Which version is the best version of this movie, in your opinion?
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coindudej2 — 13 years ago(September 04, 2012 07:52 PM)
How was their relationship in the shorter version? I thought that the relationship in the longer version was interesting for several reasons It was of course entertaining to watch Leon getting intimidated by Mathilda, but I was really surprised to see that it portrays Mathilda as the aggressor in the relationship, trying to push Leon into a more physical relationship. Few movies would do that
'Your mother ate my dog!"- Dead Alive -
alekesam — 13 years ago(September 06, 2012 09:25 PM)
The original (which is the 133 min version) is the best. The edited down American version lacks the fuller relationship of the uncut version.
I used to like both for different reasons but the more I watch the uncut, the less I enjoyed the cut version. I haven't watched the cut version in years. It has heart, just not as much as the uncut.
It's almost like the difference between Point of No Return and Le Femme Nikita (but not as extreme in comparison). The differences between the two make them almost two entirely different movies.
Just my one cent since I can't afford two. -
DFC-2 — 13 years ago(September 07, 2012 03:15 AM)
Besson calls the original short version his director's cut. It was the only version shown anywhere prior to the Summer of 1996. The only edit he did not choose himself was the short propositioning scene.
http://www.imdb.com/board/10110413/board/thread/2406531?d=41099842&am p;p=3#41099842
He created the extended version, containing all the footage he had edited out of his director's cut, as a gift for fans who cared more about the two characters than the story arc.
While I love some of the scenes in the extended version (e.g. the Russian Roulette sequence), I prefer the shorter version for everything else. It better supports the story arc of her childhood and innocence being preserved because of Leon's kindness and chivalry.
This wouldn't work as well, at least for me, if she was shown participating in murders and celebrating her role in them. I think this part was a holdover from the colder and older sociopathic Mathilda in the earlier script and that Besson took it out because he saw that it didn't fit the revision. -
playtoyer — 13 years ago(February 09, 2013 01:23 PM)
there is the theatrical version and the extented version that had a theatrical release in france and maybe a few other countries the first version came out in 1994 and the extended version in 1996 for the fans of luc besson,like they did with the big blue and for economic reason to make more money,you can find the extended version on dvd althought the extented version is good with great new scenes added in the movie but I find the theatrical version much better then the extended version
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paulfitzpa — 13 years ago(February 28, 2013 10:29 PM)
I recently re-watched the international version. The way Matilda pushes the relationship in that direction is definitely uncomfortable to watch and they probably didn't think US audiences could handle that uncomfortable feeling OR they thought it just got in the way.
I find it interesting how in many ways Matilda is the adult in the relationship and Leon is the naive childlike character. In fact they kind of trade that role.
That interplay is what helps make this film so well done. It has aged very well and is still very entertaining! Great villains, great acting.
IMHO this is the BEST role that Natalie Portman has landed. She is just so good in this film, it's an oscar worthy performance. -
ame88 — 13 years ago(March 24, 2013 04:19 AM)
I have both versions on DVD and now the Blu-ray, which has both versions of the film on the same disc. The Theatrical has French opening/closing titles, too
I have difficulty choosing a version, although I did watch the shorter version the other day after not seeing it for years, and remembered how much I loved it. So I DO love the longer version, but I think as I have done editing and know about moving stories on etc, I think the shorter version gets the story told in a better way. But there is nothing wrong at all with the longer version, I wouldn't have bought the longer cut if I felt I didn't like it
It's all about personal preference.
"Yes! I am invincible!" - Boris Grishenko, GoldenEye, 1995 -
DFC-2 — 10 years ago(January 11, 2016 04:36 AM)
The best analogy, since Besson himself calls the shorter version his director's cut, is some people prefer the mistake (e.g. extra salt, more mayo) to the chef special. The only reason the longer version exists is that the chef in this case knew there were sufficient people who would add more salt and love it, that it would go over well and sell more DVDs. The salt, in this case, was more time with Mathilda and Leon.
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yoo — 12 years ago(December 01, 2013 04:54 PM)
I was wondering if there was any common preference.
Dude, it's the internet. You won't find a common preference about using both side of piece of toilet paper.
I prefer the shorter version. The longer version adds some interesting tidbits, but also one sequence that destroys a very important element of the film.
(Some spoilers ahead.)
Mathilda's apprenticeship is interesting, but dispensable. What really irks me is the sequence where Mathilda openly asks Leon to have sex with her. In the regular version, the sexual connection was hinted at, and given Mathilda's age, that is the only way to handle that. Their farewell has a very different mood if you assume that the reunion will end up in child abuse. -
Nerdglaze420 — 11 years ago(September 19, 2014 12:12 AM)
I'm just now finding out that there is a shorter version, the longer one is the only one I ever knew. Interesting.
What I wanted to say is, I never took the scene to mean that he's planning on taking her to bed. He really isn't planning anything in that scene, where they're both scared to death and she's crying heartbreakingly. He says that in the emotion of the moment. "I love you" is something that a father could say to his daughter as well. I'm obviously not saying that there's not a kind of sexual tension between the two, but I like to think that Leon just wouldn't do it. Even if they went off to live together. If they really loved each other, they could also wait until she's really grown up.
But it doesn't come to that, and that's another point. Him dying at the end can be seen as the conclusion of a morality tale. First, Tony warned him about being careful with women. As it turns out, that is what Mathilda has become to him even though he resists and doesn't like that fact. Second, as you said, he crosses a line by telling her he loves her. The relationship can't go anywhere from there. Therefore he dies. And before he does, he shows and gives his love to Mathilda by avenging her which is what she wanted from life most badly, and leaves her alone to grow up like a more or less normal kid and have a normal, ideally non-murderous relationship when grown up.
OT, Natalie Portman's performance is mindblowing for that age.