The Professional [Blu-ray]

This is how Blu-Ray should have always been, to me packaging is VERY important I've made a purchase base on how something was packaged. I've been buying movies for a very long time and in the beginning I didn't buy many VHS tapes because of the price {$89.99 and more} then I had the problem of family members "can I borrow that movie" and never get it back SO I moved on to Laser Disc which was great and the packaging was Awesome on most disc {I still have about 150 movies including the original Star Wars (as seen in the theaters), no one had a laser disc player (the price was the problem as most disc were $50 or more unless you got them on sale) SO my collection is still intact, then it was DVD, good quality and better pricing (most disc were $20) but everyone has a DVD player So after losing 3 movies I just learned to say "NO". One day I was hanging out at Sony Plaza here in Manhattan and was downstairs and a friend who worked there said "do you want to see the future?" we went into a back studio and he showed me Blu-Ray...that was it for me I stopped buying DVD's that very day and it would be about 18 months before the first player would become available and I waited and waited and then I got my SONY BDP-S1, but I didn't care for how the movies were packaged; then they came out with steel cases which I didn't care for as you still got nothing on the inside a booklet would have been nice. Then they came out with the Blu-Ray Book aka Digibook which I LOVE I own about 20 and when I get a chance I will even replace a regular Blu-Ray with a Digibook purchase. SO let's move on to the review, I had not upgraded The Professional from Laser Disc so it was time anyway I love the look of the plexiglass covers {downside...finger prints} and as this is the first in a series the front and back covers come out of the slots (I didn't have this happen with Dracula or The Fifth Element) nothing a little super glue won't fix but at $27 you should not have to fix anything! The Quality of the film and the sound is AWESOME!!! you can tell that this film has been re-mastered to the 9's, I can't wait to see what this is going to look like on my Sony 4K TV when I get one next year, planning on moving by then SO I can wait and have it installed properly and hooked up to my home theater. So far there are only three titles that have been released in this Sony Cinema Series Blu-Ray collection and all three are great films...I look forward to adding to this collection and I hope they fix the cover issue, I wish they had half Stars So I could give this review 4 1/2 stars but if you have kids and watch movies ALL the time this may become a problem as the inside edges of the plexiglass is VERY sharp. I'm not sure how the covers will hold up after heavy usage as the covers bend on the front and back and the spine is left un-cracked and you can hear the covers creaking (this may have been what caused the covers to come out of there bindings) After they work out the kinks this will be perfect if you're a single person ,a couple with no kids, or older kids who take care of things but not for homes with small children unless you place them out of reach... I can't wait for the next batch to come out, the only other problem is these are about $27 each and with most Blu-Rays at $15.99-19.99 when the first come out if you're on a budget this may be a little pricey for you but if you love Cinema then you'll love these...GREAT JOB SONY!!! more DIGIBOOKS!!!

"Fantastic Acting, Wonderful Story, Great Photography and Exciting, Unusual and Original Music Score" would have been my review title if there was enough room. I will not repeat the story line because so many others have done so. The story is carried by the three main actors: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman and Natalie Portman, each of whom could have earned an Oscar for their acting in this film. Their characters are larger than life and each is a contradiction in themselves. Reno is a skilled professional hit man but can have childlike innocence. Oldman is a top DEA agent and a truly evil drug addict/dealer who loves Beethoven. Portman is a child with much innocence having been taken from her by her mother and father and the life style to which they exposed her. Oldman also robbed her of much innocence early in the film. The tension and attraction among the three, which is enhanced by their personal contradictions, is the meat of the screenplay that these great actors take advantage of which makes this film so absolutely special. I have yet to see any other film that completely engrosses me in the same way. There is a good bit of violence, but each of the main characters is violent in their own way and accordingly, it does not seem gratuitous. Also driving the violence is the significant drug presence surrounding Oldman's character and his subordinates as well as the violence inherent to Reno's profession. All of this is packed into less than two hours of intensity with little break. Unless you are completely turned off to violence, even that which is necessary to the story, this film should capture you from beginning to end. I was somewhat saddened that a young Portman had to be subjected to such themes and occasional language since I would never have allowed my children to view this film until their late teens, if then.The first time I saw The Professional, I clearly remember that the only thing I could say upon its conclusion was "WOW!". If you have not seen it, I highly recommend it and believe there is a good chance of it becoming one of your favorites as well.

Glad I got around watching one of Luc Besson's finest films. Years ago I made the mistake of buying the American edited version of this film titled The Professional which is a heavy edited version which ruins the story by taking a lot of scenes out of Luc's film. Make sure to get Leon The Professional to enjoy this early 90s crime, action film.Plot follows Leon an Italian hitman who calls himself a "Cleaner" talking out clients and keeping all his money at Tony's restaurant who handles the jobs for him. One day when returning from a job Leon meets Mathilda an young girl who lives next door to him in the apartment which life isn't easy for her with abusive parents and a mean half sister. Only member of Mathilda's family she cares for is 4 year old brother. Her father owns a crooked and heavily drug addict DEA cop Norman Stansfield cut of cocaine which he's hiding from.When Norman returns the next day to pick it up he kills every member of Mathilda's family and one of Norman's crew kills Mathilda's little brother. Leon saves Mathilda by hiding out in his apartment and wants revenge for the death of little brother. Leon then begins training her into becoming a Cleaner while moving from apartment to another to avoid the heat. After being wounded during a job Mathilda begins helping out Leon with his hits then go after the drug dealer who sold the cocaine to her father. Norman who lost one of his crew during a hit storms into Tony's restaurant and is dying to meet Leon.Luc's fine writing into a very well crafted story with very detailed characters, lovely scenery shots of early 90s of New York City and a nice added touch of action and some dark humor.