The Professional (Le professionnel) (1981)

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General		Extras
Category	Thriller	None
Rating
Year Of Production	1981
Running Time	103:43
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Georges Lautner
Studio Distributor	Canal+ Madman Entertainment	Starring	Jean-Paul Belmondo Jean Desailly Robert Hossein Michel Beaune Cyrielle Clair Jean-Louis Richard Sidiki Bakaba Pierre Saintons Marie-Christine Descouard Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu Elisabeth Margoni
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Dual
RPI	?	Music	Ennio Morricone

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.66:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     French Secret Service agent Major Josselin “Joss” Beaumont (Jean-Paul Belmondo) is sent to the African republic of Malagawi to assassinate President Njala (Pierre Saintons). However political realities change and the Secret Service betrays Joss to the Africans and he is captured, tried and sentenced to hard labour. After two years Joss escapes and returns to Paris. Njala just happens to be on a state visit to France at the time and Joss sends a telegram to his old masters informing them that he intends to carry out his previous mission. It is up to the Secret Service, especially ruthless Commissioner Rosen (Robert Hossein) and Joss’ old friend Edouard Valeras (Michel Beaune) to stop him if they can.

     The Professional (Le professionnel is a riveting, intelligent thriller told with style, charm and humour. From the opening garishly coloured credit sequence set to the haunting theme music of master Ennio Morricone, it is clear that this film is something special. Without preliminary, the film launches into Joss’ trial in Malagawi and he is soon enduring hard labour under the hot sun. He escapes amid explosions and gunfire but this is a thriller rather than an action film and the action, while impressive, is not overdone and each sequence has a purpose in developing the narrative. This action, for example, includes a realistic car chase through the streets of Paris past Paris icons, done without the more modern jumpy intercutting that so often means that the editor is the most important aspect of the chase, not the cars. There is also a very Leone type western gunfighter standoff, complete of course with Morricone music, that is deliciously undercut by the addition of a flower delivery man! But without a doubt this is Belmondo’s film and he is superb, whether breaking rocks, engaging in hand to hand combat or romancing beautiful women. His combination of rugged good looks, off-hand charm and charisma on the screen is very special and very watchable. It is hard to imagine anyone else playing the part, except perhaps Steve McQueen in an English language version.

    The Professional was a huge hit in France. It is an intelligent thriller told with style and humour with a superb star turn by Jean-Paul Belmondo and a wonderful score by Ennio Morricone. A must for fans of Belmondo or French cinema.

     The Professional is included in the four disc set French Screen Icons: Jean-Paul Belmondo 3 from Madman that also includes The Outside Man (1983), The Loner (1987) and Amazon (2000).

     The Professional has also been released previously in Region 4 as part of the Best French Crime Flicks box set and was reviewed on this site here. That DVD release seems identical to the one included in the Belmondo 3 set.

Video

     The Professional is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, the original theatrical ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.

     This is a nice print with good detail for a 30 year old film. The colours, after the garish opening title sequence, are natural, deep and rich, blacks solid and shadow detail fine. There was slight colour bleed early on the judges’ red robes, grain and some variation in brightness but nothing distracting. Apart from one small hair, there were only minor small artefacts so it was a clean print overall.

     English subtitles are in an easy to read white font. They seemed well timed and I noticed only one minor spelling error and no grammatical errors.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
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Audio

     Audio is a French Dolby Digital 2.0 mono at 224 Kbps that does a good job. Dialogue is clear, the explosions and gunshots had a reasonable resonance. There was obviously no surround or subwoofer use. The music of Ennio Morricone, including the memorable main theme, is nicely presented.

     Lip synchronisation was good.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     None

     The Professional has received a number of single disc releases in various regions. There are two listed in Region 1 US – one is showing as in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the other in the correct ratio of 1.66:1. A Region 2 UK version is apparently in 1.85:1 – and none of these English friendly releases seem to have extras. Perhaps the best version is a Region 2 French release in 1.66:1 with French or English language options. It includes filmographies, a photo gallery, posters and trailers. However, while an English dub is available, there are no subtitles for the French language version, a serious omission. The Professional I cannot find an equivalent Belmondo collection listed on sales sites. The only thing close is a Region 2 UK collection that includes Breathless, Pierrot Le Fou, Le Professional, Stavisky and A Double Tour.

     As noted, The Professional has been released previously in Region 4 as part of the Best French Crime Flicks. That version seems identical to the release in this Belmondo set.

     The Professional is a riveting, intelligent thriller told with style and humour with a superb star turn by Jean-Paul Belmondo and a wonderful score by Ennio Morricone. A must for fans of Belmondo or French cinema who do not already have a copy. .

     The DVD has good video and audio. There are no extras but the film is presented in a box set with three other Belmondo films, which is great value.

     The Professional is included in the four disc set French Screen Icons: Jean-Paul Belmondo 3 from Madman that also includes The Outside Man (1983), The Loner (1987) and Amazon (2000).

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall