Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		2.5

Nikita Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 17, 2009

Already released on Blu-ray in North America, Luc Besson’s hugely successful action thriller “La femme Nikita” (1990) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont. Unfortunately, even though the French release is also English-friendly and Region-Free, it is inferior to the North American release. The only supplemental features on this disc are a theatrical trailer and archival footage from the 1991 Cesar Awards where Anne Parillaud was granted the Best Actress Award.

Game Over

A gang of junkies breaks into a drugstore but the police arrive and corner them in. All are killed with the exception of a young woman (Anne Parillaud, Innocent Blood). She is arrested and immediately sentenced to death.

Before the sentence is carried out, however, the government gives the woman a second chance – they promise to let her live if she agrees to work for them. She does and her death is faked. The woman is instantly locked in a secret facility where she is trained to become an assassin. Three years later, the woman is released with a new identity - Nikita. She is told that when the government needs her services someone would contact her.

A charming store clerk, Marco (Jean-Hugues Anglade, 37°2 le matin), falls for Nikita. The two become friends and then lovers. Nikita likes her new life and decides that Marco should never be told about her past. Then, someone contacts Nikita.

Even though the action is what attracts many to La femme Nikita, its heavy psychedelic overtones are what transforms it into a terrific film. Additionally, the main characters are intriguingly flawed, at times even weird.

Anne Parillaud, who prior to La femme Nikita appeared in Alain Delon’s homage to Henri Verneuil La Battant (1983), another unusual crime film, does a spectacular job as the jaded but disturbingly skillful assassin. She is cool, when she needs to be, but also quite unpredictable. Unsurprisingly, La femme Nikita is most effective whenever the French actress goes berserk.

The second half of La femme Nikita is clearly the weaker one. It follows a familiar route and it certainly does not benefit from the psychedelic overtones mentioned earlier. Director Besson introduces all sorts of familiar twists that ultimately negate a lot of what makes his film worth watching. Notable cameos by the enigmatic Jean Reno (Leon) and earlier Jeanne Moreau (Ascenseur pour l'échafaud) add a different type of flavor to the film - Reno is absolutely hilarious as the professional “cleaner”- that further dissolve the weirdness from the opening scenes.

I remember when La femme Nikita was first released in European cinemas, many critics were unhappy with the flashy violence it introduced. Obviously, times have changed and what was once perceived as scandalous now seems, more or less, grotesque. Still, it is worth pointing out that La femme Nikita was a much different film nineteen years ago.

Director Besson’s style also changed a lot. With success came a desire to please rather than to be innovative, and the Frenchman ended up producing some truly disappointing films (Kiss of the Dragon, Wasabi, Taxi, etc). A glimpse of what could have been arrived with the release of Angel-A (2005), but it is certainly obvious now that his best years are behind him.

Nikita Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Luc Besson's La femme Nikita arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont.

In the United States, SONY already delivered a fantastic looking transfer of this classic French film. Now, La femme Nikita is available on Blu-ray in France as well. Most unfortunately, however, Gaumont's presentation is not as impressive as SONY's. Even though the basics for their transfer – contrast, clarity and detail – are mostly intact, I noticed quite a few issues that I would like to address. First, the French transfer has been seriously compressed. When blown through a digital projector, the image lacks the consistent clarity seen on the US release. Yes, occasionally the French transfer looks acceptable, but there are plenty of scenes where detail is very seriously affected. Furthermore, I also detected far more edge-enhancement on the French release than I did on the US one. This being said, the color-scheme on the French release is practically identical to the one the US release conveys, but there are some very annoying color pulsations that I spotted. Additionally, the black levels on the French release are slightly boosted. Finally, the French transfer is as healthy as the US one – there are no debris, scratches, dirt, or specks that to report in this review. All in all, if you are looking to get the best Blu-ray presentation of La femme Nikita I strongly encourage you to consider the US release courtesy of SONY. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Nikita Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English and French HOH subtitles.

For the US release of La femme Nikita, SONY provided two audio tracks: French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and English Dolby TrueHD 5.1. For the French release, Gaumont have provided a French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 track. Last night, I compared the French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track with the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 track. I went through a number of different scenes to see whether or not there is a substantial difference between the two but, to be honest with you, aside from a bit of rear channels activity and slightly improved dynamic levels on the French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track, the two actually sound quite similar. As far as the dialog is concerned, the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.0 track treats it as well as the French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track does – it is crystal clear, crisp and very easy to follow. Additionally, I did not detect any disturbing debris, cracks, hissings or dropouts to report in this review. Nonetheless, I favor the French Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track from the SONY release. In my opinion, it is the better one.

Nikita Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Original theatrical trailer – (PAL, 3 min)

Remise du Cesar de la meilleure actrice a Anne Parillaud – archival footage from the 1991 Cesar ceremony when Anne Parillaud won the Best Actress award for her performance in Luc Besson's film (PAL, 5 min).

Nikita Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are looking to get the best Blu-ray release of Luc Besson's classic action thriller La femme Nikita, I strongly recommend that you opt for the North American disc produced by SONY. The French release herein reviewed, courtesy of Gaumont, looks and sounds deceivingly strong, yet there are a number of issues with it. Obviously, we do not recommend that you buy it.