Léon: The Professional

"If you want the job done right, hire a professional."

1994 1h 51m FR

🙌

8.3

BANGER

🍅

76%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

8.5

IMDB

★8.3TMDB · 16,610🍅76%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★8.5IMDB · 1,348,574

CrimeDramaAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

“If you want the job done right, hire a professional.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Sundance NowSubscription

Sony Pictures Core Amazon ChannelSubscription

Amazon VideoRent

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Jean Reno
Léon Montana
Natalie Portman
Mathilda Lando
Gary Oldman
Norman Stansfield
Danny Aiello
Old Tony
Peter Appel
Agent Malky
Michael Badalucco
Mathilda's Father
Ellen Greene
Mathilda's Mother
Frank Senger
Fatman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Luc Besson
Writers: Luc Besson
Languages: English, French, Italian
Countries: France

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

32 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Italian.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Luc Besson, shot by Thierry Arbogast. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Éric Serra. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Sylvie Landra shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Jean Reno and Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If you want the job done right, hire a professional.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0110413 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Luc Besson directs. Thierry Arbogast behind the camera. Éric Serra scores. Sylvie Landra cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in France. Dialogue in English, French, Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

132 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Italian.
3Directed by Luc Besson, shot by Thierry Arbogast. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Éric Serra. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Sylvie Landra shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Jean Reno and Natalie Portman and Gary Oldman carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "If you want the job done right, hire a professional.".
8IMDB entry: tt0110413 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
916,610 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
10Classified under 19 themes, including "hotel room", "new york city", "immigrant", "assassin".
11Released under 18 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Thierry Arbogast
Original score: Éric Serra
Editing: Sylvie Landra
Production design: Dan Weil
Costume design: Magali Guidasci
Makeup / hair: Geneviève Peyralade
Sound: Bruno Tarrière
Stunt coordinator: Peter Bucossi
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $16,000,000
Box office: $20,330,788
Return: 127% of budget
Original language: FR
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Léon: The Professional (1994)
Rotten Tomatoes: 76% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 8.5/10 · 1,348,574 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

5 wins & 16 nominations total

Also by

Luc Besson

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

rozmiarek2021-09-04
★ 10/10
HOW TO MAKE A FEMALE ASSASSIN. TRAUMA, TRAINING THEN GET HER EXTRA ANGRY. NATILIE PORTMANS FIRST ASSASSIN ROLE AND HOPEFULLY NOT HER LAST. WE NEED A PART 2 TO THIS MOVIE.
Niemand2023-08-06
This films stars a 12-year old Natalie Portman as Mathilda, a girl living with her abusive stepfather, a step-sister, mother, and four-year old brother. She doesn’t care for any of these people except her brother. One day, she returns home from getting the groceries to find corrupt DEA agents have killed her entire family. Key amongst those agents is Stansfield, played by Gary Oldman. Seeking refuge in the flat of a neighbour she had befriended earlier, Léon (Jean Reno), she learns that he is a hitman. She makes a deal with him: she will look after the flat by doing the domestic chores if he will teach her how to get revenge on the men who killed her brother. Strange though the synopsis may be, the relationship between Léon and Mathilda is kept innocent, and the scenes between the two are believable. Mathilda’s sexual awareness is at a nascent stage and her exposure to the sordid side of life with her recently deceased family (her step-father worked for drug-dealers) means she is perhaps not as innocent as most 12-year old girls; however, Léon is unwilling to take advantage of the situation. This means the story can focus on the platonic relationship between the two, the bond that develops between them, and how each affects the other’s life. Although it may seem a little far-fetched that a young girl would accompany a hitman during his work, Léon ensures that her assistance is required only on fairly routine hits that follow a well-defined pattern. For the more complex hits he leaves her behind. There is a thread of humour running through the film, but you must bear in mind the film is framed in the world of corruption and greed and all is not sweet and light, and graphic violence is depicted. Jean Reno is wonderful as the extremely good but placid hitman, whose whole outlook on life is changed by the young Mathilda, played wonderfully by Natalie Portman in her first film. I’ve not read it, but I understand that Eppie has a similar effect on Silas Marner, as described in the book of the same name. I found Gary Oldman’s performance histrionic, the only let-down in the film, albeit not something that spoilt the film as a whole. Recommended.

Production companies