown away by this stylized action movie with decidedly European
sensibilities. Like most action movies, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL has
a plot that pretty much defies belief. However, the film resonates with a
certain power, thanks to the superb performances of Jean Reno and a
youthful Natalie Portman, who conveys a loss of innocence with an alarming
quality. As for Jean Reno, he is a marvelous actor, and is so good in this
film, that one has to wonder why he doesn’t get more (and better) roles
stateside. In LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL, Reno is truly outstanding in
the title role of an assassin, who rediscovers his humanity in a very
surprising way.
After
her family is gunned down in the apartment next door, a twelve-year-old
Mathilda (Portman) seeks shelter with Leon. Although Leon initially wants
nothing to do with the child, he takes pity on Mathilda and allows her
into his apartment. Mathilda quickly discovers how the mysterious Leon
makes his living, and then makes a startling request- she wants to learn
Leon’s trade, so she can personally deal with the men that killed her
family. As I stated above, the plot of LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL
sounds absurd, but one director Luc Besson really makes the characters the
focus of the story, instead of the situations. Additionally, Besson stages
the film’s violent action sequences so well, that the audience becomes
lost in the moment, instead of thinking how unbelievable the
ever-escalating situation becomes. The cast of LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL
also features a completely over-the-top Gary Oldman, as well as a more
reserved Danny Aiello.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made their Superbit DVD edition of LEON:
THE PROFESSIONAL available in a 2.35:1 wide screen presentation that
has been enhanced for 16:9 displays. This is generally a very good-looking
presentation, but it falls short of being outstanding, due to the fact
that the film elements are less than pristine. There are a lot of small
blemishes throughout the course of the movie, and while they are not
terrible, they could have been digitally cleaned up to a greater extent.
The image itself proves to be sharp and well defined, not to the extent of
a brand new movie, but well enough for a European production from 1994.
Color have a fairly natural level of saturation, sometimes a bit
heightened, sometimes less, but otherwise good overall. Blacks appear
accurate, as do the whites and contrast is fairly smooth. This being the
Superbit title, the increased bit rate of the process keeps digital
compression artifacts well concealed.
As
this is a Superbit release, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL features 5.1
channel soundtracks in both Dolby Digital and DTS. That said; the
soundtracks for LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL are mixed in such a way that
there is very little (or should I say almost no) information being sent to
the rear channels. The forward soundstage does a good job of carrying the
track, although ambient sounds and musical fill are missed somewhat during
the course of the film. Stereo separation is effectively demonstrated in
both sound effects and music, which come across with good fidelity.
Gunfire carries the appropriate weight and the bass channel is solid
enough for the material. Dialogue is cleanly rendered, with good
intelligibility. As for the differences between Dolby Digital and DTS,
they aren’t particularly perceivable on this DVD. English, French,
Spanish and Portuguese subtitles have been provided on the DVD. The basic
interactive menus offer access to the standard set up and scene selection
features. No supplements are provided on this Superbit title, since all of
the storage space on the DVD has been allotted to the bit rate for both
the video and audio.
As
action movies go, I found LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL to be more
emotionally satisfying than most. The Superbit release is quite solid,
although this wouldn’t be the title I would use to show off the benefits
of the process.
