Luc Besson's French Films

[Deckard]

Time to discuss and list your favourite films by Besson in his native tongue. All grand action delights that are always visually entertaining at the least.

This Writer/Director has unfortunately slipped since crossing the seas to the US. His French films are amazing and all contain and eccentric vision that brings grin to the face.

My Fave Besson French Films

LEON:THE PROFESSIONAL
LA FEMME NIKKITA
THE BIG BLUE
SUBWAY
FINAL COMBAT

Discuss em all, if you have an opinion............share it

[Paterfamilias]

Absolutely loved Leon!!

i didn't like Subway very much, in fact, I didn't finish it. I was bored by it. I liked Christopher Lambert in Highlander, but I thought he was terrible in Subway.

[Damned Martian]

Leon was very good, although it's his less French of his French movies:D

I've also seen Nikita and Subway, but too much time ago to really say something about them. I've seen a few times the US remake of Nikita, though, does that count?:p

[James Logan]

I just love 'em. LEON (least French of all), LA FEMME NIKITA and LE GRAND BLEU are my personal favorites. They're some of the best French movies ever if you ask me.

[Hannibal21]

Well, LE GRAND BLEU and LA FEMME NIKITA were awesome, two of the best French films ever made. However, I didn't like LEON (6/10) at all. A bit too melodramatic and despite the good acting from Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman was horrible. Haven't seen SUBWAY yet. :(

[Lynn Minmei]

Leon is another one of my top films of all time. Check it out someitmes if you haven't seen it and need a film to rent...9.5/10

[whitemat]

Leon is one of my favorite films, its so perfect. From the acting to the cinematography to the action to the directing and drama, I mean I don't think there is anything wrong with that movie at all. Jean Reno was perfect as the french hitman and Natalie Portman was perfect to.

The movie was just so well directed, film school students should just watch Leon and learn from it. The use of dark and light as life and death is so ingenious. It's little things like that that show the direction, the movie would be good without hidden meanings like that but he throws them in anyway.

Anyway I also love La Femme Nikita but I haven't seen Le Grand Bleu.

I hate that he hasn't directed anything lately and I love that he hasn't ruined Leon by making a sequel.

Another movie that he wrote recently is Wasabi, if you haven't seen that I highly suggest it, its fuckin hilarious. This little french guy MOMO is one of the funniest characters of recent movies and theres this chinese girl in it thats hot as hell.

[Ren Hoek]

I love LA FEMME NIKITA, and LÉON is very good. However, I think that Besson is more obsessed with style rather than the wish to tell an intriguing story. LE GRAND BLEU's visuals are amazing (so are those of SUBWAY, ATLANTIS, FIFTH ELEMENT etc.), but the characters aren't really fleshed out and the story doesn't deliver enough goods to keep me interested for two hours. And am I the only one who hated the goofy humour in this film? Well, maybe I am... ;)


LA FEMME NIKITA - 8/10
LÉON - 8/10
ATLANTIS - 7/10
LE GRAND BLEU - 6/10
SUBWAY - 5/10

[Deckard]

I finally saw the mega successful, Luc Besson penned Action/Comedy TAXI (7/10) the other night. Its good mindless fun with some brilliant scenes and the dialogue is very amusing.

PS- I think Micheal Mann is planning on remaking this so check out the original soon

[bondish]

La Femme Nikita was great.

[Cosimo]

Le Grand Bleu is a really beautiful film

[Fisting Ackbar]

For some reason I never think of LÉON being a French film, but I guess that it is.

I'm quite interested in seeing LA FEMME NIKITA, although I already saw the American remake POINT OF NO RETURN so that might have spoiled it for me.

[Psychocandy]

Nikita and Leon i'm very familiar with. The former is the better of these two movies but both are exceptional movies. I saw Subway many years ago and don't remember being unimpressed. Final Combat was excellent. It's been years since I saw it on Channel 4 in the UK but I do recall being very impressed and totally drawn into the story despite and probably because of the almost total lack of dialogue. I'm intrigued by movies that tell their story visually and this was a sterling example. Haven't seen The Big Blue but the DVD is very cheap in the HMV sale...hmmm...

[bowieee]

I really liked subway... I'm suprised to see alot of you guys and gals didn't really dig it... Maybe It just has a special place in my heart because I saw it when i was 15 for the first time and I identified with it's strong themes of rebellion.

The big blue was a nice one timer but I never had the urge to see it again, La femme nikita is a kick ass film that I can't get enough of and it's pale imitations can all be burned in a giant bonfire for all I care, Leon is Top Notch.

[platanero79]

his French films I only seen LEON:THE PROFESSIONAL 10/10 and LA FEMME NIKKITA 8.5/10

Leon I love that film modern day classic it just my opinion

[Golden Badtz]

LEON was awsome, even though Luke Beson does french movies mostly he also does cool amercian english ones, but back to the french ones, I prefer those that he produces like WASABI, TAXI 2 and TAXI 3.
But in the american films, there are FIFTH ELEMENT, KISS OF THE DRAGON and TRANSPORTER that were great.

[pat00139]

Firstly, about Wasabi: ' theres this chinese girl in it thats hot as hell.'

I do agree that she's really hot, but she's Japanese, not Chinese.

For those of you who care, Mr. Besson's writing and producing Crimson Rivers 2, so that should be fun.

I haven't seen L'avant-dernier, or Atlantis (although I can go rent that one, which I plan on doing sometime).

I absolutely loved Léon. It's one of my favorite movies ever. No one can mix high drama and high action like Besson, and this movie is him at his best. It's just incredible from start to finish. I really loved La Femme Nikita. Point of No Return is pretty much exactly the same, but it's missing something. Nikita has the Besson touch, and that's probably why it's much better than the remake. I haven't seen it in a while, but with the Special Edition out, I might get it. I also loved Le Grand Bleu. I saw the director's cut when it came out and it went by very quickly. If you haven't seen it, I say see the director's cut, because I can't imagine this movie being cut 40 minute and still making any kind of sense. Le Dernier Combat was very good. It proved to me that Besson was a born storyteller. No dialogue and it kept me intrigue for the entire hour and a half. Subway is his French flick I like the least. I don't know what it is, but there's something missing. I suppose the characters aren't as sympathetic as in his other movies.

So overall, I find his French films great. Much better than his American movies (even though he's only done, like, 2, and I really enjoyed The Fifth Element).

[harosa]

I love alot of the movies that Besson has produced and written recently, like Wasabi, Yamakazi, The Transporter, Taxi1-3 and Kiss of the Dragon, some great action and comedies here. I do wish he would get back into directing though.

[Golden Badtz]

Originally posted by pat00139
For those of you who care, Mr. Besson's writing and producing Crimson Rivers 2, so that should be fun.

What the hell is that shit about cr 2 ?? there is no cr 2 book ... there gonna fuck it up as always.

Originally posted by harosa
I love alot of the movies that Besson has produced and written recently, like Wasabi, Yamakazi, The Transporter, Taxi1-3 and Kiss of the Dragon, some great action and comedies here. I do wish he would get back into directing though.

Yamakasi was shit ... sorry about that

[harosa]

There is indeed a Crimson Rivers 2, it was just completed, regarding Besson's involvement, I dont think hes involved in this movie. As for Yamakazi, and the rest of the movies I listed, they are light breezy fun.

[Golden Badtz]

Originally posted by harosa
There is indeed a Crimson Rivers 2, it was just completed, regarding Besson's involvement, I dont think hes involved in this movie. As for Yamakazi, and the rest of the movies I listed, they are light breezy fun.

sweet crimson rivers 2 ... which means , later in France ... 2 years later in french in Canada ... 3 years later in english ... looks like a "small" wait.

I agree about The Transporter, Wasabi and KoD about being good films ... Taxi 1-2 were GREAT but 3 sucked big time.

[James Logan]

There is indeed a CRIMSON RIVERS 2, written and produced by Luc Besson. Full title is: CRIMSON RIVERS 2 -- ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE. It's directed by Olivier Dahan (director of TOM THUMB) and stars Jean Reno and Benoît Magimel as the good guys (no Vincent Cassel) and Christopher Lee as the bad guy. Johnny Hallyday will also be starring.

[Golden Badtz]

Originally posted by James Logan
There is indeed a CRIMSON RIVERS 2, written and produced by Luc Besson. Full title is: CRIMSON RIVERS 2 -- ANGELS OF THE APOCALYPSE. It's directed by Olivier Dahan (director of TOM THUMB) and stars Jean Reno and Benoît Magimel as the good guys (no Vincent Cassel) and Christopher Lee as the bad guy. Johnny Hallyday will also be starring.

is it still french or it an american adaptation of the classic french book and film and will be made into a class A shit hollywoodian movie ?

[Jon Lyrik]

I only saw Leon, which was pretty great (8/10), just not ultra-spectacular.