BLU-RAY REVIEW

Leon: The Professional

Featured In Issue 145, December 2009

Picture5
Sound5
WSR Score5
Basic Information on new release titles is posted as soon as titles are announced. Once reviewed, additional data is added to the database.
(Studio/Distributor):
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
(Catalog Number):
32918
(MPAA Rating):
R / Not Rated
(Rating Reason):
Scenes of strong graphic violence and for language
(Retail Price):
$24.95
(Disc Type):
Single Side, Dual Layer (BD-50)
(Widescreen Edition):
Yes
(Full Screen Edition):
No
(Running Time In Minutes):
109/133
(Color Type):
Color
(Chaptered/Scene Access):
Yes
(Closed Captioned):
Yes
(Regional Coding):
A, B & C
(Theatrical Year):
1994
(Theatrical Release):
Yes
(Direct-To-Video Release):
No
(Disc Release Date):
11/17/09
(THX® Digitally Mastered):
No
(Director):
Luc Besson
(Screenplay/Written By):
(Story):
(Music):
(Director Of Photography):
(Production Designer):
(Visual Effects):
(Costume Designer):
(Editor):
(Supervising Sound Editors):
(Re-Recording Mixers):
(Executive Producers):
(Co-Producers):
(Producers):
(Academy Awards):
(Principal Photography):
(Theatrical Aspect Ratio):
(Measured Disc Aspect Ratio):
(Disc Soundtrack):
DTS HD Lossless 5.1
(Theatrical Sound):
(Theatrical Re-Issue Soundtrack):
(DTS Bit Rate):
(Dolby Digital Bit Rate):
(Additional Languages):
(French Language):
(Spanish Language):
(Chinese Language):
(Subtitles):
(Cantonese Language):
(Mandarin Language):
(Japanese Language):
(Italian Language):
(German Language):
(Portuguese Language):

A corrupt DEA boss (Oldman) and his thugs murder a family in a drug deal gone awry. Orphaned by the massacre, 12-year-old Mathilda (Portman) is forced to take shelter in the apartment of a neighbor (Reno) she barely knows. He's a loner and a first-generation immigrant, who also happens to be a professional hitman. She desperately wants to avenge the death of, if no one else, her little brother, and demands that he teach her how to become a "cleaner" like him. Thierry Arbogast's cinematography is magnificent.

Including both the U.S. (HD 01:49:27) and the International versions (HD 02:12:52) of the film, special features include the following featurettes: 10-Year Retrospective: Cast And Crew Look Back (SD 25:10), Jean Reno: The Road To Leon (SD 12:25), and Natalie Portman: Starting Young (SD 13:50); a fact track, which is available only on the extended version of the film; and previews.

The 2.35:1 1080p AVC picture surpasses the three previously reviewed DVDs, including the anamorphically enhanced Superbit™ encoding reviewed in Issue 77. The imagery is very dimensional at times, and the picture exhibits sharp and detailed images. The stylized picture appears brighter and more natural on the Blu-ray Disc™. The color scheme varies but often exhibits golden hues that are nicely balanced with deep blacks. Colors are richly saturated, with some stylizations. Fleshtones are well balanced, and blacks are deep and solid. The major distractions, such as edge enhancement and occasional aliasing and shimmering artifacts, are no longer present. This is a terrifically sharp and finely resolved picture that is the best that the film has ever looked, and is sure to impress fans. (Gary Reber)

The remastered lossless DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack is superb throughout. The sound is holosonically engaging and impressively dynamic. Spatial delineation, bass definition, and extension are excellent. At times the low-frequency energy is deep and pounding in all channels, but particularly in the .1 LFE channel, with below 25 Hz extension. The music score is nicely recorded with a wide, expansive presence and deep bass foundation. The dialogue is always intelligible but at times has an excessive close-miking presence, which compromises spatial integration. The listening space always is lively during the intense gun battle scenes, which heightens the spatialness of the sound. This is a terrific soundtrack and is preferred to the other versions released on DVD. (Gary Reber)