- Actors: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Desailly, Robert Hossein, Michel Beaune, Cyrielle Clair
- Directors: Georges Lautner
- Writers: Georges Lautner, Jacques Audiard, Michel Audiard, Patrick Alexander
- Producers: Alain Belmondo, Alexandre Mnouchkine, Georges Dancigers
- Format: PAL
- Language French, English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.66:1
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: 15
- Studio: StudioCanal
- DVD Release Date: 9 May 2006
- Run Time: 108 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000EMSYBG
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 126,943 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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France released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), French ( Mono ), WIDESCREEN (1.85:1), SPECIAL FEATURES: Filmographies, Interactive Menu, Photo Gallery, Posters, Trailer(s), SYNOPSIS: Joss Beaumont (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is a French spy given the assignment of killing an African dictator, and when he arrives in Africa to do so, he is captured and put in prison. The political winds had changed - the dictator is now an ally - and the best way to handle the agent is to keep him in jail. Naturally at odds now with his former bosses and with an ax to grind for his own incarceration, the agent escapes after two years in prison and heads back to Paris where he announces that he is going to finish his assassination job during the coming diplomatic visit of the African leader. Once aware of his intent, the French government sets up one trap after another, but to no avail - the agent remains free and there is no doubt that he has the full capacity to do exactly what he says. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: Ceasar Awards, ...Le Professionnel ( The Professional )
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
One of Belmondo's biggest hits and featuring a memorable Ennio Morricone theme (Chi Mai) that also entered the UK top ten as the main title to BBC TV series The Life and Times of David Lloyd George, 1981's Le Professionnel veers between good and bad. Introducing himself as "Joss Beaumont, espionage and brawls," it's not a bad description of the film itself. Sold out - or rather given away - by the French government that sent him before he could kill an African dictator, he escapes from prison and returns to France to finish off the job during a state visit from the corrupt politician, all the time goading the French secret services in an increasingly schizophrenic tale. On the one hand it's the kind of film that will throw in wildly over the top racist commanders, a lesbian threatening his wife with a bar of soap and a gunfight straight out of a Western with Robert Hossein's stone-cold government agent. Yet it's also smart enough to throw in a neat twist as to exactly how he plans to accomplish his hit and aware enough not to turn the dictator into a complete cartoon - having spent years in jail himself, he enjoys having the upper hand in negotiations with the French and even points out that they had three revolutions and five republics before settling on a civilised form of government but expect Africa to get it right in one.
The pluses outweigh the minuses, and most of the various DVD releases are English-friendly - the English DVD has a subtitled French language version in a slightly overcropped widescreen transfer (it should be 1.66:1 but Optimum cropped it to 1.85:1); the Australian PAL DVD and the US NTSC DVD include both subtitled French soundtrack and dubbed English in a decent widescreen transfer, but no extras while the French DVD has unsubtitled extras but only a dubbed English language option. (The German DVD, however, is not English-friendly.)
The pluses outweigh the minuses, and most of the various DVD releases are English-friendly - the English DVD has a subtitled French language version in a slightly overcropped widescreen transfer (it should be 1.66:1 but Optimum cropped it to 1.85:1); the Australian PAL DVD and the US NTSC DVD include both subtitled French soundtrack and dubbed English in a decent widescreen transfer, but no extras while the French DVD has unsubtitled extras but only a dubbed English language option. (The German DVD, however, is not English-friendly.)
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A French "black ops" professional is betrayed by his own superiors while on a mission, ending up in an African tyrants Gulag. After two years hard labour he escapes and returns to Paris to take revenge.
I came to this movie out of curiosity: I'm a fan of Ennio Morricone's music, and this is the movie where the famous "Chi Mai" theme appeared. Reading about the movie I discovered that it was well thought of... so decent movie with famously excellent soundtrack, why not give it a try?
I'm glad I did. It's a French movie of course, so English was available as subtitles only, but even so I laughed out loud at several moments. Poor Farge! Seems a decent mid level guy, just doing his job, and he keeps get caught napping by Beaumont (the Belmondo character).
Definitely not a chick flick by the way. According to this movie there are only three women in France, all gorgeous, and all want to sleep with our hero. Incidentally, one of those women is his wife - so I guess you could say that the fact that he whispers sweet nothings to his wife AND then also to two other hotties quite clearly marks this movie as French! A Holywood movie would at least have had the wife betray him first, so that she "deserved it" - and then no more than one mistress.
Others have noted similarities between this movie and "Bourne Identity": personally I don't really see it. In terms of basic plot elements then yes, perhaps so, but this movie plays very differently, less in the super hero vein.
Flaws? Some of the stuntwork is quite bad (looks fake), likewise some of the kissing. These are small flaws in an overall good effort.
And lets not forget that lovely Ennio Morricone soundtrack!
Deserves to be better known, good fun, recommended!
I came to this movie out of curiosity: I'm a fan of Ennio Morricone's music, and this is the movie where the famous "Chi Mai" theme appeared. Reading about the movie I discovered that it was well thought of... so decent movie with famously excellent soundtrack, why not give it a try?
I'm glad I did. It's a French movie of course, so English was available as subtitles only, but even so I laughed out loud at several moments. Poor Farge! Seems a decent mid level guy, just doing his job, and he keeps get caught napping by Beaumont (the Belmondo character).
Definitely not a chick flick by the way. According to this movie there are only three women in France, all gorgeous, and all want to sleep with our hero. Incidentally, one of those women is his wife - so I guess you could say that the fact that he whispers sweet nothings to his wife AND then also to two other hotties quite clearly marks this movie as French! A Holywood movie would at least have had the wife betray him first, so that she "deserved it" - and then no more than one mistress.
Others have noted similarities between this movie and "Bourne Identity": personally I don't really see it. In terms of basic plot elements then yes, perhaps so, but this movie plays very differently, less in the super hero vein.
Flaws? Some of the stuntwork is quite bad (looks fake), likewise some of the kissing. These are small flaws in an overall good effort.
And lets not forget that lovely Ennio Morricone soundtrack!
Deserves to be better known, good fun, recommended!
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Jean-Paul Belmondo plays a secret service agent, who was given the task to assassinate an african country president and then was sold (or just given, as they didn't profit from this) to this president. He escapes from prison and returns to Paris in order to complete the assassination...
Although old, the film has some fine chase and shooting scenes, and Belmondo is defifnitely a superstar of french cinema. Very worth seeing, very worth having a copy of your own.
Although old, the film has some fine chase and shooting scenes, and Belmondo is defifnitely a superstar of french cinema. Very worth seeing, very worth having a copy of your own.
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