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IMDbPro

Nikita

  • 19901990
  • RR
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
73K
YOUR RATING
Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
Watch Bande-annonce [OV]
Play trailer2:30
1 Video
99+ Photos
ActionCrimeDrama
Convicted felon, Nikita, isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.Convicted felon, Nikita, isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.Convicted felon, Nikita, isn't going to jail; she's given a new identity and trained, stylishly, as a top secret spy/assassin.
IMDb RATING
7.3/10
73K
YOUR RATING
    • Luc Besson
    • Luc Besson
  • Stars
    • Anne Parillaud
    • Marc Duret
    • Patrick Fontana
    • Luc Besson
    • Luc Besson
  • Stars
    • Anne Parillaud
    • Marc Duret
    • Patrick Fontana
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 185User reviews
    • 83Critic reviews
    • 56Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos1

    Bande-annonce [OV]
    Trailer 2:30
    Watch Bande-annonce [OV]

    Photos216

    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Jean Reno in Nikita (1990)
    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Jean-Hugues Anglade and Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Luc Besson and Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Tchéky Karyo and Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Jean-Hugues Anglade and Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)
    Anne Parillaud in Nikita (1990)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Anne Parillaud
    Anne Parillaud
    • Nikita…
    Marc Duret
    Marc Duret
    • Rico
    Patrick Fontana
    • Coyotte
    Alain Lathière
    • Zap
    Laura Chéron
    • La punk
    Jacques Boudet
    Jacques Boudet
    • Le pharmacien
    Helene Aligier
    • La pharmacienne
    Pierre-Alain de Garrigues
    • Flic pharmacie
    Patrick Pérez
    • Flic pharmacie
    • (as Patrick Perez)
    Bruno Randon
    • Flic pharmacie
    Vincent Skimenti
    • Flic pharmacie
    Roland Blanche
    • Flic interrogatoire
    Joseph Teruel
    • Stagiaire flic
    Jacques Disses
    • Avocat
    Stéphane Fey
    • Président tribunal
    • (as Stephane Fey)
    Philippe Dehesdin
    • 1er magistrat
    Michel Brunot
    • 2ème magistrat
    Rodolph Freytt
    • 1er infirmier
      • Luc Besson
      • Luc Besson
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The first scene Nikita appears in was the first scene Anne Parillaud shot. Despite having only one line Luc Besson had Parillaud deliver nearly a hundred takes. Parillaud later found out that he used the second take in the movie.
    • Goofs
      The cameraman is reflected in the bathtub when Marie takes a bath after returning from the embassy.
    • Quotes

      Amande: There are two things that are infinite: femininity and means to take advantage of it.

    • Alternate versions
      The English dubbed version featured John Tremaine as the voice of Tchéky Karyo's character Bob.
    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze/The Comfort of Strangers/Defending Your Life/Mister Johnson/La Femme Nikita (1991)
    • Soundtracks
      LA PETITE MUSIQUE DE NUIT
      Music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (as MOZART)

      Performed by Scottish Chamber Orchestra

      Conducted by Raymond Leppard

      Courtesy of Erato

    User reviews185

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    plenty of verve and style, and a (rightfully) perennial favorite of French spy thrillers
    Luc Besson was on a hot streak in the late 80s/early 90s, and La Femme Nikita (or just Nikita for short) is almost as good as he got at putting his own distinctive stamp on a genre that many auteurs have trouble molding. The spy thriller is great for blockbuster audiences, but to make it into a strong romantic drama is always tricky, as there's the chance for too much one-dimensional theatrics or more attention paid to the plot convolutions than actual human emotions. Nikita squares this problem away just with the protagonist: a young punk (Anne Parillaud, in her most recognizable, near star-making performance) who kills a cop in the midst of a shoot-out is sentenced to life, but then sort of resurrected following the lead of a member of a covert spy organization, and given an ultimatum: become a spy/assassin, or die. She complies, and in a few years time turns into Josephine, who gets orders on the outside from time to time to do tasks like dress up in a maid's outfit to serve potential targets, or to ready herself to kill someone long-range at a moment's notice.

    Besson crafts his main story by creating a sort of love triangle between Nikita/Josephine/Marie, her boss Bob, and her conventional lover Marco, a grocery store cashier who doesn't know what she really does. Besson tools with the elements for a much more conventional thriller, and from time to time it could appear like La Femme Nikita will veer into that realm and not return. But Besson is smart; he crafts the first hour like a kind of 'Taming of the Shrew' saga (or 'Taming of a Shrill Bad-ass'), filled with juicy, dark humor ranging from the ultra-violent (pencil in the hand anyone?) to the silly and playful (training with karate instructors). And as pure director of action sequences Besson shows himself as one of the more distinct masters; it's succinctly fresh and tense while holding the ingredients for what mainstream audiences crave, chiefly in that centerpiece as she is told to kill someone on the night of a seemingly hot date with Bob. Even in the little things, like the scene where she watches the spy put together the concoction for the target in the hotel, works on the purest technical terms.

    But La Femme Nikita, for the most part, also works on emotional levels too. Besson won't be above throwing in a hard-boiled killer in the midst (Jean Reno's Victor, my favorite supporting character if only for a few pivotal scenes, and a precursor to Leon), but he'll also subvert it just a tinge for good measure. I loved seeing when Josephine has to take out the woman in Venice, her shot in sight, and is moved to tears through the words that Marco speaks to her, truthfully, not in any terms that deem him as the boring "safe" character, but as her kind of salvation from a life that she's been forced into as a final alternative. As happens often in Besson's work, in fact, the female character is put into a realm of personal chaos that is created by or leads to murder and, at the least, harrowing times with the one she cares for or about (i.e. Portman in Leon, Leeloo in Fifth Element, Joan of Arc, even Angela in Angel-A). It's not simply a gimmick in having the character be a woman- it's essential to Besson's track as a filmmaker, and Praillaud is excellent for the sort of ups and downs the character goes through, sometimes in the same scene!

    This isn't to say there are a few minor liabilities, if only from my perspective: the music is usually effective in that early electronic-techno beat style for a modern thriller, yet sometimes it's also a cross between a soft-core porn and Weather channel muzak; the ending felt abrupt, or at least on a first viewing (albeit it's hard to top the scene at the ambassador's HQ); and, as a minor criticism, what happened to showing how Nikita learns how to smile? (Seems a little crucial as something of her personality that's skipped over, when made to seem like a big stepping stone by Jeanne Moreau's enigmatic character.) Otherwise, a must-see, and one of Besson's best films.
    helpful•49
    5
    • Quinoa1984
    • Jan 31, 2008

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 1991 (United States)
      • France
      • Italy
      • French
      • Italian
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Restaurant Le Train Bleu, Gare de Lyon, Paris 12, Paris, France
    • Production companies
      • Gaumont
      • Les Films du Loup
      • Cecchi Gori Group Tiger Cinematografica
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 57 minutes
      • Dolby Stereo

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