By Ulf
Jan 10, 2005, 22:08 GMT
Two top movies for home theatre owners get a rerelease and are for sale tomorrow. Although both of them are directed by Luc Besson, they are very different movies.
Leon - The Professional , released 1994, despite its action packed final, is a more quiet movie about two lost souls searching for compassion and love. The now released Deluxe Edition features a 10-year retroperspective, and specials about Reno and Portman.
Natalie Portman started her international career with this movie. Casting her as little tough Mathilda shows Bessons instinct for suberb acting qualities.
Jean Reno has worked with Besson before (e.g. in The Big Blue) but this movie probably boosted his international carrer the most. He plays the ice-cold cleaner, who in his heart longs for love and a family, with a fantastic intensity.
The Fifth Element , released 1997, on the other hand is just colorful, with a steady fast pace and with no intellectual intention to speak of. But in my opinion it is one of the visually most impressing, intelligent, funniest and yet action-packed Science Fiction movies of all times. The Ultimate Edition is the third DVD release and contains 120 minutes of never-before-seen exclusive featurettes: The Digital Element, The Visual Element, The Star Element, The Fashion Element, The Diva.
Starring Bruce Willis on the top of his career (sorry Bruce, nothing personal :-) accompanied by other great actors like Chris Tucker or Milla Jovovich in her first big role.
So what do they have in common except the director? The answer is Gary Oldman. Co-starring in both movies, he plays the evil part with the intensity and in the professional manner we know from other movies like Dracula. He is the corrupt and crazy police officer Stansfield in Leon and the equally crazy Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg in the 5th Element. Although Luc Besson moved from directing into producing over the last couple of years, I hope that they might come together again.Read more details about the Fifth Element and about Leon in our database
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