The Best Movies Directed by Luc Besson
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1Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie PortmanMathilda (Natalie Portman) is only 12 years old, but is already familiar with the dark side of life: her abusive father stores drugs for corrupt police officers, and her mother neglects her. Léon (Jean Reno), who lives down the hall, tends to his houseplants and works as a hired hitman for mobster Tony (Danny Aiello). When her family is murdered by crooked DEA agent Stansfield (Gary Oldman), Mathilda joins forces with a reluctant Léon to learn his deadly trade and avenge her family's deaths.- #615 of 769 onThe Most Rewatchable Movies
- #61 of 379 onThe Best Movies Of The 1990s
- #64 of 114 on50+ Movies That Need Sequels
- 2Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Ian HolmIn The Fifth Element, a science fiction spectacle directed by Luc Besson, former special forces soldier Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis) finds himself in the middle of a cosmic struggle. He's entrusted with protecting Leeloo (Milla Jovovich), the fifth element and humanity's last hope against a looming evil. The pair, aided by flamboyant radio host Ruby Rhod (Chris Tucker), embark on a thrilling race against time. Their quest? To gather four elemental stones and prevent the annihilation of life as we know it. Set in a strikingly imagined 23rd century, this film is an action-packed rollercoaster ride with a touch of comedy.
3Jean Reno, Jeanne Moreau, Anne ParillaudNikita, also called La Femme Nikita, is a 1990 Franco-Italian action thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. Nikita is a teen who robs a pharmacy and takes out a policeman. She is sentenced to life in prison, where her captors fakes the end of her life, and she is given the choice.More Nikita
- #194 of 425 onThe Greatest Movies in World Cinema History
- #38 of 90 onThe Best Movies of 1990
- #16 of 52 onThe Most Exciting Movies About Female Assassins
4Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette, Griffin DunneThe Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film in the French Cinéma du look visual style, made by French director Luc Besson. The film is a heavily fictionalized and dramatized story of the friendship and sporting rivalry between two leading contemporary champion free divers in the 20th century: Jacques Mayol and Enzo Maiorca, and Mayol's fictionalized relationship with his girlfriend Johana Baker. The film, which covers their childhood in 1960s Greece to their deaths in a Sicilian diving competition at around 400 feet in a 1980s competition, is a cult-classic in the diving fraternity, and became one of France's most commercially successful films. President of France, Jacques Chirac, referred to the film in describing Mayol, after his death in 2001, as having been an enduring symbol for the "Big Blue" generation. The story was heavily adapted for cinema - in real life Mayol lived from 1927 to 2001 and Maiorca retired from diving to politics in the 1980s.
5Sasha Luss, Luke Evans, Cillian MurphyBeneath a woman's striking beauty lies a secret that will unleash her indelible strength and skill to become one of the most feared assassins on the planet.
6Jean Reno, Isabelle Adjani, Christopher LambertSubway is a 1985 French comedy drama film directed by Luc Besson and starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert. The film is classified as part of the cinema du look movement.
7Louise Bourgoin, Mathieu Amalric, Philippe NahonThe Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec, released as Adèle: Rise of the Mummy in Malaysia and Singapore, is a 2010 French fantasy adventure feature film written and directed by Luc Besson. It is loosely based on the comic book series of the same name by Jacques Tardi and, as in the comic, follows the eponymous writer and a number of recurring side characters in a succession of far-fetched incidents in 1910s Paris and beyond, in this episode revolving around parapsychology and ultra-advanced Ancient Egyptian technology, which both pastiche and subvert adventure and speculative fiction of the period. The primarily live-action film, shot in Super 35, incorporates much use of computer animation to portray its fanciful elements and contemporary action film special and visual effects within the form of the older-style adventure films they have largely superseded.- 8
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9Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Gilbert MelkiContemplating suicide to escape his many debts, a man (Jamel Debbouze) named Andre saves a beautiful blonde (Rie Rasmussen) from killing herself in the Seine. The rescued woman, Angela, is grateful to him later, and she pledges to stay with him and help him solve his problems.
10Jean Reno, Fritz Wepper, Jean BouiseLe Dernier Combat is a 1983 French film. It was the first feature-film to be directed by Luc Besson, and also features Jean Reno's first prominent role. Music for the film was composed by Éric Serra. The film was the first of many collaborations between Besson, Reno and Serra. A dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival, the film was shot in black and white and contains only two words of dialogue. It depicts a world where people have been rendered mute by some unknown incident.
11Robert De Niro, Tommy Lee Jones, Michelle PfeifferAfter ratting out his Mafia cohorts, Giovanni Manzioni (Robert De Niro) and his family enter the Witness Protection Program and relocate to a French town. Despite the best efforts of their handler (Tommy Lee Jones) to keep them in line, Giovanni (now called Fred Blake), his wife (Michelle Pfeiffer) and children (Dianna Agron, John D'Leo) can't help but resort to doing things the "family" way. However, their dependence on such old habits places everyone in danger from vengeful mobsters.
12Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye DunawayMystic, maiden, martyr - whatever you choose to call her, it is difficult to dispute that Joan of Arc led a remarkably accomplished life for a peasant girl who never went to school ... and never saw her 20th birthday. It all began in 1429, when a teenage girl from a remote village in France stood before the world and announced she would defeat the world's greatest army and liberate her country.- #148 of 262 onThe 200+ Best War Movies Of All Time
- #237 of 425 onThe Greatest Movies in World Cinema History
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13Jean Reno, Luc Besson, Pierre JolivetL'avant dernier is a 1981 dramatic sci-fi short film written by Luc Besson and Pierre Jolivet and directed by Luc Besson.
14Atlantis is a 1991 documentary film about oceans, filmed over a two-year period by Luc Besson.
15Michelle Yeoh, David Thewlis, William HopeThe Lady is a French-British biographical film directed by Luc Besson, starring Michelle Yeoh as Aung San Suu Kyi and David Thewlis as her late husband Michael Aris. Michelle Yeoh called the film "a labour of love" but also confessed it had felt intimidating for her to play the Nobel laureate.
16Freddie Highmore, Madonna, David BowieTen-year-old Arthur must find a way to keep the home of his beloved grandmother from being destroyed by a developer with other plans. Remembering his grandfather's story of a treasure, he enters the world of tiny beings who live in perfect harmony with nature. Together with Princess Selenia and her young brother, Betameche, Arthur goes in search of the treasure and -- along the way -- discovers that his long-absent grandfather may not be missing after all.- #17 of 20 on20 Movies Where A Magic Portal Hides Another World
- #23 of 79 onThe Best Foreign Fantasy Movies
- #14 of 81 onThe Best Computer Animation Movies
17Selena Gomez, Snoop Dogg, FergieThis film is a French and American film with live action and animation co-written, co-produced and directed by Luc Besson, based on his novel of the same title and starring Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow. EuropaCorp produced the film, which is the third in Besson's Arthur series, following Arthur and the Invisibles and continuing Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard.
18Selena Gomez, Snoop Dogg, Fergie"In "Revenge of Maltazard", Arthur answers a distress call from Princess Selenia. Going back to the world of the tooth-sized, elfin Minimoys, he joins Selenia and her brother Betameche in a new journey past sticky spider webs and Maltazard's threatening henchmen in search of the forbidden city of Necropolis, home of the villainous wizard Maltazard. This follow-up movie to "Arthur and the Invisibles" has been shot back-to-back with the third film, "Arthur and the Two Worlds War". Directed once again by Luc Besson, the first sequel sees Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow reprising their roles as Arthur Suchot and his grandmother. It is yet to have its U.S. release schedule, but it is expected to hit the French theaters Christmas 2009." Quoting aceshowbiz.com
