The Professional

Has anybody ever seen this movie? I'm just curious. It is an older movie...from 1994. It was on HBO again tonight, so I finally got to tape it. I have seen it about 6 times now...it is one of my favorite movies. It is about a hit man who takes in a little girl to live with him whose family has been killed, and how she changes his life. It really tugs at the old heartstrings...I just love it. I was wondering if anyone else had seen it before. If not..I recommend it! It doesn't have anyone really famous in it, so I can't tell you who they are.

I saw it when it came out in '94. Hubby and I really liked it.

Who is in it? I've seen a similar film called "Leon", directed by Luc Besson - with Natalie Portman (Queen thingy from the latest Star Wars trilogy). This film is wonderful - again, a hit man who is adopted by a young girl whose family are killed by a crooked cop (Gary Oldman).

Hubby and I LOVE that movie!!! Leon is the European release of the same movie. It has a couple of added scenes that apparently we Americans couldn't handle (although I didn't see any more of a problem with Leon than with The Professional...). They did a real limited DVD release in the States of Leon and we jumped on it. If I remember right, the cut scene(s) dealt with Natlie Portman's character falling in love with Leon and basically trying to seduce him (although in a pretty innocent way - she wasn't exactly worldly!).

Little trivia for you - that was Natalie Portman's first real role in a movie, and what got her noticed in the film world. It's amazing to see the difference between her then and in Star Wars, and even Where The Heart Is.

Yes! That is the same movie! Gary Oldman plays the crooked cop...and boy is he strange in this movie...never did understand how he got away with all that crap, but at least he got his in the end!!! I didn't realize their was another version..."Leon". I would love to see it!! I wonder if it could still be found on DVD anywhere? I will have to look for it. I didn't realize Natalie was in Star Wars..she must be all grown up now. She has such beautiful eyes! I just thought the whole movie was great...although sad. Noone else I know has ever seen it,(except hubby, who likes it too) so I am glad to see I am not the only fan of this movie!! The character of Leon is played by a guy named Jean Reno, I believe.

Gary Oldham plays a great psycho! He really is an amazing actor. Debby, I just checked and amazon.com has Leon on DVD new for $22.95, and they have it used from $16.79. Here is the direct link. This uncut international version has 24 addition minutes of footage. Do I sound like a salesman yet? I thought that the added scenes, which were deemed too close to pedophelia for Americans (although I still don't see why - she was trying to seduce him, not the other way around!), completed the story and explained more of their relationship.

I actually had never even heard of the movie until I met hubby. He saw it on VHS and HAD to have it, and it became on of my favorites too. I think it has become a cult classic (if you can call something from 1994 a classic) since it hit the VHS/DVD market.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!! I am thrilled that you found that link for me and I am going to order the DVD right now!!!!!!!! I don't know why, but this movie is just one of those movies that really "got to me" so to speak....one of those that you see and it haunts you after that....I mean in a good way. And one that you don't mind seeing over and over. I cry everytime she plants that plant of his in the yard!!

I really loved that movie, too! You are making me think about buying it. I loved that it wasn't really famous people, although Natalie Portman is certainly getting there now. She really is an amazing actress. I have always been impressed by her performances. And I like Gary Oldman, who does make a fabulous psycho, remember him in Hannibal? And Jean Reno, he always seems so nice.

I think what makes this movie so powerful is the relationship between the characters. Even though Jean Reno plays a hitman, he is able to care for a young girl who has lost her entire family. She could have just fallen apart, but she has him to help her through it. Ok, I really want to see this movie again. Maybe I'll make a trip to Blockbuster later. . .

It really is so touching how she just "softens" him up like a big old teddy bear!!

I've only seen parts of the movie, but it sounds good!

This is kind of off topic, but has anyone seen the trailers for "The Transporter"? It's a new movie coming out "from the makers of The Professional and La Femme Nikita." It looks pretty good, somewhat along the same lines as The Professional. From what I can tell from the trailers, a man is hired to transport a car with no questions asked. He breaks the first rule of the business by opening the trunk and finds an Asian girl who is obviously in big trouble. Here's the website... www.transportermovie.com

That sounds like a really good movie! I will have to check it out...thanks for the link!