Leon - The Director's Cut (Blu-ray)

Luc Besson’s Leon is perhaps an odd choice for the people’s favourite gun-for-hire tale (it currently reigns supreme at number 34 on IMDB’s top 250 list), and indeed, for a few critics, the ambiguous relationship between the film’s two protagonists (one, a grown man and deadly assassin, and the other a 12-year-old girl wise beyond her years) proved too distasteful.

However, despite questions of paedophilia and the ambiguous morality behind training a kid to kill, Besson’s first American film still manages to thrill and move you in equal measure, thanks mainly to the slick direction, the tender performances from Reno and (a truly extraordinary) Natalie Portman, and a hilariously over-the-top Gary Oldman.

The fantastical tale takes place in Manhattan, where Leon, a milk-loving assassin, kills for cash and lives a simple life of tending to his favourite plant and watching Gene Kelly movies. When his neighbour, a troubled 12-year-old girl named Mathilda, approaches Leon for help when her family are gunned down by crooked cops, Leon reluctantly takes her under his wing and teaches her the ways of a hitman.

Exquisitely shot and giving the streets of Manhattan a curious, Parisian slant, Leon is a visually striking movie, and one that was always destined to look fabulous on Blu-ray. Indeed, in places, the picture quality is superb. The exteriors are bright and clear, the colours leap from the screen and the detail on close-ups is staggering. The vibrancy of the picture wanes slightly in places, but ultimately, the Blu-ray marks a considerable improvement over the previously released DVD in terms of its visuals its explosive DTS soundtrack.

Adding further incentive for a purchase is the fact that Leon is presented here in its ‘Director’s Cut’ form (or simply the ‘Long Version’ as Besson would prefer), which adds an additional 23 minutes to the running time. If you haven’t seen the Director’s Cut, then you really haven’t experienced the real Leon. The extra footage further explores the tricky yet endearing relationship between Leon and Mathilda with some terrific scenes, including a memorable Russian roulette sequence in which Mathilda forces Leon to admit that he loves her. Then there’s a whole chunk of footage showing Mathilda’s assassination training, which both fleshes out the story and adds even more action to the proceedings. It’s far more comprehensive and emotionally involving tale in its longer form, and in turn, the devastating yet inevitable fate of Leon is even more heartbreaking than before. 

Leon – The Director’s Cut is an all-round better film for having the extra footage re-inserted, though for fans of the UK ‘Theatrical Cut’, the Blu-ray includes the shorter version on the disc’s extras. While this is a great appendage, the rest of the extras let the side down a little, and consist of a few fairly lame old featurettes. It’s still a remarkable package though, and with both versions of Leon included, this is highly recommended.

Overall Verdict: In its Director’s Cut form, Leon is no longer a good movie – it’s a great one. And it looks better than ever in HD.

Special Features:
Leon: Theatrical Cut
’10 Year Retrospective’ Featurette
‘Natalie Portman: Starting Young’ Featurette
‘Jean Reno: The Road To Leon’ Featurette
Trailer

Reviewer: Lee Griffiths