I snapped this up straight away as it seems to be difficult sometimes to get Leon on dvd, let alone the directors cut. I was a tad dubious about whether to get this version or not as there's usually a reason why stuff is cut out and I didn't want to ruin what is an already brilliant film. There is about 10-20 minutes of cut footage reinserted and let your worries drift away as they do not disappoint. The only reason they were taken out of the original release is because the Americans wouldn't be able to handle it, whereas the French and English didn't see a problem with it. The extra scenes give you some background into Leon's past and it develops his relationship with Mathilda a lot more. The extra scenes weren't at all boring and it all just made for a better viewing experience. I'm not sure whether the music at the beginning of the film has changed as it did seem odd and very distracting in places and I don't remember it being like that, but that soon passes anyway. The dvd is… more »

I snapped this up straight away as it seems to be difficult sometimes to get Leon on dvd, let alone the directors cut. I was a tad dubious about whether to get this version or not as there's usually a reason why stuff is cut out and I didn't want to ruin what is an already brilliant film. There is about 10-20 minutes of cut footage reinserted and let your worries drift away as they do not disappoint. The only reason they were taken out of the original release is because the Americans wouldn't be able to handle it, whereas the French and English didn't see a problem with it. The extra scenes give you some background into Leon's past and it develops his relationship with Mathilda a lot more. The extra scenes weren't at all boring and it all just made for a better viewing experience. I'm not sure whether the music at the beginning of the film has changed as it did seem odd and very distracting in places and I don't remember it being like that, but that soon passes anyway. The dvd is presented well with a couple of documentaries that are pretty good. It's a shame there were no interviews with either Gary Oldman or the director who's vision it was, and I don't accept Besson's ex girlfriend as a decent substitute! All in all, an amazing film just made even more amazing by it being put back to it's original glory, how it should have been viewed in the first place. Some might find the odd scene uncomfortable with the two of them but it's all innocent from his side as the extra footage and features will show. If only Besson would write a 'Mathilda' sequel!