My 2013 Movies: Léon: The Professional (1994, on Blu-ray, home collection)

*dreamy sigh*

Has ever a seemingly tossed-off action movie, with all of its familiar tropes, still contained so many cinematic revelations at the same time?

Criminally young Portman! Virtual-unknown-to-U.S.-audiences Reno! A foreign director out-actioning traditional action directors! (although, to be fair, True Lies and Speed were also in ‘94) A movie with tremendously staged action yet still loads of heart, character, and emotional impact.

And one can hardly spill another word about Léon without mentioning

These may not seem like revelations now, but in 1994 I was working at Warner Bros., home of Lethal Weapon and Steven Seagal and Joel Silver. I worked for producers who wanted to make intriguing, book-minded movies, yet their constant clashes over material with market-minded WB stymied most efforts at originality. It was my job to find material for them that was familiar, tested, blockbustery - yet still fresh! Revelatory!

It really wasn’t easy. And yet movies like Léon would pop up and show everyone how it’s supposed to be done.