The Professional (1981/Lionsgate DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C
Jean-Paul
Belmondo was still a big star and big name when he made Georges Lautner’s The
Professional (1981, not to be confused with the Luc Besson film) as an assassin/spy
who has been betrayed by his government and is in prison for attempted
assassination. Of course, he will soon
escape to get revenge and stet things straight, or the like.
Unfortunately,
the film is very formulaic and though this has some good actors and locations,
it was never that good and does not hold up particularly well. However, it was a big hit (especially in the
year of For Your Eyes Only and Raiders Of The Lost Ark) in France and
is likely to be a favorite film of someones.
At least it has some energy and a few amusing moments.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.66 X 1 image has a pretty good print and color is good,
but the age of the source shows and this can be softer than expected throughout. However, Director of Photography Henri Decae
(Night Of The Generals, Le Circle Rouge, The Boys From Brazil) makes this look good. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono has a score by no
less than Ennio Morricone, which also helps the film along, but too bad the
film was not remixed for stereo if they could have found stereophonic copies of
that music. The only extra is a trailer.
- Nicholas Sheffo
