The Professional (1994 Film)

The Professional is a 1994 English-language action film written and directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson and executive produced by Claude Besson. It debuted in France on September 14, 1994 under the title, Léon, and opened in the United States on November 18, 1994.

The film is the most recent of five collaborations between Besson and actor Jean Reno, who plays the titular character, a “cleaner” or professional hitman. Reno had played "Victor the cleaner" in Besson's previous film, 1990's Nikita.http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0206083/ The Professional is the first of two collaborations between Besson and Gary Oldman, who would play another villain in Besson's 1997 sci-fi/action film, The 5th Element.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119116/ The Professional was also the feature film debut of Natalie Portman, who plays a 12 year-old girl who seeks refuge with Léon after her family is murdered. In 1995, the film received seven French César Award nominations, including Best Film and Best Director.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413/awards In 1996, it won the Czech Lion Award for Best Foreign Language Film.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413/awards

Léon is an expert “cleaner,” or hitman, whose lonely daily routine consists of exercise, weapon maintenance, and taking care of a houseplant. When Norman Stansfield, a corrupt DEA agent, has Léon’s neighbors killed, Léon is forced to care for the only surviving family member, 12 year-old Mathilda. He hesitantly agrees to train Mathilda as his partner, and soon grows attached to having her in his life. They soon become Stansfield’s next target after Mathilda attempts to exact revenge for her brother’s murder.

Luc Besson maintains that the theatrical version of the film is his preferred version.http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2000/mar/23/guardianinterviewsatbfisouthbank1 However, in 1996, Besson released an extended version in France as Léon: version intégrale. This version contains an extra 26 minutes of footage and was later released on video in the United States as Leon: The Professional.http://movies.amctv.com/movie/133866/Professional/details

The extra footage includes the following scenes:

• Mathilda playing Russian roulette to blackmail Léon into training her.
• Léon telling the story of why he left Italy for New York.
• A training montage in which Léon teaches Mathilda how to kill people.
• Mathilda propositioning Léon to have sex, which he turns down.