Mathilda, a 12-year-old girl, is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
After her father, step-mother, step-sister and little brother are killed by her father's employers, the 12-year-old daughter of an abject drug dealer manages to take refuge in the apartment of a professional hitman who at her request teaches her the methods of his job so she can take her revenge on the corrupt DEA agent who ruined her life by killing her beloved brother.Written by
J. S. Golden
The green and yellow capsules Stansfield takes is Librium, a sedative and hypnotic medication of the benzodiazepine class; it is used to treat anxiety, insomnia and withdrawal symptoms from alcohol and/or drug abuse. See more »
Goofs
Mathilda takes the Tram to Roosevelt Island and arrives at the Spencer School there. She is on the lawn planting her plant and the camera pans back and it is as if she is in NJ or Long Island, very distant from Manhattan. Roosevelt Island is in the middle of the East River about 200 feet from Manhattan. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Tony:
Allora, come stai, Leone?
Léon:
Bene.
[Tony puts out his cigarette in an ashtray]
Tony:
OK. OK. Let's talk business.
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Crazy Credits
Under the "SPECIAL THANKS" heading you will find: Chevalier KAMEN (Prince of the Mash Potatoes) Byblos Bill (King of Saint Tropez) Princess Trudy (Queen of Hearts) See more »
Alternate Versions
An extended cut, retitled 'Leon: version integrale' was released in French cinemas on June 26, 1996. This version is 26 minutes longer than the previously released version and includes, amongst others, one sequence that was removed from the film after the disastrous tests with L.A. preview audiences. This version of the film is available on various DVDs, and is usually called the 'International Cut'. New scenes found in the International Cut include:
Mathilda asking Leon to have sex with her and Leon refusing;
Leon explaining why he had to leave Italy and go to New York when he was 19 years old;
Mathilda and Leon sleeping together in a bed;
Mathilda threatening to shoot herself playing Russian roulette.
Leon and Mathilda hitting the home of a tattooed drug dealer, and setting fire to his supply of drugs;
New training missions where Mathilda learns the ropes of becoming an assassin.
Leon and Matilda going to a restaurant to celebrate her first hit
Violent, original, emotionally affecting, effortlessly cool and plenty exciting within its small world. However, is it just me, or is the way Portman is shot so original and a smash in the face of those who are from a previous century?
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This is a great movie.
Violent, original, emotionally affecting, effortlessly cool and plenty exciting within its small world. However, is it just me, or is the way Portman is shot so original and a smash in the face of those who are from a previous century?