Leon - The Professional (Deluxe Edition)

Starring:Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello, Peter Appel, Willi One Blood, Don Creech, Keith A. Glascoe, Randolph Scott (II), Michael Badalucco, Ellen Greene, Elizabeth Regen, Carl J. Matusovich, Frank Senger, Lucius Wyatt Cherokee, Eric Challier, Luc Bernard, MaÃ¯wenn Le Besco, Jessie Keosian, George Martin (II)
Director: Luc Besson
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Product Description

Gary Oldman, Jean Reno, Natalie Portman and Danny Aiello star in LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL, a go-for-broke thriller about a professional assassin whose work becomes dangerously personal. Calling himself a "cleaner", the mysterious Leon (Reno) is New York's top hitman. When his next-door neighbors are murdered, Leon becomes the unwilling guardian of the family's sole survivor - 12-year-old Mathilda, but Mathilda doesn't just want protection; she wants revenge. Training her in the deadly tricks of his trade, Leon helps her track the psychotic agent (Oldman) who murdered her family.

System Requirements:
Running Time: 133 Min.

Format: DVD MOVIE

Amazon.com

Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

An All-time Favorite GUY movie........2007-06-28

This is definitely a guy movie, about a professional hit man who's not too bright but has a big heart and is very adept at his craft. It is an intriguing story. Great plot (you don't know how it will turn out), great acting, great villian (this cop is a pscycho). You will like the characters and feel for their well being. A must see!

Most convincing love story ever........2007-06-22

"I know what I want to do with the rest of my life. I want to be an assassin. Like you." Spoken by a little [..]Natalie Portman, which becomes the earmark of my early attentions that this movie was more than your run of the mill movie. In fact, Natalie Portman may not have been the focus of this film but every ounce of her characterization of Mathilda stood out as owning this films reputation as an underground international hit. I can't give justice to the power she releases at the explosive ending with Leon that comes straight from some everyone-dies-Scorsese-mob-ending. Her invoking sobs are stomach clutching and her innate control is so fantastic it's frighteningly genius. It's almost impossible for me to discover the means for her to of have created such a complete character with such genuine passion when I consider the real life pressures such as the presence of people and running camera's absorbing every nuance of her countenance and paired against such dominating presence as Jean Reno and Gary Oldman no less! At film ending, I felt obligated beyond an audiance member, as if some member in an important film jury. Obligated to award that outstanding performance. Because in the movie business, audiences (unlike sports spectators who support having the best of athlets)do not reward the best of movie making. They rush to see movies like spider man 3, and oceans and reward them with unbelievable revenues that executives celebrate over. This under the radar revenge film with a bizarrly genius child actor was more than just a klatch of hollywood moments, it was a delicate lingo of sexual undertones. It was a 'becoming of age'-ness, and metamorphisized rebirth. This child was fantastic and worth droves of applause. She literally and metaphorically walks away from the hollywood glitch and glamour at some point. Away from the eye catching fire, and explosions. The throngs of police extra's, and of the cliche final showdown. She walks away as a child would, but with the aged spirit of a master actress, spliting the story in no better way for me into that scence of departure. One the one side is Leon, the revenge gun for hire story, and then the other of a precious girl coming of age under extraordinary circumstances which parallels the slave of Leon's rebirth from soulessness. "Is it always this hard?" She asks Leon with blood on her face. And as if questioning the validity of her own living, sweeps the blood with her hand and stares at it. "No." Exclaims Leon without emotion. Planted behind Leon's mirrory glasses at that moment is his rebirth.

The Professional.......2007-06-12

Excellent movie now a classic never get sick of watching, a must have for all movie buffs !

The Professional.......2007-06-05

This is a fantastic movie. Jean Reno is absolutely marvelous as the hit man who takes in an orphaned young girl (Natalie Portman) after a crooked DEA agent (Gary Oldman) kills off her entire family. Reno brings depth, sensitivity and a true comedic flair to the character. Natalie Portman is, naturally, adorable and shows true skill in the role. And Gary Oldman? He's just brilliant. The best - that is the foulest, the most despicable - villain there ever was. You've just got to see this movie!The Professional

Unbelievably ridiculous but try not and be emotinally attached.......2007-06-03

Here is the rare film that combines a ridiculous storyline with a fabulous cast, great overacting, action, tenderness, angst and pathos and creates a winner you can't take your eyes, ears, heart or attention from. It will have you rooting for a serial killer who is teaching a 12-year-old the tricks of the trade. No kidding!

Jean Reno, who has probably never given a poor performance, is perfectly cast as an illiterate killer for hire. When Natalie Portman's family -- which lives in his building -- is murdered by bad cop-cocaine dealer Gary Oldman and crew, not yet teenager Portman survives and takes up housekeeping with the illiterate neighbor, a witness to the murders that is a full-time contractor to restaranteur Danny Aiello, playing the kind of gritty New York role that's made him famous.

You've probably already figured out this movie contains a lot of profanity, killing, bloodletting, foul play, and good guy-bad guy technique that's typical in this kind of urban drug-induced "police" drama. What you haven't figured out -- and what you won't until you see this film -- is the affectionate relationship it creates between older than her years but still youthful Portman and her new father figure and the way this relationship will addict you to this film.

Their relationship is about as connective as that torch you still carry for the high school sweetheart that got away. It sits beneath the surface eating up emotional bandwidth and retaining a place in your shattered psyche. The relationship between Portman and Reno (pronounced renn-Oh, not like the city in Nevada) will do the same thing to you.

I had no idea this movie, now 13 years of age, had all this going for it. It's a film that catches you unprepared. You want to see all the killing and be neutralized by its brutality. Yet this tender relationship between two down and out figures draws you in like a wet kitten at your front door whose mother was just run over by a car in the street. It melts your heart. Meanwhile, Gary Oldman is the [erfect foil, the epitome of evil. He gets his later in a memorable scene with our hero, Reno.

You have all this to look forward to as many times as you want by buying, renting, or borrowing this wonderful movie. My advice is to get on with it.

Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version)

Average customer rating:

An All-time Favorite GUY movie.
Most convincing love story ever.
The Professional
The Professional
Unbelievably ridiculous but try not and be emotinally attached

Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version)
Starring: Jean Reno , Gary Oldman , Natalie Portman , Danny Aiello , and Peter Appel
Director: Luc Besson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00004YYDI
Release Date: 2000-10-03

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

An All-time Favorite GUY movie........2007-06-28

Most convincing love story ever........2007-06-22

The Professional.......2007-06-12

Excellent movie now a classic never get sick of watching, a must have for all movie buffs !

The Professional.......2007-06-05

Unbelievably ridiculous but try not and be emotinally attached.......2007-06-03

WWE - Mick Foley Greatest Hits & Misses - A Life in Wrestling (Hardcore Edition)

Average customer rating:

Mick Foley Greatest Hits and Misses
Hardcore Edition makes up for previous omissions...
One of the Greatest WWE DVD's Ever!
One of the best wwe DvD
Here's what you'll get...

WWE - Mick Foley Greatest Hits & Misses - A Life in Wrestling (Hardcore Edition)
Starring: Mick Foley , Jonathan Coachman , Sgt. Slaughter , Tim White , and Hugo Savinovich
Manufacturer: World Wrestling
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000MGBLVY
Release Date: 2007-03-06

Description

Mick Foley's Greatest Hits & Misses traces the storied career of the Hardcore Legend, Mick Foley. Filled with matches hand-picked by Foley himself from every aspect of his career, including his stints as Cactus Jack, Mankind, and Dude Love. Bouts from WCW, ECW, SMW, and WWE are all present.

Customer Reviews:

Mick Foley Greatest Hits and Misses.......2007-06-09

My grandson really likes this tape he loves wrestling so this was great for him

Hardcore Edition makes up for previous omissions..........2007-05-16

Mick Foley will always be one of my favorite pro-wrestling superstars. That's why when I purchased the first edition of "Greatest Hits and Misses", I was disappointed to have him continually point out that the match we were about to watch was not one of his favorites.

However, the addition of the third disk makes up for the missing true favorite bouts, and not the ones hand picked for him. The action is real, extremely intense (with most every bout in each disk), and still worth every penny despite Foley's own admission that some of the matches are not his best/favorite....

I am, however, disappointed that his cage match with Hunter (in which he redid his "fall through the cage" bit, this time breaking the canvas of the ring) was not on here, as I feel it is also one of his bests.

In all, the disk is still outstanding despite the omissions.

One of the Greatest WWE DVD's Ever!.......2007-04-30

Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses is no doubt one of the greatest superstar profiles WWE has ever released. Here's whats on it.
Disk One:
Cactus Jack vs. Big Van Vader WCW Saturday Night 4/17/1993
Some of the latter day hardcore fans may not like this one, but it was good for its time. Cactus wins.
Cactus Jack & Maxx Payne vs. Nasty Boys in a Chicago Street Fight
This one took place at WCW Spring Stampede 4/17/1994. I was very impressed with this match. I never thought I would see something like that in WCW (especially in 1994!) Nasty Boys win.
Cactus Jack vs. Sabu ECW Hostile City Showdown 6/24/1994
Cactus was sent to ECW by WCW to wrestle this match. Every entertaining with some nice spots. Sabu wins.
Cactus Jack vs. Chris Candido SMW 11/18/1994
Nice match for Smokey Mountain Wrestling. Cactus Jack wins.
Cactus Jack vs. Sandman in a Texas Death Match ECW 2/4/1995
Not as great as I thought it would be, but still good. You could tell in some spots that Sandman wasn't in his right mind! To win this one, you had to pin. Then he had to stay down for a ten count (kind of a mix between a regular match and a Last Man Standing match.) Cactus wins.
Cactus & Raven vs. Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer ECW November 2 Remember
This match was AWESOME! Many weapons used including a VCR, a cheese grador, and a frying pan! Funk and Dreamer win.
Cactus vs. Mikey Whipwreck ECW 3/9/1996
This was a cool match. It was Foley's last ECW match. Cactus wins.
Extras for Disk One
Post-Match Vador Interview
Cactus Jack vs. Sting WCW Beach Balst 6/20/92 Foley and Coachmen on commentary.
Cactus Spits on the WCW Belt
"Cane Dewwy" Promo (Mick's favorite.)
"Anti-Hardcore" Promo
Cactus vs. Sabu rematch Hamburg, PA. Foley and coachman do commentary.
ECW Farewell speech
"Jack" Foley & Les Thornton vs. British Bulldogs 9/13/1986
WWE Confidental: Foley explains his absence.

Disk Two
Introducing... Mankind!
Mankind vs. HBK World Title WWE Mind Games 9/22/1996
Mick calls this his favorite match. It was a good match. HBK wins by DQ.
Cactus vs. Hunter Hearst-Helmsley Falls Count Anywhere Raw 9/22/1997
This match was sweet! It was also cool to hear the Raw fans start chanting ECW ECW! Cactus wins.
Mick Foley vs. Terry Funk Raw 5/4/1998
Nice to see these two friends battle it out. Foley wins.
Dude Love vs. Stone Cold World Title Over the Edge 5/31/1998
This was Foley's greatest match as the Dude Love character. Add Vince McMahon as special guest referee and Undertaker at ring side during the entire match and your in for a treat! Austin wins.
Mankind vs. Undertaker Hell in a Cell King of the Ring 6/28/1998
This is the match that Foley will be remembered most for. Him falling of and through the cage was amazing. Add a steal chair and some thumb tacts and you get one of the greatest Hell in a Cell match ever. Undertaker wins.
Mankind vs. The Rock World Title Raw 1/4/1999
This was a emotional one for Mick Foley and a decent match. Mankind wins his first of three World Titles.
Cactus Jack vs. HHH in a Street Fight World Tile Royal Rumble 1/23/2000
This has to be one of the greatest street fights of all time! Barbed wire, steal chairs, thumb tacts, handcuffs, and other weapons are used. Lots of blood. HHH wins
Extras for Disk Two
Mankind Teasers. WWE fans get their first look at a disturbing newcomer.
Music to My Ear. Mankind talks about his symphony of destruction.
J.R., Mankind, and Paul Bearer prior to his Mind Games match against HBK.
J.R. interviews Mankind Raw 6/9/1997.
The Birth of Mr. Socko. Mankind visits Mr. McMahon in the hospital. Very funny!!!
Mick and Al Snow in Las Vegas.
Commissioner Foley and Kurt Angle

Disk Three
All of the following matches can be viewed with regular commentary or special commentary with Mick and Joey Styles
Mick Foley vs. Randy Orton No Holds Barred for the Intercontinental Title Backlash 4/18/2004.
This match was sweet with lots of thumb tacts and barbed wire. Orton wins.
Foley vs. Edge Hardcore match Wrestlmania 22 4/2/2006
This match was great. Most shocking moment is win Edge spears Foley through a flaming table. Edge wins.
Foley, Edge, and Lita vs. Tommy Dreamer, Terry Funk, and Beulah ECW One Night Stand 6/11/2006
This match, in my opinion, was the greatest one from one night stand. Barbed wire, fire, and other weapons were used. Foley, Edge, & Lita win.
Foley vs. Ric Flair I Quit match SummerSalm 8/20/2006
It was so sweet to see these two legends battle it out in the ring. Lots of blood shed. Ric Flair wins.
No extras on disk three.

One of the best wwe DvD.......2007-03-21

i love this dvd the matches were insane and i love it my favorite match was
the one night stand i loved it terry funk and tommy dreamer vs. edge and mike foly the best i love it.. its a great dvd i would recamended it!!!!!!

Here's what you'll get..........2007-02-23

This is just the same release as "Mick Foley's Greatest Hits and Misses' that was released four years ago in 2003. Only this time you will get an extra disk in the DVD set that comes with a couple of extra matches. Let me be clear...if you are a new fan of wrestling, this is ESSENTIAL!!! This has some of the greatest matches ever released. I will admit some are not as good as others, but there are some rare gems...

DISK 1:

Cactus Jack and Max Payne vs. The Nasty Boys:
Wild brawl from WCW that had the use of a lot of weapons, chairs, tables, and more than one wild spot! Cactus Jack at one point suplexes a table onto one of the nasty boys on the ramp leading to the ring in a great spot. However the Nasty Boys get the win after Cactus gets leveled with a shovel to the head...8/10

Cactus Jack vs. Sabu:
Many people actually believed one of these two would die because they were each that violent. The match is back and forth but many considered it a let down...even Mick himself. But nonetheless this is still an entertaining match and there were table spots, dont worry. Sabu at one point had Cactus on a table in the audience and did a moonsault off the top rope onto Cactus through the table! The ending was kinda cheap but Sabu wins a good fight. 7.5/10

Cactus Jack and Raven vs. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk:
There was not one wrestling move in this entire match! More and more weapons were used and Stevie Richards at one point makes an apperance but pays for it! Cant remember who wins, I am doing this review based on memory [yes, I have watched this DVD set that many times] but it was a great match to watch for the violence! 8.5/10

Other matches include

Cactus Jack vs. Vader
Cactus Jack vs. The Sandman [Texas Death Match]
Cactus Jack vs. Mikey Whipwreck [Cactus' last match in ECW]

DISK 2:

Mick Foley vs. Terry Funk:
This was one of the rarest matches that had Mick wrestle as himself. These two tore the roof down and it was even better because Stone Cold Steve Austin was on commentary! Tables, chairs, trashcans, and brutality is what resulted when these two legendary figures met in the ring! Mick Foley wins...9/10

Mankind vs. The Undertaker:
The famous Hell in a Cell match that had Mankind getting thrown twice off the roof of the cage; once on top of the announce table, the other through the roof of the cage. Thumbtacks and chairs would also make appearances in the match and Taker wins. 10/10

Cactus Jack vs. HHH:
The famous street fight from Royal Rumble 2000. Anything and everything was used. Barbed wire, thumbtacks, tables, steel steps, handcuffs, chairs, trashcans, sledghammers, just to name a few! Cactus at one point was handcuffed and took some brutal chair shots to the head, but fought back and sliced HHH's head open with his trusy barbed wire 2 by 4. HHH wins after pedigreeing Cactus face first onto a pile of tacks! 11/10

other matches include

HBK vs. Mankind [Mick calls it the greatest match in his career]
Mankind vs. The Rock [when foley won the title]
Cactus Jack vs. HHH [the first time these two fought, not the best but still really good]

and finally the third disk includes:

Cactus Jack vs. Randy Orton:
This is what the wwe was lacking the most in 2004...VIOLENCE!!! Luckily this is a rare treat that had Randy proving he has what it takes to go hardcore. Orton at one point fell back first onto a pile of tacks without a shirt on! His back looked like a pincushion! A huge board of barbed wire makes an appearance, as does chairs, cookie sheets, tables, and trashcans! Great match that Randy won. 10/10

Cactus Jack vs. Edge:
This was from last year, and it was also as brutal as any Cactus Jack match was. tacks, tables, fire, and barbed wire make appearances. Edge wins after spearing Foley through the ring ropes onto a table set on fire! 10/10

Cactus Jack vs. Ric Flair:
This was an I Quit match that had both men taking huge punishment. Foley at one point gave a scoop slam to Flair onto tacks, then flair fought back and knocked foley out of the ring right to the floor! Flair even gave his chops while wearing Mr. Socko wrapped in barbed wire! Flair wins in a cheap ending as Melina comes down and starts interfering...bad ending to a great feud and match. 9/10

the last match is Mick Foley and Edge vs. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk from ECW One Night Stand 2006 [VIOLENT MATCH]

There you have it, this is recommended if you have either lost your old copy of this previously released set or if you are a new, new fan of wrestling...This is highly recommended.

Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version) (Superbit Collection)

Average customer rating:

An All-time Favorite GUY movie.
Most convincing love story ever.
The Professional
The Professional
Unbelievably ridiculous but try not and be emotinally attached

Leon - The Professional (Uncut International Version) (Superbit Collection)
Starring: Jean Reno , Gary Oldman , Natalie Portman , Danny Aiello , and Peter Appel
Director: Luc Besson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

The Fifth Element (Ultimate Edition)
La Femme Nikita (Special Edition)
Ronin
Heat
V for Vendetta (Two-Disc Special Edition)

ASIN: B0000AGQ6Y
Release Date: 2003-09-09

Amazon.com

Description

The Superbit titles utilize a special high bit rate digital encoding process which optimizes video quality while offering a choice of both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. These titles have been produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital Studios video, sound and mastering engineers and comes housed in a special package complete with a 4 page booklet that contains technical information on the Superbit process. By reallocating space on the disc normally used for value-added content, Superbit DVDs can be encoded at double their normal bit rate while maintaining full compatibility with the DVD video format.

Customer Reviews:

An All-time Favorite GUY movie........2007-06-28

Most convincing love story ever........2007-06-22

The Professional.......2007-06-12

Excellent movie now a classic never get sick of watching, a must have for all movie buffs !

The Professional.......2007-06-05

Unbelievably ridiculous but try not and be emotinally attached.......2007-06-03

Average customer rating:

Santo Contra los Jinetes Del Terror
Starring: Santo , Armando Silvestre , Júlio Aldama , Mary Montiel , and Gregorio Casal
Director: René Cardona
Manufacturer: Vas
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Release Date: 2004-03-23

Average customer rating:

Leon The Professional / Subway
Starring: Danny Aiello , Peter Appel , Michael Badalucco , Luc Bernard , and Willi One Blood
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00008MTYH
Release Date: 2003-04-29

Amazon.com

The Professional
Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with this stylized thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar. --Tom Keogh

Subway
This dark and highly stylized French import directed by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, The Professional) concerns an enigmatic safecracker played by Christopher Lambert (Highlander) hiding out in the Paris Metro system from a gangster. While living in the underground and eluding both gangsters and Metro police he meets up with a group of colorful and quirky subterranean inhabitants eager to help him and start a rock band. All the while the safecracker blackmails a rich woman (Isabelle Adjani) with whom he is in love. Meant to be a tongue-in-cheek commentary on urban life, the film works better as a light freewheeling entertainment, with well-constructed fast-paced action sequences and a breezy sense of humor about itself. Subway is an intriguing diversion and a chance to see the cutting edge of modern French moviemaking. --Robert Lane

Leon: The Professional (Uncut European Edition) [PAL, Region 2, Import]
Average customer rating:

AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT THRILLER...

Leon: The Professional (Uncut European Edition) [PAL, Region 2, Import]

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD
Product Features:

Region 2 encoding (Europe, Japan, South Africa and the Middle East including Egypt).

Requires multi-system DVD player in the US.

ASIN: 8386755830

Product Description

Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) made his American directorial debut with Leon, a stylised thriller about a French hit man (Jean Reno) who takes in an American girl (Natalie Portman) being pursued by a corrupt killer cop (Gary Oldman). Oldman is a little more unhinged than he should be, but there is something genuinely irresistible about the story line and the relationship between Reno and Portman. Rather than cave in to the cookie-cutter look and feel of American action pictures, Besson brings a bit of his glossy style from French hits La Femme Nikita and Subway to the production of The Professional, and the results are refreshing even if the bullets and explosions are awfully familiar.

Customer Reviews:

AN EDGE-OF-YOUR-SEAT THRILLER..........2006-12-27

How can one resist a movie featuring sexy Frenchman Jean Reno, the beautiful Natalie Portman in one of her earliest roles, Gary Oldman, and Danny Aiello?

The film centers around the relationship that develops between a beautiful and precocious twelve year old girl, Mathilda (Natalie Portman), and an Italian hit man named Leon (Jean Reno). Mathilda and her family live in the same run down building as Leon and are, in fact, neighbors.

It seems that Mathilda's dad (Michael Badalucco) has run into a problem with rogue Federal Drug Enforcement Agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman) over some missing cocaine. When Stansfield and his crew gets into a shootout with dear old Dad in the family apartment, wiping out her family, Mathilda alone survives. When Stansfield realizes, however, that there were three children in the family and only two are accounted for among the dead, he knows that he has to hunt her down before she denounces him for what he is, a cold blooded, killer cop.

Mathilda turns to Leon for help in her rather precarious situation. Of the two, Leon and Mathilda, it is hard to decide who is the more innocent. Leon gets his hit contracts through an intermediary, a wise guy named Tony (Danny Aiello). Tony always assures Leon that he is holding all his earnings for him, as Leon cannot read and write. Leon is your quintessential killer with a heart of gold. Mathilda, on the other hand, though still a child, is a pretty wily little miss with nerves of steel. It would be difficult to pull the wool over her eyes. Together, however, Leon and Mathilda go on a voyage of discovery, as each finds in the other something that captures the heart.

Notwithstanding this, the film is very much an action film. It is a rip roaring journey, as Leon and Mathilda try to evade Stansfield, the killer cop with no heart and a drug habit that would kill off lesser humans. Some of the situations are absolutely ingenious and a total trip. There is enough action in this film to satisfy even the most jaded of thrill seekers. Luc Besson, the director, has turned out a top notch, first class thriller.

Natalie Portman is luminous as Mathilda, a kid from the school of hard knocks. Her beauty, as well as her acting talent, is evident even at this early stage of her development, and there are a few almost uncomfortable Lolita-like moments in the film. There is even a scene somewhat reminiscent of the rose petal scene in the film "American Beauty", sans the rose petals.

Oldman is positively chilling with his almost over the top, edgy, manic performance. Danny Aiello is terrific as Tony, the smooth talking mob guy whom the viewer knows is taking advantage of Leon's simplicity and trust, enriching himself in the process.

Jean Reno, however, will melt your heart, becoming an almost mythic, romantic hero. I have to wonder why this amazing, sexy actor never made it really big in the United States. He is sensational as the killer with a heart. He also has some high voltage action scenes in this highly stylized film that will take your breath away.

The uncut international version of this film with an additional twenty four minutes of footage is the version to buy. It is definitely a film worth adding to one's personal collection. Bravo!

El Santo y la Tigresa (El Santo - The Royal Eagle)

Average customer rating:

el santo y la tigresa
Hilariously Bad movie, not so hiliariously bad transfer

El Santo y la Tigresa (El Santo - The Royal Eagle)
Starring: Santo , Irma Serrano , Dacia González , Jorge Lavat , and Fernando Osés
Director: Alfredo B. Crevenna
Manufacturer: Vanguard Cinema
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

Thrillers | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

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DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( E ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

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Santo Contra Capulina
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Santo: La Venganza de la Llorona
Santo en Atacan Las Brujas
Samson Vs. Vampire Women

ASIN: B0001DCYHS
Release Date: 2004-04-27

Customer Reviews:

el santo y la tigresa.......2005-10-11

La pelicula esta chistosa me gusta porque esta bien ridicula me gusta mucho la musica a igual que la ropa me encanta como asen la introducion pero la imagen esta mal esta borrosa i se mira como si fuera pirata auque no es pero si quieres tener algo differente i divertido comprala

Hilariously Bad movie, not so hiliariously bad transfer.......2004-09-09

"Santo y La Tigresa" is hilariously bad as only a Santo wrestling movie from the 70s can be. This one, however, doesn't have the added interest of monsters with horribly amateur makeup. "Tigresa" is more like an episode of "Big Valley" mixed with some "Starsky and Hutch." It's actually pretty darn funny, with loads of 70s hair, clothes, and music adding to the camp value of a big fatass eating, sleeping, loving, and carrying on serious conversations in a silver wrestler's mask as though that were normal. Oh yeah, and he occasionally kicks some ass. But "Tigresa" has a few moments that animal lovers might find offensive. There is an extended cockfight and a cat is deliberately poisoned (though the scene was obviously faked, since the cat is still moving once everyone in the scene insists it is dead).

The transfer on the DVD currently available from Vanguard Cinema is very, very poor, however--much more like that of a $3.99 budget disc than a $15 to $20 one. The sound is passable, but the picture is annoyingly soft and washed out, with background characters' faces disappearing almost entirely into mush in the longshots.

The Professional/The Replacement Killers

Average customer rating:

The Professional/The Replacement Killers
Starring: Yun-Fat Chow , Mira Sorvino , Michael Rooker , Kenneth Tsang , and Jürgen Prochnow
Director: Antoine Fuqua , and Luc Besson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00008G7MO
Release Date: 2002-10-15

Amazon.com

The Replacement Killers
The director of Chow Yun-fat's first Hollywood outing, music-video veteran Antoine Fuqua, seems to be trying to squeeze the charismatic Asian superstar into a conventional American action-hero mold, and the results are dispiriting. Fuqua never lets this high-spirited actor smile, fetishizing him as a gunslinging clotheshorse in a series of garish, scenery-smashing battle scenes. As a paid assassin whose former employers turn against him, Chow enlists the help of an illegal documents specialist played, with surprising grit, by Mira Sorvino, and then spends most of the time fending off squads of killers in mirror shades. The movie is art-directed and photographed fit to kill (even the most routine incidents are eye-gougingly colorful) and edited to a hip-hop beat. It's garishly superficial. The frequent gunplay duels may keep action fans riveted, but they'll hate themselves in the morning. --David Chute

Luc Besson Collection (Leon The Professional/The Fifth Element/The Big Blue/Subway/The Messenger/La Femme Nikita)
Average customer rating:

Luc Besson Rocks!

Excellent Collection

6 DVD Set Luc Besson

Luc Besson Collection (Leon The Professional/The Fifth Element/The Big Blue/Subway/The Messenger/La Femme Nikita)
Starring: Luc Besson
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Action & Adventure | Genres | DVD | Video
All Sony Pictures Titles | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Action & Adventure | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video
( L ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
ASIN: B00005Q65D
Release Date: 2001-12-18

Amazon.com

The Fifth Element
Ancient curses, all-powerful monsters, shape-changing assassins, scantily-clad stewardesses, laser battles, huge explosions, a perfect woman, a malcontent hero--what more can you ask of a big-budget science fiction movie? Luc Besson's high-octane film incorporates presidents, rock stars, and cab drivers into its peculiar plot, traversing worlds and encountering some pretty wild aliens. Bruce Willis stars as a down-and-out cabbie who must win the love of Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) to save Earth from destruction by Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) and a dark, unearthly force that makes Darth Vader look like an Ewok. --Geoff Riley

The Big Blue
A hit in Europe but a flop in the U.S.--where it was trimmed, rescored, and given a new ending--Luc Besson's The Big Blue has endured as a minor cult classic for its gorgeous photography (both on land and underwater) and dreamy ambiance. Jean-Marc Barr is a sweet and sensitive but passive presence as Jacques, a diver with a unique connection to the sea. He has the astounding ability to slow his heartbeat and his circulation on deep dives, "a phenomenon that's only been observed in whales and dolphins… until now," remarks one scientist. Kooky New York insurance adjuster Joanna (Rosanna Arquette at her most delightfully flustered and endearingly sexy best) melts after falling into his innocent baby blues, and she follows him to Italy, where he's continuing a lifelong competition with boyhood rival Enzo (Jean Reno in a performance both comic and touching). Besson's first English-language production looks more European than Hollywood, and it suffers from a tin ear for the language. At times it feels more like an IMAX undersea documentary than a drama about free divers, but the lush and lovely images create a fairy tale dimension to Jacques's story, a veritable Little Merman. More dolphin than man, he's so torn between earthly love and aquatic paradise that even his dreams call him to the sea (in a sequence more eloquent than any speech). Besson has expanded the film by 50 minutes for his director's cut, which adds little story but slows the contemplative pace until it practically floats in time, and has restored Eric Serra's synthesizer-heavy score, a slice of 1980s pop that at times borders on disco kitsch. Most importantly, he has restored his original ending, which echoes the fairy tale he tells Joanna earlier in the film and leaves the story floating in the inky blackness of ambiguity. --Sean Axmaker

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
1999 may be remembered as the year of Joan of Arc: NBC created a miniseries in her honor, Carl Dreyer's long-lost The Passion of Joan of Arc was discovered in a mental hospital, and Facets re-released Jacques Rivette's Joan the Maid. Luc Besson rounds out the corpus with his stylistic and vaguely heretical grand-scale feature, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) challenges established notions about the Maid of Orleans as he creates a decidedly more human heroine than have previous biopics. The story line is the same--a young, illiterate peasant girl convinces the dauphin of France to give her an army, and she leads them to victory in Orleans, only to be burned at the stake for heresy--but Milla Jovovich, in the title role, is a woman possessed. Her influences are less than heavenly; as a child she witnesses the murder of her sister by the English, a death caused by the sister's giving her hiding place to young Joan, which causes an intense desire for revenge. Yes, God still speaks to Joan, but even this is undermined, as Dustin Hoffman, playing The Conscience, questions her motives. Cinematically, The Messenger is stunning, with fantastical sequences of Joan in communication with higher powers. Yet the graphic violence (scenes include random decapitation and a dog gnawing on a body); the uneven accents, which make it difficult to tell who is fighting on which side; and the rewriting of lore may make this version of Joan of Arc appeal only to Besson fans. Jovovich is convincing, and while at times the film may drag (at times you wish they'd hurry up and burn her), it is a remarkable and insightful retelling of a well-known piece of history. --Jenny Brown

La Femme Nikita
French director Luc Besson (The Fifth Element) broke the commercial taboo against female-driven action movies with this seminal, seductively slick film about a violent street punk (Anne Parillaud) trained to become a smooth, stylish assassin. Though it amounts, in the end, to little more than disposable pop, the film has a cohesiveness in style and tone--akin to the early James Bond films--that gives it a sense of integrity. Parillaud is compelling both as a wild child and chic-but-lethal pro (trained in good manners by none other than Jeanne Moreau). Tchéky Karyo is also good as the cop mentor who develops feelings for her. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

Luc Besson Rocks!.......2004-07-03

Simple Review - This is a great collection from a great director. You obviously wouldn't be looking to buy the entire collection if you hadn't seen any of the individual films, so if you like Luc Besson or Jean Reno (an actor in many of Besson's films) then you'll like this set. The good news is that 1) The Professional is the extended international version with 26 additional minutes of footage ($25 on its own), 2) the Big Blue is the director's addition with lots of extra footage, and 3) the Messenger is the extended international version, too. Also, each DVD case has the same spine and border, so they make a really good looking pack. This is a great buy!

Excellent Collection.......2002-10-15

A long-time Luc Besson fan, I have avoided renting or buying one of my all-time favorite films, 'Subway' because the US dubbed version is so incredibly terrible. I finally got around to shopping for the DVD and discovered that it had been released twice, once in the original, reformatted version with English dubbing (BLECH!) and more recently in wide-screen format with choice of French with English subtitles or the (BLECH!) dubbing. This box set, for those who are curious, includes the latter version. In fact, all the films in the set are in wide-screen format (5th Element includes BOTH modified and wide-screen) and the box set includes Director's Cut (original French version) of The Big Blue. I took the plunge and bought the collection and can honestly say I'm ecstatic to have purchased it. Well worth the money!

6 DVD Set Luc Besson.......2002-06-03

One thing which I wanted to know, but could not find on the packaging until I opened it, was whether the movies in the set were all widescreen. I was quite happy to find out that all of the films in the collection are widescreen, at least according to the packaging. I have watched 4 of these films and enjoyed them all. It would be useful if the technical specifications section would spell out more clearly when films, especially in box sets, are in widescreen.

DVD:

DVD List

DVD

DVD

Camp Blood

Twilight Zone, Vol. 4

Freeway Speedway 6: Megalopolis Express Way Trial (REGION 1)

DVD: Bullitt

In The Beginning