Jeri Jacquin

Coming to 4K Ultra HD in a limited edition Steelbook from writer/director Luc Besson and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is the tale of a sleek assassin with LA FEMME NIKITA.

Coming from a life of drugs and violent, Nikita (Anne Parillaud) is about to rob a pharmacy owned by her friend. When a police gunfight breaks out and Nikita kills a cop. She is quickly arrested and found guilty of murder that held a life sentence. Just as fast as she enters prison, Nikita is whisked away and meets Bob (Tcheky Karyo) who tells her that she is officially declared dead.

She is given the choice of becoming an assassin for The Centre or being put in her grave for real this time. Trying to figure out how to be smarter than her captors, Nikita eventually gives in and is trained in computers, use of firearms and martial arts. In one fell swoop she goes from being a drug addict committing crime to a stunning assassin.

Her first mission is a test of her training and Nikita becomes a sleeper agent named Marie. She also meets Marco (Jean-Hugues Anglade) and they begin a relationship meeting “Uncle Bob” who has stories of Marie’s childhood and offers a trip to Venice to the couple. For Nikita it is an assignment and Marco believes they are on a vacation. As things become more complicated, Nikita must watch her every move!

Parillaud as Nikita is a young woman living the worst life imaginable for a young woman. After the murder and sentence, as much as she wants to fight what The Centre is asking of her, it is the only way to live. Parillaud goes from bullets to bang in this role as she navigates The Centre by trying to do what they want and living a life that doesn’t include missions of murder. This is a fantastic role for Parillaud.

Karyo as Bob come in quickly to drill into Nikita that she doesn’t have a choice in the matter accept death. Watching her go through the training, he makes his presence known when she starts seeing a Marco but it works in his favor to push her into another mission. Karyo uses charm to get what he wants but he is lethal.     

Anglade as Marco is unaware of Nikita’s profession and realizes that she has no family and friends that she even wants to speak of. “Uncle Bob” is a surprise for him and blinded by the gift of a trip to Venice but there is always a catch to love.

Other cast include Jacques Boudet as The Chemist, Jeanne Moreau as Amande, Philippe Leroy as Grossman, Jean Bouise as the Attache and Jean Reno as Victor “The Cleaner.

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment encompasses motion picture production for television, digital content and theater releases. The studios include Columbia Pictures, Screen Gems, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Stage 6 Films and Sony Picture Classics. To see what is coming to theaters and to home entertainment please visit www.sonypictures.com.

Bonus Features include on 4K Ultra HD Presented in 4K Resolution with Dolby Vision and French & English 5.1 +French 2-Channel Surround.

The film won awards from the Cesar Awards in France including Best Film for Luc Besson, Best Actress for Anne Parillaud, along with nominations for Most Promising Actor, Best Director and Best Music. Parillaud also won Best Foreign Actress from the David di Donatello Awards with Luc Besson nominated for Best Foreign Film. The Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists voted Best Foreign Director for Luc Besson and Tcheky Karyo for Best Actor by Mystfest.

Besson gives a film that, first of all, has a fantastic story line in this 1990 film. It would be repeated again in in the 1997-2001 television series. Besson would also be a writer in the 1993, director John Badham’s film POINT OF NO RETURN which gives an American spin on his 1990 story.

Experiencing LE FEMME NIKITA once again is an absolutely joy. I am a fan of Besson’s films and it actually started with this particular film. Putting a female in a role that pits her against the ruthless world of being an assassin is brilliant and brilliantly done. The action is fast paced and the tension is real from scene to scene. This is a film, especially in Steelbook, would be a worthy film to have on the shelf of everyone’s home entertainment library.

In the end – she murders so that she can live!

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