Léon (aka The Cleaner, The Professional, or Léon the Professional) is a 1994 film written and directed by French director Luc Besson. It stars Jean Reno and Gary Oldman, as well as Natalie Portman in her first starring role.

There exists a longer edition of the movie, often referred to as the director's cut, "international version" or "version intégrale", that has approximately twenty minutes of additional footage that was removed from the original cut in response to American test screenings.[citation needed] The additional material is found in the film's second act, and somewhat alters the tenor of Léon and Mathilda's relationship by delving more obviously into the notion that their interaction is more than just between a father figure and a daughter. In one scene, Mathilda plays Russian Roulette to try and get Léon to admit he loves her; in another, she openly asks him to be her first lover (the two are seen waking up in bed together after he refuses, though only the version intégrale gives the proper context to the scene by showing them falling asleep in the first place). Most of the other material in the longer cut involves Mathilda actually accompanying Léon on several of his hits; while she is never shown actually pulling the trigger of a real gun, she is obviously at least an accessory to several murders.

Luc Besson often releases extended versions of his movies after their original theatrical runs. They are usually called "long versions", or "version longue", and get limited runs in normal cinemas of large cities. The existence of an extended version does not necessarily indicate the original one having been somehow censored, although in Léon's case the shorter original edit was done minding the American audience.[citation needed] Besson does not consider that cut defective or corrupt in any way, however, just more condensed and less elaborate.[citation needed] Extended versions are targeted at fans who endure and enjoy a slower-paced show, Eric Serra's music and the general climate, like in The Big Blue.[citation needed] Léon received its theatrical release in France and worldwide as the normal version, not the longer cut.

The "version longue" of Léon was show in 1996 in French cinemas (followed by VHS), and released - as "version intégrale" - on LaserDisc and later Region 2 DVD in Japan. It appeared as the "international version" on Region 1 DVD in North America in 2000, and was re-issued in 2005.