Reviews (339)

One of the greatest films ever.
I think this film is a masterpiece. Luc Besson has beautifully directed this achievement and it is probably his best film (Fifth Element aside). The best thing about this film is the different emotions you feel. You feel hatred, happiness, worry, and sadness all for one character. Leon is a professional (hence the title) cleaner, or hitman. He is a very alone person who has no friends. He does have a soft spot for the 12 year old girl Mathilda(wonderfully portrayed by Natalie Portman). When Mathilda's family is killed, she stays with Leon, but she wants revenge. Leon begins teaching her the tricks of the trade which provides some very funny moments. They begin to get very close, and he feels love for the girl. I will not ruin the whoile story for you but it really is a must see.Jean Reno was born for this part and Gary Oldman plays the eccentric bad guy very well. This movie does have some explosive action scenes, but it is really more of a drama. Yes there is a directors cut which in my opinion isn't much better than the regular and the regular is 10 bucks cheaper. Buy this film either way and you will be wonderfully happy with your purchase.

Best Film Ever Made. Natalie Portman is Perfect.
This movie has, what I beleive, the best performance from a child actor ever, from a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. Her character Mathilda shows the innocence of a kid, and the depth of a person out for revenge. Why she didn't get an Oscar is beyond me. And this was her first movie.

The story is really good. A hitman named Leon (Jean Reno) helps a girl named Mathilda after her family is shot down by corrupt DEA officers led by Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman). When she finds out about Leon's job as a "cleaner" she asks to be trained as a hitman to avenge her little brother's death. Despite Leon's concerns he teaches her anyway, but over the course of his teachings, Mathilda develops feelings for him. This is something the uncut version explores a little deeper.

I suppose some of the scenes were taken from the American release for their subject matter. A scene where Mathilda wants to take her love for Leon to the next level really gives a good insight into Leon's past. It dosen't lead to anything between the two, so I don't see why they cut it. Other scenes included are Leon giving Mathilda some on the job training when he goes on his hits. I can see where some groups in America could have protested that, but it makes their relationship more deeper and complex.

An outstanding film, you really should see this version to get the whole story. I highly recommend it, it is my favorite of all time. Luc Besson's masterpiece can be fully appreciated on this release. I've been hearing rumors about a sequel in the works. I can only pray it's true, but this film is a tough act to follow.

Natalie Portman in her best role!
I don't usually like to watch movies about hit men or cops and robbers. I remember I got interested in this movie because of two things: Luc Besson's movie the Fifth Element, which was so wildly different and fascinating that I wanted to see what else this French director had done; and secondly, seeing Natalie Portman for the first time in the Star Wars: Phantom Menace movie.

Behind all of the dense make up and bad script and horribly non-existent directing from George Lucas in Phantom Menace, I sensed in Natalie Portman one heck of a terrific young actress struggling to come up with a meaningful performance. In "Leon - The Professional", working with a superb director, her acting talent is on full display.

When one thinks of modern day child actors, Anna Paquin comes to mind, in "The Piano", because she aced out some terrific adult actresses in 1993 to win the Oscar. Well, Natalie Portman, at age 12, had Anna Paquin beat by a mile in this movie, since her character takes up about half of the movie. If not for the truly unusual and off-beat story line of this movie, Portman would have gotten a lot more attention for her role in this movie, I think.

If you just focus on Portman's facial expressions and the way she carries herself in this movie, she goes through an amazing acting range in this movie, from hurt, terrified, bored, stuck up, cool and calculating, manipulative, sweet, child-like, and pubescent sexual allure.

As mentioned by other reviewers, the uncut version restores scenes that basically give a harder edge to Natalie Portman's character. The additional scenes of her assassin training with Leon and her efforts to attract and get closer to Leon definitely put her character in a harsher light. I remember from my first viewing of the cut U.S. version that Mathilda came across as a much more sweet and innocent child. The uncut version shows her more to be a hardened child of the mean streets of New York. Given the usual Hollywood propensities, it's not that surprising that these scenes got cut for the U.S. release. The uncut version does show the fullest acting range of Natalie Portman, even if they make her character less sympathetic.

Basically, the movie skates close to, but avoids the pedophilia controversies of the "Lolita" movies by having the character of Leon adhere to a strict code of ethics that firmly blocks all of Mathilda's advances. Even at the end, when he kisses her good-by and says that he loves her, it is clearly in the vein of being her protector and a big brother/father surrogate figure.

All in all, this was a great movie. Jean Reno was just so hauntingly sad as the loner-assassin Leon. Gary Oldman was definitely over the top in his portrayal of the crazed DEA agent - you almost expected his Dracula fangs to come out and his eyes to glow red when he popped those pills into his mouth.

So all of you Natalie Portman fans, this movie is a definite must-see. All of you Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones haters who think that Natalie Portman can't act, you've got to see this movie to understand that no, Natalie Portman is a terrific actress. It's just really, really tough to play opposite total stiffs like Hayden Christiansen and Jake Lloyd, working with an idiot director like George Lucas.

Got Milk?
There's hardly anything I can say that will do justice to the splendor of 'Leon - The Professional'. The insanity of both the action sequences and Gary Oldman's performance... the touching love story of 2 lonely outcasts... the fantastic cinematography... the heart-breaking tragedy... the pulsing score... the violent life of a shy, milk-drinking, plant-loving hitman... the soul of an innocent little girl... the blistering, chaotic, blood-drenched fury that lives in all 3 of these characters...

...Wow...

...It's just a vortex of beautiful destruction. All these things crammed into one amazing film. A remarkable cast giving remarkable performances, and a very visual director shoving this seething powerhouse of a film right in our faces...

Like I said, there's nothing I can say. So, just believe me when I tell you that this is a very great film.

Great cinematic masterpiece
REALLY GREAT! IT WAS DONE LIKE A FOREIGN FILM, BUT I REALLY LOVED THE WAY IT WAS DONE. AND THE ACTING WAS GREAT! ... Read more

Reviews (124)

Easily John Woo/Chow Yun Fat's best!
The Killer is a beautiful action/drama masterpiece. It is the best work I have yet to see done by both director John Woo and HK superstar Chow Yun Fat(both of whose movies I am familiar with.) The rest of the cast (including Danny Lee and Sally Yeh) are superb. The sheer grace and flair of the seamlessly choreographed gunfights to the poignancy of the gripping story of a professional hitman trying to cut clean, while gradually falling in love with a victim he accidently blinds in a shootout are all executed perfectly. This movie is not your standard action fare, as it goes deep into the mind of the killers, and depicts the characters trying to live a life that is honorable in a world that is so corrupt and sinister. The bottom line of the movie is quoted by CYF toward the beginning of the film: "Not everybody in this world is untrustworthy." Underlying the blazing guns and implied emotional battles, lies a tale of loyalty, trust and friendship. John Woo epitimizes this movie by proving that the action is not present simply for the sake of action, but instead for clean moviemaking and plot. As for the quality of the DVD itself, the picture is very clear for an older movie (1989) and the features and menu setup is very stylishly done... just don't watch the trailers, they do severe injustice to the featured films (The Killer and Hard Boiled) and contain spoilers. For hardcore HK movie buffs, the Cantonese language track with English subtitles is the definite route to take. The English track is butchered and incomplete, not to mention hard to understand and silly-sounding. I highly recomend watching this movie in it's original language (the way it was intended to be heard) as it is much more powerful this way. If you plan on purchasing this movie, though, I would instead recommend you buy the John Woo 2 DVD pack, which includes both this edition of The Killer and also Hard Boiled, another John Woo/CYF compilation.

The Story of a Hitman with a Heart
Because I'm a 13 year old boy(and a fan of Chow Yun-Fat and John Woo), I was just looking for the best action movie of all time. I ended up with something better, a dramatic, well though-out action film. It may not be "The Matrix", but "The Killer" was awesome. It was a movie filled with mayhem and bullets. And there was so much action. Jeffrey is a hitman with a heart who, during his last hit, accidentally blinds a woman with a gun. Because he's not a cold-hearted hitman, he decides to do one more hit to pay for an operation that will keep her from going blind. Lee is a cop who wants to stop Jeffrey from making his last hit. Jeffrey is betrayed by the mob that hired him and is put in war against all odds. Jeffrey and Lee put aside their differences to blur the line between them. Together they blast through the war leading to a climatic battle that is John Woo's best battle ever. Even though I'm only 13, I know good acting when I see it. This movie has been throned "THE Movie of Mayhem".Don't bother renting it, just buy the DVD.

"One Vicious Hitman. One Fierce Cop. Ten Thousand Bullets."

John Woo & Chow Yun Fat...nuff said!
The Killer is the perfect example of cinema in its most powerful form. Expression...every bullet, every conversation & every scene just flows so beautifully & expressively it just blows me away. Unexplainable. Very deep & mythological story, unlike anything ive ever seen! U just have to see it. & see it. It will make u think to yourself, "what the hell is the average Hollywood budget gettin wasted on?? Promotion!!?? " John Woo on the other hand does not need $100,000,000 to truley express himself, hell, he doesn't even need the highest quality celluloid to make his films stunningly beatiful.. The Killer is no exception, John Woo is such a masterful director, no wonder why Hollywood have been ripping him off long before they invited him to join 'em!
& unlike most action films of mindless "invincibilty" plots & stupid reasons for massive shootouts, this has a cause for every piece of stunningly choerographed action...& consequences to join the equation.
If youve only seen Chow Yun Fat in his American films (Replacement Killers & Bulletproof Monk e.t.c), you really havent his true styles & capabilities. Get THE KILLER, & youll know why Hollywood have copied J.Woo's style of genius direction more times than a photo-copier has copied paper!
This is John Woo at his purest form, & Chow in his true style.
The John Woo & Chow Yun Fat combo is like the Sergio Leone & Clint Eastwood combo= Classics!
Get this if u like a deep, moving story, awesome acting, & action that sychronizes perfectly. (Also check out other J. Woo classics, Hard Boiled, A Better Tommorow 1 & 2, & Bullet in the Head!)
.....Nobody does action like Honk Kong...Nobody does Honk Kong like John Woo...

Best...action movie...ever!
Filled with grit, emotion, and psychological depth, not to mention lots and lots of blood, "The Killer" is the kind of passion play that is seen all too rarely in any style of film, let alone the action genre. In fact, John Woo's Hong Kong shoot-'em-up masterpiece resembles nothing so much as Shakespeare with thousands of bullets flying around. In this case the role of the tragic hero is assumed by Jeffrey, played in career-defining fashion by Chow Yun-Fat. Jeffrey is an amiable enough sort, who also just happens to be a fearless, unstoppable assassin with a steely glare and a deadly accurate shot. But when he accidentally blinds a lovely torch singer named Jenny while mowing down about a dozen criminals in a crowded bar, Jeffrey finds some new meaning in his life by assuming responsibility for the woman, even going so far as to try to get her a vision-restoring cornea transplant. However, everything is far from hunky-dory for Jeffrey and his ward: after committing one last job to get the money for Jenny's operation, Jeffrey finds himself pursued by a small army of thugs as well as Chang and Li, two relentless detectives. Oh, and his best friend and associate Sidney has (temporarily) betrayed him. With all that's going on, the stage is set for a struggle on an operatic scale, with Chow giving his character just the right mix of warmth and gravity.

As one would expect from a film directed by Woo, with Chow in the starring role, "The Killer" contains more than its fair share of shootouts and chase scenes, all filmed with Woo's signature frenetic visual style. However, it's what happens when the movie slows down that sets it apart from the pack. "The Killer" is as much a drama as it is an action yarn, and it's a mighty good drama at that. There are a bunch of scenes here that got my adrenaline flowing, but even more impressive, some moments practically moved me to tears (emphasis on the word "practically"). Behind the constant action is an often-moving tale of devotion, honor, redemption, and friendship in the unlikely setting of the criminal underworld. The lines between good and bad, right and wrong, cop and criminal, are all blurred in a haze of moral ambiguity and divided loyalties. While Jeffrey and Sidney attempt to restore trust after Sidney's betrayal, an unlikely bond forms between Jeffrey and Li as the detective and the assassin realize they're not that different after all.

As the story unfolds, building toward the inevitable confrontation, the tension and the emotional stakes only rise along with the body count. Woo manages to elevate the crime drama to poetry, whether during a taut action sequence or a subdued conversation scene. The movie's deservedly legendary finale, involving a crazed gun battle inside a church, is the only appropriate conclusion. The viewer certainly needs some catharsis after such a harrowing journey, and Woo more than delivers the goods. "The Killer" is one of the few movies of its ilk that can legitimately be called art.

=====Respect Hong Kong Cinema =======
===========Hong Kong action and John Woo should be greatly respected by Hollywood b/c most of his movies like THe Killer, Hard Boiled and The Better Tomorrow Series are being ripped off by Hollywood directors such as the movie "DESPERADO," "RESEVIOR DOGS" and etc. The Hong kong cinema should be credited by hollywood.==================== ... Read more

Reviews (339)

One of the greatest films ever.
I think this film is a masterpiece. Luc Besson has beautifully directed this achievement and it is probably his best film (Fifth Element aside). The best thing about this film is the different emotions you feel. You feel hatred, happiness, worry, and sadness all for one character. Leon is a professional (hence the title) cleaner, or hitman. He is a very alone person who has no friends. He does have a soft spot for the 12 year old girl Mathilda(wonderfully portrayed by Natalie Portman). When Mathilda's family is killed, she stays with Leon, but she wants revenge. Leon begins teaching her the tricks of the trade which provides some very funny moments. They begin to get very close, and he feels love for the girl. I will not ruin the whoile story for you but it really is a must see.Jean Reno was born for this part and Gary Oldman plays the eccentric bad guy very well. This movie does have some explosive action scenes, but it is really more of a drama. Yes there is a directors cut which in my opinion isn't much better than the regular and the regular is 10 bucks cheaper. Buy this film either way and you will be wonderfully happy with your purchase.

Best Film Ever Made. Natalie Portman is Perfect.
This movie has, what I beleive, the best performance from a child actor ever, from a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. Her character Mathilda shows the innocence of a kid, and the depth of a person out for revenge. Why she didn't get an Oscar is beyond me. And this was her first movie.

The story is really good. A hitman named Leon (Jean Reno) helps a girl named Mathilda after her family is shot down by corrupt DEA officers led by Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman). When she finds out about Leon's job as a "cleaner" she asks to be trained as a hitman to avenge her little brother's death. Despite Leon's concerns he teaches her anyway, but over the course of his teachings, Mathilda develops feelings for him. This is something the uncut version explores a little deeper.

I suppose some of the scenes were taken from the American release for their subject matter. A scene where Mathilda wants to take her love for Leon to the next level really gives a good insight into Leon's past. It dosen't lead to anything between the two, so I don't see why they cut it. Other scenes included are Leon giving Mathilda some on the job training when he goes on his hits. I can see where some groups in America could have protested that, but it makes their relationship more deeper and complex.

An outstanding film, you really should see this version to get the whole story. I highly recommend it, it is my favorite of all time. Luc Besson's masterpiece can be fully appreciated on this release. I've been hearing rumors about a sequel in the works. I can only pray it's true, but this film is a tough act to follow.

Natalie Portman in her best role!
I don't usually like to watch movies about hit men or cops and robbers. I remember I got interested in this movie because of two things: Luc Besson's movie the Fifth Element, which was so wildly different and fascinating that I wanted to see what else this French director had done; and secondly, seeing Natalie Portman for the first time in the Star Wars: Phantom Menace movie.

Behind all of the dense make up and bad script and horribly non-existent directing from George Lucas in Phantom Menace, I sensed in Natalie Portman one heck of a terrific young actress struggling to come up with a meaningful performance. In "Leon - The Professional", working with a superb director, her acting talent is on full display.

When one thinks of modern day child actors, Anna Paquin comes to mind, in "The Piano", because she aced out some terrific adult actresses in 1993 to win the Oscar. Well, Natalie Portman, at age 12, had Anna Paquin beat by a mile in this movie, since her character takes up about half of the movie. If not for the truly unusual and off-beat story line of this movie, Portman would have gotten a lot more attention for her role in this movie, I think.

If you just focus on Portman's facial expressions and the way she carries herself in this movie, she goes through an amazing acting range in this movie, from hurt, terrified, bored, stuck up, cool and calculating, manipulative, sweet, child-like, and pubescent sexual allure.

As mentioned by other reviewers, the uncut version restores scenes that basically give a harder edge to Natalie Portman's character. The additional scenes of her assassin training with Leon and her efforts to attract and get closer to Leon definitely put her character in a harsher light. I remember from my first viewing of the cut U.S. version that Mathilda came across as a much more sweet and innocent child. The uncut version shows her more to be a hardened child of the mean streets of New York. Given the usual Hollywood propensities, it's not that surprising that these scenes got cut for the U.S. release. The uncut version does show the fullest acting range of Natalie Portman, even if they make her character less sympathetic.

Basically, the movie skates close to, but avoids the pedophilia controversies of the "Lolita" movies by having the character of Leon adhere to a strict code of ethics that firmly blocks all of Mathilda's advances. Even at the end, when he kisses her good-by and says that he loves her, it is clearly in the vein of being her protector and a big brother/father surrogate figure.

All in all, this was a great movie. Jean Reno was just so hauntingly sad as the loner-assassin Leon. Gary Oldman was definitely over the top in his portrayal of the crazed DEA agent - you almost expected his Dracula fangs to come out and his eyes to glow red when he popped those pills into his mouth.

So all of you Natalie Portman fans, this movie is a definite must-see. All of you Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones haters who think that Natalie Portman can't act, you've got to see this movie to understand that no, Natalie Portman is a terrific actress. It's just really, really tough to play opposite total stiffs like Hayden Christiansen and Jake Lloyd, working with an idiot director like George Lucas.

Got Milk?
There's hardly anything I can say that will do justice to the splendor of 'Leon - The Professional'. The insanity of both the action sequences and Gary Oldman's performance... the touching love story of 2 lonely outcasts... the fantastic cinematography... the heart-breaking tragedy... the pulsing score... the violent life of a shy, milk-drinking, plant-loving hitman... the soul of an innocent little girl... the blistering, chaotic, blood-drenched fury that lives in all 3 of these characters...

...Wow...

...It's just a vortex of beautiful destruction. All these things crammed into one amazing film. A remarkable cast giving remarkable performances, and a very visual director shoving this seething powerhouse of a film right in our faces...

Like I said, there's nothing I can say. So, just believe me when I tell you that this is a very great film.

Great cinematic masterpiece
REALLY GREAT! IT WAS DONE LIKE A FOREIGN FILM, BUT I REALLY LOVED THE WAY IT WAS DONE. AND THE ACTING WAS GREAT! ... Read more

Amazon.com

You wouldn't think a movie that's mostly two old guys talking could be athriller, but that's exactly what Man on the Train is. Frenchsinger Johnny Hallyday plays a professional criminal who comes to a smalltown to take part in a robbery. By chance, he meets talkative JeanRochefort (The Hairdresser's Husband), who invites the laconicHallyday to stay at his house because the hotel is closed. The two form anunlikely friendship, each curious about (and envious of) the other's life.But all the while plans for the robbery continue, while Rochefort ispreparing for a dangerous event of his own. The pitch-perfect performancesmake Man on the Train completely involving. Rochefort and Hallydayplay off of each other beautifully; it's impossible to put your finger onwhat makes these subtle, supple scenes so magnetic. Directed with spareauthority by Patrice Leconte (Ridicule). --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (24)

Another wonderful French film
Two men of entirely different makes, have a chance meeting in a small French town drugstore. One, a quiet midlife bank robber and the movie's namesake, has arrived by train in order to case the town's bank and prepare a team to rob it. The other, a much older chatterbox, is a retired French teacher, and still tutors children, as well as read poetry and play the piano. The bank robber yearns for a more peaceful and quiet life, whereas the teacher longs for excitement, fearing that his life is close to finishing. The bank robber, by means of unforeseen circumstances, is forced to stay at the teacher's home for the week while he prepares his work. The unlikely pair begin a tender friendship that starts to move both men toward the things they are really looking for in life. By the end of the week, both men have been affected in ways that will change their life for good.

This movie is a character piece. No sex, minimal violence. It moves in a slow but very steady pace. The director recognizes that this is a movie based on dialogue, and the things going on in the two protagonists' heads. It's very enjoyable and yet just another wonderful film coming out of France.

Understated, Curious Character Study.
A stranger arrives in a sleepy French town with plans to rob its bank. The man is Milan (Johnny Hallyday), an aging and world-weary career criminal. When he discovers that the town's hotel is closed, an elderly gentleman invites Milan to stay in his home. The elderly man is Monsieur Manesquier (Jean Rochefort), a retired literature teacher whose life has always been routine, and now the routine is spent mostly alone in his family's lovely but somewhat dilapidated mansion. As these two men spend time observing each other, each man is drawn by curiosity to the other man's lifestyle. They both begin to see long-dormant aspects of their own characters in the other man. As their growing friendship induces in each man a new way of seeing himself, the two men develop a taciturn but deep bond.

"The Man on the Train" is a stereotypical French film in that nothing actually happens overtly. The action is all internal, in the hearts and minds of Milan and M. Manesquier. It is less typical of a French film in that not much is said either. Milan is a laconic character, and M. Manesquier likes to talk but seems to lack anyone to talk to. This is a quiet film that actually seems to distrust language. The story of these two unlikely companions discovering each other in themselves is told through two sensitive, outstanding performances by Jean Rochefort and Johnny Hallyday and through the cinematography of Jean-Marie Dreujou. I could have done with less filtration on some of the outdoor scenes, but Dreujou's cinematography really shines inside M. Manesquier's mansion. The camera work gives the audience the distinct impression of a closed, isolated space in which we are concealed observers of the unusual relationship that is developing between the two men. Fans of character studies will appreciate this little gem of a film. If that's you, "The Man on the Train" is highly recommended. French with English subtitles. There are no bonus features on the DVD, and the subtitles cannot be turned off.

slow and boring
Slow and boring. The first hour and fifteen minutes are nothing but a dawdling and pointless dialogue between two very different strangers who become somewhat of friends. If you are still awake for the last 15 minutes, there is a very brief moment of action. The music is intentionally reminiscent of an American Western but since the film is set in a modern French town, it's a combination that didn't appeal to me in the least. The picture quality is great, however the English subtitles are fixed, and can't be removed. Furthermore the translations aren't completely accurate, and they are often poorly timed.

Great film pity about the fixed English subtitles
The irremovable English subtitles get in the way especially if you are trying to learn a language. Normally subtitles are optional, these are not.

Cute Flick
I loved the characters in this film. The old retired teacher in a small French town, invites a raggedy drifter who is in town (to rob a bank), to stay in his mansion since the local hotel is closed for the season. As the film progresses, each begin to admire the others' way of life. The old teacher, who is a very loveable person, is in love with American western movies, and tries to start fights, but just can't, since he is so well known and respected. The drifter is the silent type who gets a chance to try on slippers for the very first time while with the teacher.
This film really drew me into the protagonists' lives, and though I'm not really sure if there is a definite moral to it, it kept me thinking of my own life, and the choices that I've made, and why I chose what I did. This is a great film if you're looking for something to inspire you into gaining some hindsight.
The acting is terrific, the script is lovely, this is a must-see for all drama aficionados. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

A big load of bad
It's been a long time since I've watched a good chop-sokky flick, so last night I rented Jet Li's Contract Killer. Apparently, it was his last Hong Kong movie. Until now, I thought Jet Li's Hong Kong films are vastly superior to his North American ones.

My opinion has been altered a bit.

In general, his Hong Kong flicks are better. Contract Killer, however, is a big load of bad. I will give the benefit of the doubt, though. I watched a dubbed version (why are dubbed movies always so incredibly awful?), so perhaps part of the problem was the translation. There were many places in the film where character reactions and plot points really made no sense at all. This could have been because of horrific dubbing and translation. I'm sure it's much more watchable in Cantonese.

Nonetheless, even barring the translation barrier, this film had several strikes against it. First of all, what was with the camera work? One of the cameras had a badly-scuffed lens, and black scratch marks distracted me from quite a few scenes. Also, the big fight in the elevator shaft was so dark that I really didn't have a clue what was going on. I had no idea who was hitting who, or how.

Next, the story (as in most martial arts flicks) was pretty silly. This one seemed to be an Asian knock-off of The Boondock Saints, right down to the name of the mysterious vigilante (The King of Killers) and his over-the-top appearance during a hit (like in The Boondock Saints, he appeared from the ceiling hanging by his feet from a rope with guns blazing).

Fu's (Jet Li's character) motivations seemed blatantly artificial, as well. He's a poor ex-soldier from China who has promised to buy his mother a big mansion. He decides to come to Hong Kong to become a hitman, yet his people-loving ways mean he doesn't want to hurt anyone.

As a minor point, yet one which did distract me many times throughout the film, Jet Li has an AWFUL case of acne. In most movies, the makeup people will do a half-way decent job of covering up blemishes, but it looks like no one bothered even trying for this movie. Jet Li has an amazing crop of blackheads and whiteheads. His face looks like a horrible pizza. Poor guy. And poor me, when I keep thinking, "Pop it, already!" during closeups of the pus-filled bumps on his neck and cheeks. Eeeurgh.

On the plus side, the fight scenes that were visible (like the climactic end scene) are solid. I was pleased to see a dearth of wire tricks. I really prefer movies with unadulterated martial arts. It really showcases the actors' abilities.

More Jet Li...That Can't Be Bad
God's hitman. That is how people describe a killer who has been eliminating rich bad guys for little or no fee. It seems one particular bad guy covered himself pretty well, establishing a super fund that pays off to anyone who finds his would-be killer, a smart form of insurance. Fu (Jet Li) and the "Crocodile Man" (Eric Tsang) join in the hunt, and the story goes from there.

Surprisingly enough, this is a very complete movie in terms of emotions; it's not all shoot, kill and kick. Crocodile Man Tsang steals the movie, pulling off a convincing con man who manages to convice Fu that he needs an agent. His acting verges on overkill, but his portrayal of a betrayed, repentant father, a hardened ex-killer, a fearful target and a saddened friend all invite the viewer to share in his emotions. Actress/Singer (aren't they all?) Gigi Leung provides a pretty face for the movie, and actually adds a dimension to the personalities of Li and Tsang's characters.

Jet Li's acrobatics are showcased not only for fighting; the opening sequence shows him weaving in and out of traffic and pedestrians to retrieve some change that had dropped through a hole in his pants. He is also asked to beat up some restaurant patrons to prove to Tsang that he is worthy of the job. His skills are also showcased in escape scenes, more protective roles, and even ice skating--not your usual Jet Li fare. His portrayal of a broke, extremely selective "killer" is both hilarious and frightening when it needs to be.

The fight scenes are on the same level as Bodyguard From Beijing or The Master, not quite Fist of Legend or Twin Warriors (Tai Chi Master) good, considering that the last two were kung fu heavy. It's a much more rounded film, where the light-hearted moments contrast nicely with the darker fight scenes.

Watch this in Chinese to get the full range of Tsang's vocal gyrations and swearing. Highly recommended for any kung fu collection.

Jet, what were you doing in this?
Jet Li as a contrac killer? Come on! The reason why this movie isn't that famous is because it pretty much sucks. It's just a shootem up bang bang type of movie. No realy kung fu here.

The King of Killer Kung Fu
In Jet Li's final Hong Kong film before he starred in "Lethal Weapon 4", he plays Fu, a former soldier and martial arts expert living in Hong Kong with four roommates while trying to support his mother. To be sure, he's NOT dirt poor, but he's still can't afford to let money fall out of his pocket and roll into oncoming traffic.

Fu knows there's big money in bounty hunting, and he get's his shot at it when a Japanese buissiness man/crime boss is executed by the legendary "King of Killers", a self-employed assassin who murders only rich bad guys. The dead guy knew he had a lot of foes on both sides of the law, and set up a "revenge fund" of a whoppin' $100 million to strike back from the grave.

The murder victim's grandson, Eiji Tsukumoto, just covets the massive reward, but Fu needs some dough as well, and partners up with an "agent" named Norman Lu (Eric Tsang), to find the King of Killers.

Easily one of the best of Jet Li's later Hong Kong flicks, CONTRACT KILLER (called HITMAN in Hong Kong) provides some of the best non-wire-fu martial arts scenes I've seen, particular the scenes where Jet Li is paired with a chopsocky adversary with rings and shoes that emit flashy lights to confuse his opponents. Now There's something you don't see everyday.

Sat sau ji wong
The original, Cantonese, title of this film is 'Sat sau ji wong'.

Also known as: 'King of Assassins' (1998), 'The Hitman'(1998) and 'Contract Killer'(2002).

This film is in many ways similiar to other HK action drama films however it does have a more unique premise: an aging Japanese corporate magnate and WW II veteran (he boasts of raping Chinese women) is assassinated by a mysterious hitman in black. This hitman, known as the King of Killers, is infamous for both his skill in killing as well as not accepting any payment for targeting people of rather suspect morality to kill.

The Japanese corporate director has established a special Revenge Fund which will pay $100,000,000 (USD) to whoever tracks down his killer.

Fu (Jet Li) is a mainlander in Hong Kong doing errands for a minor triad boss when he comes hears about the Revenge Fund and subsequently comes across Mr. Nor (Eric Tsang) a hustler who takes Fu for a skilled killer and decides to be his agent. He is really trying to cheat Fu out of most of the reward money.

The Japanese director's grandson Eiji (Keiji Sato) is out seeking revenge for his grandfather as well as greedy for the reward.

Kwan (Simon Yam) is the CID inspector who is also tracking down the mysterious King of Killers. Which itself has irony, but I won't spoil it for those who haven't seen the film ;-)

The plot develops as the principal characters above interact in a frantic race to find the King Of Killers.

This was Jet Li (Mandarin name is Li Lian Jie) last Hong Kong film (1998) before he moved on to greater paydays in Hollywood.

I prefer Jet Li's earlier films but this movie had a certain charm to it even though some plot elements were rather formulaic and charcter development was at times only 2 dimensional (Eiji in particular is portrayed rather over-the-top) while others are under developed (KiKi - Nor's daughter). I prefer Simon Yam's performances with Chow Yun Fat though he certainly did a good job in this film.

On a positive note the ending of this film has a nice twist to it. For those not accustomed to watching Hong Kong action/police films you may be a bit shocked by the level of violence. For example in a shoot out scene in a children's amusement park in the film there is a rather high body count as people are shot almost at random in a melee of gunfire. While it is a bit diturbing to see such levels of violence without proper context you must understand that there are different cultural moors at work in HK cinema. Many in the East would be similarly disturbed by the explicit sexual content of many Western films. So try not to let that sour you when watching this film.

Overall I recommend this movie, there is some well done sentimental moments buried inside the action. As a caveat I urge you to NOT buy the dubbed version. Instead, get the original version in Cantonese (with some Japanese) with English subtitles distributed by Tai Seng Video Marketing Inc. at www.taiseng.com

Zach ... Read more

Amazon.com

Marion Vernoux's romantic drama Love Etc. is based on a novel by Julian Barnes, but it echoes Truffaut's Jules and Jim (in spirit more than plot) in its examination of an impossible ménageà trois. Shy Yvan Attal and unlucky-in-love Charlotte Gainsbourg meet through a personal ad. Attal sent a picture of his handsome best friend, confident womanizer Charles Berling, but it matters little as they fall for each other's charm and sincerity. Inevitably, Berling joins the couple and the trio pals around until the marriage, when the outwardly confident but secretly lonely and desperate Berling realizes he too loves Gainsbourg and begins hounding her. Vernoux gets the best from her cast: Gainsbourg's awkward beauty and Attal's ruffled passivity create a sweetly believable couple, but there is room for lingering doubt. Berling has a lock on self-centered intellectuals in the French film industry, but here reveals a sad desperation and jealousy in his performance. Vernoux's light touch and playful asides suspend the film in a state of romantic comfort before the inevitable, sympathetic, but painful climax. What gives her modest tale character is the loving attention she gives each of the lovers and the generous, unexpected coda she rewards them--and us--with. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A Love Triangle.
This is a very French and very charming love story, filmed as only the French seem to know how with remarkable subtlety and sensitivity. Benoit, played by Yvan Attal, a shy and introverted bank-clerk, advertises for a girl friend and has the remarkable good fortune to meet the modest and appealing Marie, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is Yvan Attal's partner in real life. She doesn't feel any instant attraction but likes him because he is nice and kind - though, as it turns out, also dull and unimaginative. He takes her to meet his best friend Pierre, played by Charles Berling, (seen playing a similar obsessive lover in L'Ennui) and for over a year the three of them go about everywhere together. Then she marries Benoit with Pierre acting as his best-man.

But throughout this time Pierre has been trying to stifle his love for Marie and failing miserably. Able to stand it no longer he declares his love and Marie is horrified. She does her best to discourage him but over many months he pursues her with a persistence that not many men would be capable of.

And in the end, as we expect, his persistence pays off. What woman could withstand such ardent overtures from a charismatic man with a sense of humour? And he behaves in a lovable, unconventional way, - a bit in the style of Cary Grant - he lies spread-eagled in the middle of the road to stop an approaching car and he stands on his head when she takes his photograph at the sea-side, both actions a bit beyond the nice but plodding Benoit. When however, Benoit discovers their guilty secret he reacts violently, a scene that seems a little out of place in a film which up to that point has been pleasant and amusing.

Betrayed by his best friend and the woman he loves, and consequently losing them both, is it possible for him ever to be happy again? Well the film does end happily - if a little unconvincingly - to the accompaniment of a very moving and very French ballad. Believe me it will bring tears to your eyes.

When betrayal feels right..
If you are deceived at the very 1st step, how would you feel? If the picture that comes as a reply for your ad belongs not to the sender but to a close friend of his, does it mean that you are deceived? How would you react when "that" close friend of your husband says he is in love with you? Are in you love with your husband or the man in "that" picture? If you do feel deceived at the 1st step, would you admit it & enjoy adultery?

Marie, Benoit & Pierre form this infernal triangle with touching humour. Freely based on Barnes' novel "Talking it Over", Vernoux depicts an unforgettable romantic comedy, sometimes reaching the shores of a heart-wrenching drama. The artistry of Vernoux, however, is the way of juxtaposing these three different persons (and their different paths in reaching love) where the major virtues (or flaws) of being human become the intersection points. Surprisingly enough, the viewer feels close to the all three characters, appreciates & understands their motives, though the happiness of one means misery to the other. It is very striking to see how one can hurt the very dear ones with the pursuit of love & the bliss it brings. Vernoux, just like Barnes, frames this complexity in the lives of these three comical characters and, without being formal, harsh & biased, underpins the emotional havoc love can escort.

In fact, both the novel & the film mostly deal with the "etc." part, not the "love" part. After all, all emotions can blacken and/or become bitter with the "spicy" accumulation of these small "etc."s. This is actually what Marie, Benoit & Pierre experience. They hide, they deceive and they wish to find the love they deserve. Do they find it in the end? Well, they surely do, but it is shockingly (maybe preferably) different than the novel's original ending..

When it's about love, everything "seems" insignificant. Maybe that's when betrayal feels right..

Join in, and "Take This Waltz". It surely will linger in your mind for a long, long time.. ... Read more

Reviews (34)

I saw this in Paris in the 80's, and it just clicked
I was a lonely GI living in Germany in the early 80's and was in Paris for the weekend. A Parisian couple (Great folks, I've NEVER found Parisians to be anything but nice and warm people!) invited me to the film. We saw it near the George Pomp. (I can't spell...) center and it was marvelous. Enough has been analyzed about the film, but to me it struck a personal nerve/note on items of alienation, lonliness, and finally, warmth and acceptance. Screamin' Jay Hawkins "I put a spell on you" fits so well...it was genius to place it (and the boombox, in black and white on a lonely street corner...) in the film. I even bought his albums (that I could find).
Anyway, it's a slow movie, definitely art house, but if you're in a very expat (American) mood, or halfway intelligent, you'll get it. I think it would be interesting if the director did a more updated film on Imigrants. I have a friend who's parents are from Syria, who was brought up in the U.S. He is your typical (OK, well, we're like that) American, and when cousins visit from the Middle East they're in culture shock. I think if Jim J. did something with a Middle Eastern bent it would be interesting.

Mark

Tired of Hollywood Crap??? This is the Remedy.
What a refreshing change of pace this movie is from all those big-budget Hollywood bores. Finally on DVD, Jarmusch's great first flick is available once again to shine for movie lovers everywhere. It's basically just a slice of life piece on three characters: Willie, friend Eddie and Eva (Willie's cousin). Their lives are pretty much going nowhere, so they set out to Cleveland and later Florda to find paradise. But what they discover is that "whatever new place we go to, it all looks the same." There really is no message here, though, it's just a remarkable look into the lives of 3 real characters. Funny, touching and downright engrossing, it's a great little film. The DVD presents the B&W film in widescreen. The only "extra" is some soundless behind-the-scenes footage (in color) shot during filming. There is no trailer...(this is MGM you know).

A Perfect Movie
Maybe THE perfect movie, very funny, very close to the bone & improves immensely with each viewing.

Back when hip meant wise rather than trendy, I would have tagged it the hippest.

Paradise is in the wind
Brilliant deapan humor, slow timely dialog, low budget distinct look, raw though beautiful black and white production and stunning subtle performances by a small well placed cast. When Willie's (Lurie) Hungarian cousin Eva (Balint) comes to stay with him for a few weeks before retreating to Cleveland to stay with her Aunt, we experience, from a fly on the wall perspective, the boring lives of the two unfold. After Willie grows fond of her, he tracks her down in Cleveland along with his buddy Eddie (Edson) in search for something more in their dull existence. The three decide to voyage to Florida to escape the cold and dark environment, only to find similar dullness only in sunnier shades. Brilliant deapan originality and haunting story of three people looking for "Paradise" or any place that doesn't resemble hell. This is the greatest Indie flick ever made.. simple and honest the film's low budget production looks better than most. This one will stay with you and force you to look at our world differently from here on.

slowest film I ever loved
This is not an exciting film. It is a love story -- a platonic love story about an American, played by John Lurie, who "doesn't even consider himself part of [his] family anymore," who is forced by his mother to host a cousin who has just arrived from Europe. He wants nothing to do with her and her treats her [badly]. He's the kind of guy that wants to be cool, never show his emotions, you know the type. He and his best friend occupy themselves by cheating at poker and going to the track. As far as he is concerned, she's about as uncool as it gets. His cousin barely speaks English, and when she speaks she says what she thinks. That's how it starts out. I don't want to tell you the plot so... if you want to see where it goes check it out for yourself. ... Read more

Description

The Superbit titles utilize a special high bit rate digital encoding process which optimizes video quality while offering a choice of both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. These titles have been produced by a team of Sony Pictures Digital Studios video, sound and mastering engineers and comes housed in a special package complete with a 4 page booklet that contains technical information on the Superbit process. By reallocating space on the disc normally used for value-added content, Superbit DVDs can be encoded at double their normal bit rate while maintaining full compatibility with the DVD video format. ... Read more

Reviews (339)

One of the greatest films ever.
I think this film is a masterpiece. Luc Besson has beautifully directed this achievement and it is probably his best film (Fifth Element aside). The best thing about this film is the different emotions you feel. You feel hatred, happiness, worry, and sadness all for one character. Leon is a professional (hence the title) cleaner, or hitman. He is a very alone person who has no friends. He does have a soft spot for the 12 year old girl Mathilda(wonderfully portrayed by Natalie Portman). When Mathilda's family is killed, she stays with Leon, but she wants revenge. Leon begins teaching her the tricks of the trade which provides some very funny moments. They begin to get very close, and he feels love for the girl. I will not ruin the whoile story for you but it really is a must see.Jean Reno was born for this part and Gary Oldman plays the eccentric bad guy very well. This movie does have some explosive action scenes, but it is really more of a drama. Yes there is a directors cut which in my opinion isn't much better than the regular and the regular is 10 bucks cheaper. Buy this film either way and you will be wonderfully happy with your purchase.

Best Film Ever Made. Natalie Portman is Perfect.
This movie has, what I beleive, the best performance from a child actor ever, from a 12-year-old Natalie Portman. Her character Mathilda shows the innocence of a kid, and the depth of a person out for revenge. Why she didn't get an Oscar is beyond me. And this was her first movie.

The story is really good. A hitman named Leon (Jean Reno) helps a girl named Mathilda after her family is shot down by corrupt DEA officers led by Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman). When she finds out about Leon's job as a "cleaner" she asks to be trained as a hitman to avenge her little brother's death. Despite Leon's concerns he teaches her anyway, but over the course of his teachings, Mathilda develops feelings for him. This is something the uncut version explores a little deeper.

I suppose some of the scenes were taken from the American release for their subject matter. A scene where Mathilda wants to take her love for Leon to the next level really gives a good insight into Leon's past. It dosen't lead to anything between the two, so I don't see why they cut it. Other scenes included are Leon giving Mathilda some on the job training when he goes on his hits. I can see where some groups in America could have protested that, but it makes their relationship more deeper and complex.

An outstanding film, you really should see this version to get the whole story. I highly recommend it, it is my favorite of all time. Luc Besson's masterpiece can be fully appreciated on this release. I've been hearing rumors about a sequel in the works. I can only pray it's true, but this film is a tough act to follow.

Natalie Portman in her best role!
I don't usually like to watch movies about hit men or cops and robbers. I remember I got interested in this movie because of two things: Luc Besson's movie the Fifth Element, which was so wildly different and fascinating that I wanted to see what else this French director had done; and secondly, seeing Natalie Portman for the first time in the Star Wars: Phantom Menace movie.

Behind all of the dense make up and bad script and horribly non-existent directing from George Lucas in Phantom Menace, I sensed in Natalie Portman one heck of a terrific young actress struggling to come up with a meaningful performance. In "Leon - The Professional", working with a superb director, her acting talent is on full display.

When one thinks of modern day child actors, Anna Paquin comes to mind, in "The Piano", because she aced out some terrific adult actresses in 1993 to win the Oscar. Well, Natalie Portman, at age 12, had Anna Paquin beat by a mile in this movie, since her character takes up about half of the movie. If not for the truly unusual and off-beat story line of this movie, Portman would have gotten a lot more attention for her role in this movie, I think.

If you just focus on Portman's facial expressions and the way she carries herself in this movie, she goes through an amazing acting range in this movie, from hurt, terrified, bored, stuck up, cool and calculating, manipulative, sweet, child-like, and pubescent sexual allure.

As mentioned by other reviewers, the uncut version restores scenes that basically give a harder edge to Natalie Portman's character. The additional scenes of her assassin training with Leon and her efforts to attract and get closer to Leon definitely put her character in a harsher light. I remember from my first viewing of the cut U.S. version that Mathilda came across as a much more sweet and innocent child. The uncut version shows her more to be a hardened child of the mean streets of New York. Given the usual Hollywood propensities, it's not that surprising that these scenes got cut for the U.S. release. The uncut version does show the fullest acting range of Natalie Portman, even if they make her character less sympathetic.

Basically, the movie skates close to, but avoids the pedophilia controversies of the "Lolita" movies by having the character of Leon adhere to a strict code of ethics that firmly blocks all of Mathilda's advances. Even at the end, when he kisses her good-by and says that he loves her, it is clearly in the vein of being her protector and a big brother/father surrogate figure.

All in all, this was a great movie. Jean Reno was just so hauntingly sad as the loner-assassin Leon. Gary Oldman was definitely over the top in his portrayal of the crazed DEA agent - you almost expected his Dracula fangs to come out and his eyes to glow red when he popped those pills into his mouth.

So all of you Natalie Portman fans, this movie is a definite must-see. All of you Phantom Menace/Attack of the Clones haters who think that Natalie Portman can't act, you've got to see this movie to understand that no, Natalie Portman is a terrific actress. It's just really, really tough to play opposite total stiffs like Hayden Christiansen and Jake Lloyd, working with an idiot director like George Lucas.

Got Milk?
There's hardly anything I can say that will do justice to the splendor of 'Leon - The Professional'. The insanity of both the action sequences and Gary Oldman's performance... the touching love story of 2 lonely outcasts... the fantastic cinematography... the heart-breaking tragedy... the pulsing score... the violent life of a shy, milk-drinking, plant-loving hitman... the soul of an innocent little girl... the blistering, chaotic, blood-drenched fury that lives in all 3 of these characters...

...Wow...

...It's just a vortex of beautiful destruction. All these things crammed into one amazing film. A remarkable cast giving remarkable performances, and a very visual director shoving this seething powerhouse of a film right in our faces...

Like I said, there's nothing I can say. So, just believe me when I tell you that this is a very great film.

Great cinematic masterpiece
REALLY GREAT! IT WAS DONE LIKE A FOREIGN FILM, BUT I REALLY LOVED THE WAY IT WAS DONE. AND THE ACTING WAS GREAT! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The carefully unattached existence of working girl Nathalie Baye is suddenly upended when lovesick hunk Samuel Le Bihan introduces himself: "My name is Antoine and I love you." Set in a cute glass storefront with a neon pink and blue façade that could have sprung from a Jacques Demy musical, this bittersweet romantic drama was written for the arresting Baye, who plays a middle-aged "girl" in a uniquely Parisian beauty shop that specializes in facials, body treatments, massages, and emotional confession. Her coworkers, young, sweetly guileless brunette cutie Audrey Tautou and gloomy twentysomething Mathilde Seigner, are like glimpses into her past lives, one full of hope and giddy optimism, the other turned resentful from disappointment. She clings to the girly camaraderie and workaday autopilot of her job while her "patronne" (the incomparable Bulle Ogier) nudges her toward responsibility.

Writer-director Tonie Marshall has a marvelous feeling for the women who work and visit the place, though her soulful bohemian artist Le Bihan is defined by little more than good looks, shaggy charm, and a kind of reckless attraction. The film is at its best with the women: the easy by-play and guarded emotions of the shopgirls, the often uncontrolled outbursts of the offbeat and oddball clients, and especially the haunted and lonely performance from Baye, who warily creeps out of her shell for another chance at intimacy. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Leave it to the French...........
Tonie Marshall's "The Venus Beauty Institute" could have only been made in France. It is a mature work that is silly, serious, sexy and ultimately sublime in its' treatment of love and relationships. In the film Nathalie Baye plays tough cookie Angele who uses one night stands to survive one lonely night after another. She is the agressor and wants nothing to do with Love. One of the great things about this film is that Angele cruises train stations and fast food joints (only in France does fast food mean lamb shank, baquettes and napoleons!) for sex and it is neither sleazy of pitiful! Just when you start to feel that you know what the story is ...along comes rough and tumble Antoine to upset the cart, both ours and Angele's. Much happens in this film and it's all sexy, racy and done as well as anything I've seen this year. American film makers should be forced to watch this movie. No on second thought...Americans don't have it in them to make films like this. Let's leave it to the French who do this kind of film so well. Viva La France!

Nathalie Baye's film, not Audrey Tautou's
Like many people, I saw 'Amelie' and figured "I'll watch - in fact, seek out - anything with Audrey Tautou." There have been some pleasant surprises along that road - 'L'Auberge Espagnole' and 'Dirty Pretty Things' come immediately to mind. There are some bad ones out there, too. I did not enjoy sitting through either 'God is Great, I'm Not' or 'Happenstance.'

Now, with Ms. Tautou's rising international profile, we're seeing a "Tautou-ization" in the marketing of her earlier films. In 'Happenstance,' she's just part of the woodwork, yet stands alone on the VHS/DVD coverbox. In 'Venus Beauty Institute,' it's the same trick pulled on us: the marketers have succeeded in finding the *one* shot in the entire film where she happens to be poised in the center.

Which is a shame, because this is Nathalie Baye's film. 51 (and radiantly beautiful) at the time of filming, Ms. Baye doesn't deserve the short shrift she's getting here. This part was written specifically with her in mind - it's a complex role that very few actresses could do justice to.

US audiences will remember Baye as Leonardo DeCaprio's French-born mother in "Catch Me If You Can." She was also a standout with Sergi Lopez in "An Affair of Love."

My videocassette tells me this film is categorized as a "Romantic Comedy. Hardly. There are elements of humor. Mostly this is about Angèle's (Baye's) humor - the absence of it, along with the spirit and hope that seem to have ebbed out of her life. Can she get it back?

The struggle of Angele to get a good love life
Angele is a forty-something woman working at the title place, where women get makeovers, daubed with anti-aging cream, or get suntans under the ultraviolet lamps. Some men come to get massages, though. The women and men who leave are refreshed, hopefully inside as well as out, with the former being suggestively sold some product before leaving. But not Angele, it seems.

The story evolves around Angele's love life and that of the other employees. At the movie's onset, we see Angele chatting with a man who seems to have all the hallmarks of a decent guy, someone who listens, etc. only later, she gets callously dumped. Antoine, a guy who witnessed the whole thing, falls in love with her and sets out trying to win her over, as his relations with his fiancee are strained. Despite her brush-offs and not-too inviting demeanor, he seems to genuinely want her, and not be one of her one-night stands.

Which brings us back to Angele. Most of her lonely life after hours is spent picking up men at restaurants or train stations for one-nighters. She's insecure after an affair with a long-time lover that involved his face being injured. He's still there, but always doing business abroad. As a result, she comes off as being defensive, easily annoyed and angry, which doesn't do well for her potential pickups. She's been so disappointed to the point that she equates love as another form of slavery, her penchant for one-nighters emphasizing her control in her affairs.

Angele doesn't seem age-conscious here, but Nadine, the proprietor of the Venus Beauty Institute, reminds her that Angele should leave and start a salon of her own, the way women her age should. Her presence here indicates she hasn't grown up, still being one of the "young girls." The key is that maybe in finding Mr. Right, she'll be fulfilled enough to progress further in life as expected for women her age.

The youngest VBI employee, the sweet and innocent-looking Marie, has an interesting relationship with an elderly pilot whose scarred face was given a skin replacement from his devoted wife. His wife is dead and Maria's minstrations to it equates to caring for his wife since her demise. Angele wonders though if anything sinister is going on, given the tips and gifts, including a mink coat, her co-worker gets from the pilot.

Samantha doesn't have much luck in her love life, which becomes detrimental in her attitude to work and Nadine later.

Other interesting things I noticed is the courtesy the employees give their clients. Marie in particular thanks the customers for any tips, and even holds open the door for the exiting client. The most interesting customer is the exhibitionistic Ms. Buisse, who has no qualms about emerging from the tanning rooms full frontal for the public to see, the sight of which draws in gawking males towards the window in one scene.

Nathalie Baye shows once again that she is Cesar-worthy material, as she won Best Actress for her role as Angele, joining her other wins for Every Man For Himself and La Balance. However, it's no surprise that Audrey Tautou won the Most Promising Young Actress award as Marie. I don't know that a movie like this would have won best picture here, but it's a worthy vehicle for Baye, and one of Tautou's better ones.

a unique film about love
This is one of my favorite movies ever. It is very therapeutic to watch. There are many layers to this film...I've seen it a hundred times and each time I see something new.

This film is really about love, and particularly women's search for love. It seems all the other characters in the film revolve around the main character Angele, to illustrate some point about love, men, and women, and relationships, and emotions. Angele is 40 years old and very unhappy. She feels that love is too painful to embrace it fully, for many reasons which are so complicated to mention...being sexually abused as a child, being orphaned at 8 years old by her parents' tragic deaths, and guilt over some action she has committed in the past are some of the reasons.

Underneath everything I think this film is trying to express our longing to be truly, truly loved. Throughout the film we see examples of how men treat women as sex objects, (the two workers carrying the mirror, the guy who comes into the salon looking for the "finishing touches," and of course Angele's loser boyfriend from the first scene, also Angele's travel agent friend who found a record of her husband's affairs.) Women come into the salon seeking beauty treatments that will hopefully turn them into perfect creatures who can finally be loved, or to soothe their painful feelings. We can see that Angele feels so much pain, but gains so much comfort from being able to comfort others at the salon, but doesn't feel she deserves to take care of herself the same way.

Angele is afraid to be in love, because from her own experiences, love only brings pain, not pleasure...as she says, she "opted out" of love, "love, jealousy, and pain...they're finished!" Until one day, someone comes out of nowhere and gives her the unconditional love she needs. He loves her when she is not dressed nicely for dinner, he loves her when she rejects him over and over, he loves her even though she's "screwed up," even when she tells him she slept with another guy he still loves her...and he really understands who she is. In the end, Angele is able to accept love again, but getting to that place is difficult. My favorite line from the film is, "Why always say the opposite of what you feel?" What a good question.

The secret life of beauticians
I decided to watch VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE for the sole reason of seeing Audrey Tautou before her appearance in the smash hit AMELIE. Though Audrey is as enchanting as I've ever seen her, perhaps I was too hasty.

The focal point of the film is a French beauty shop, which offers mud packs, massages, a tanning booth, depilatory treatments, and the usual array of cosmetics. The heroine is Angele (Nathalie Baye), whose love life, or lack of one, is pretty much the plot. As the movie opens, Angele, no longer in youth's bloom and on the wrong side of thirty, is professing a budding affection to a younger man, who, the cad, callously dumps her after a weekend stand. As an emotional defense, Angele bitterly retreats behind the walls of Woman Scorned. Soon faced with a complete stranger, Antoine (Samuel Le Bihan), who ardently professes his undying love, Angele is determined to keep him at arm's length. In the meantime, Angele's sweetly innocent co-worker, Marie (Tautou), is slowly being seduced by a much older man who regularly visits the shop for facials. Then there's the third beautician, Samantha (Mathilde Seigner), who's only waiting to give the shop's owner, Madame Nadine (Bulle Ogier), the proverbial finger before returning to a real job - nursing.

If the strength of VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE lies in its depiction of the on-the-job interaction between the shop's employees, then the film is perhaps too much of a chick flick for me, though my wife wasn't terribly impressed with it either. Watching Angele's angst do battle with hormones wasn't riveting cinema.

Audrey Tautou is perhaps even more enthralling than that other love of my life, Audrey Hepburn. As I've stated before, Tautou's liquid brown eyes could melt linoleum. She doesn't disappoint in this film, though her role is disappointingly small. And, male pig that I am, I did pay close attention when one of the shop's statuesquely beautiful customers (Claire Nebout), an exhibitionist, twice strutted all her stuff full frontal. Beyond these diversions, however, VENUS BEAUTY INSTITUTE was a yawner. And the little sound effect that played every time the beauty shop's front door opened drove me nuts. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

A French "Easy Rider" but rather more misogynistic...
Yes this is a french road movie, which in itself is interesting, but the rather sickening misogyny of the first part of the film makes it often hard to stomach. So be forewarned as you watch this, for if you are a fan of French cinema and culture, there are some things to be gleaned. As a portrait of a part of French society in the early seventies, culturally not long after the student riots of '68, the bohemian existentialist anti-bourgeois drifter held a romantic appeal similar to that found in an American equivalent to this film, Easy Rider. The relationship between the two men and the much older Jeanne Moreau actually subverts the film's early presentation of women as sexually and intellectually inept; yet her untimely end does nothing to truly mark her sexual freedom as empowered or stronger than that of poor miou miou who is pretty much a stereotyped kitten throughout, even when she learns to "enjoy" her freedom with the men at film's end.
Ultimately, if you are seeking an "amelie" or "il postino" or some other such Eurofilm fun, avoid this. But if you watch french films for some insight into the culture, this one is worth seeing. However, be prepared for some pretty brutal treatment of women. Nonetheless, the men are all largely bourgeois dupes or "liberated" trash too, so at least the film is egalitarian in its disdain for stereotypical gender roles. It is interesting to watch this film in tandem with Truffaut's "the man who loved women" for some insight into one aspect of the French view of women.

a must see..!
Patrick Dweare and Gerard Depardieu are so good together in this movie.a lot of energy from the pair and also some good laughs,the dubbing is ok but i think the movie is better in french speaking.it's a must see if you like french movie. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

The Best
This is an awesome movie. What's to say? It has Jack Palance as a "very bad dude." Plus, the best musical score ever written. If you don't hum "companeros" when you have watched this - I don't know what to say. Great fun, great movie. The best spaghetti western ever. If you like westerns this is the best one to see. I can't say enough good about this film. This would be the one western I owned if I was only allowed one. A good fun time.

An OddBall Movie That Makes No Sense
The action drifts from one scene to another, none of it making any sense. Spaghetti Western genre better left undone and unviewed.

Swedish Bullets and Cuban Berets
Although "The Great Silence" may well be Corbucci's best spaghetti western, "Companeros" is surely his most enjoyable-- and probably the closest he ever comes to vivid characterization in his films. Franco Nero's Yodlaf Peterson (aka "The Swede") is an amusing riff on the Gringo figure with "much money but not much heart" (to borrow a line from "A Bullet for the General"). And Nero clearly enjoys playing off Tomas Milian's sometimes buffoonish yet always committed "El Vasco" (meaning "beret," which Milian wears throughout the entire film, Che Guevera style, only taking it off during his marriage ceremony to Iris Berben)--the two generate a chemistry that seldom occurs in spaghetti westerns, especially the highly political ones. ("A Bullet for the General" explores the growing alienation between the Gringo and the revolutionary, for instance; "Faccia a Faccia" documents the growing horror of the bandit for the Western intellectual; and "The Big Gundown" shows grudging respect between the American sheriff and the Mexican outlaw against the forces of capital--but no real friendship.) Significantly, the film ends with the true *beginning* of friendship-- "Companeros" turns from an ironic statement by "Il Penguino" (the Swede) to one of political commitment and personal investment. Against the amoral greed of prior Gringo characters (starting with Eastwood's "Man with No Name"), Yodlaf learns by the end of the film that there is something more important than the self. By naming himself a "companeros," he effectually rejects the greed and apoliticism typical to the role.

Ennio Moriconne's music is outstanding, and, as he says in an interview in the disk's "extras," he intentionally worked to create a unique "style" for Corbucci's film, one far different from the haunting score he had just provided for Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West." Unfortunately, Corbucci's camerawork is generally undistinguished, perhaps because he was no longer working with his longtime collaborator Enzo Barboni, who had gone on to make his own films. Alejandro Ulloa's photography is far less accomplished and stylish (perhaps a reason why he worked almost entirely in low-budget, exploitative films).

Overall, a highly enjoyable movie, although the pacing (as is often the case with Corbucci's works) is at times lumbering. One particularly interesting feature of Anchor Bay's print is its inclusion of the expository "backstory" of how Milian's character receives his nickname at the film's opening (the US version cuts right from the opening gunfight back in time to Yodlaf's arrival, several weeks earlier, in San Bernadino). It's a wonderful five minute sequence, reminiscent of his "Tepepa" role-- and a shame that American viewers have been unable to appreciate it for thirty years.

I am Yodlof the Swede...but they call me "the Penguin"
Another must have for any Spaghetti western as well Franco Nero fan. What happens when Yodlof the Swede(Nero)steps of the train,fresh as a daisy (spats and all) into a dirty south of the border town is one of my all time gut-busting faves of any Spaghetti Western.His rather sacreligious appropriation of the town's patron saint is another knee slapper.I'm no big fan of leftist politics and I thought the professors pacifistic message was interesting...being that it had to share such large chunks of screen time with machine gun battles and all.But Tomas Milian and Jack Palance did bang up jobs and "il pinguino" was,in my opinion,one of Nero's best roles.Mr. Morricone put out another real winner of a soundtrack as well.This movies strong points far outweigh it's one or two weaknesses.Rome on the range ...Corbucci style!

"No, I'm swedish.."
A trigger-happy swede roaming around mexico with his not-so-bright "compañero"?? Yeah, sounds about right to me.. :)
Ignoring this, Compañeros is a good eurowestern. Franco Nero is really cool in this movie, and even gets the chance to hook up with his old buddy Mr. Machinegun towards the end. Jack Palance does a good job as the sleazy crook you really want to see dead. If you haven't seen this movie already, now would be a good time. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Every time you think you've seen everything action movies have to offer, along comes one that makes your jaw drop. Tsui Hark's Time and Tide is one of those movies. The plot careens all over the place like a drunken driver: it starts out when a bartender in Hong Kong named Tyler (Nicholas Tse) sleeps with a lesbian undercover cop and gets her pregnant. To make money to give her to help support the baby, he takes a job with a bodyguard firm run by a loan shark--all of the other bodyguards are men who owe the loan shark money and are trying to work off their debt. The firm gets an assignment protecting a wealthy executive, who has a daughter who's married to a butcher named Juan (Wu Bai) who's actually a former mercenary--OK, this is where things really go off the rails, but never fear: you will not be bothered by the story. You will find yourself caring about these characters, even though you're not entirely sure who they are. You will not be bored for a single moment of this movie, and when you get to the sequence where the mercenary and the head of the heist gang (who are former partners--maybe) are having a shootout while rapelling down the walls of a gigantic Hong Kong tenement, time will suspend and you will gaze in rapt astonishment, unable to understand how anyone could have conceived of these astonishing action sequences, let alone brought them to delirious, stunningly graceful life. Time and Tide is amazing, and Tsui Hark (Peking Opera Blues, Once upon a Time in China, Green Snake) is one of the geniuses of contemporary cinema. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (44)

4-Get contempo american action cinema, & look HERE!!!!
1st off I cannot stand what is considered by Hollywood standards, the "typical summer action movie". Movies that believe themselves to be so cool and suave, but in reality are crap. 2 films come to mind, Tomb Raider and the Matrix. Both of those flix really try to be cool, with their dark glasses, crazy effects, and big guns. What did I see? Garbage. So you want to escape from those types of boredom? Seek out Tsui Harks films, like this one. Plenty of charisma, wonderful action, suspense, bits of comedy tossed in too filled this movie. The firefight/rapelling off the apartment complex was insane, as was the shootout in the mall. Cameras and bullets are all flying about, chaos insues, and I am laughing my butt off in the theatre with like 10 other people who knew we were on to something special. If this comes to your town, please skip everything else and enjoy this film, there is nothing like a strong Hong Kong action film. No filler, no Keanu, no Jolie. Straight up and simple. Easily worth my $7.75.

Don't waste your time
The movie tried but it failed in my eyes. I gave it a chance, tried to follow what was going on and I couldn't take it anymore. I had to turn it off not baring to watch the last 30 minutes of this movie. It started off pretty good but then it get so choppy you have no clue what is going on and I missed the connection with the characters over all because the movie was taking me down a path I didn't enjoy. What was missing is WHY were all these people here? What was up with the o