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The Professional
Sign in to saveAlso known as Professionnel, Le Professionnel
1981 film by Georges Lautner
OverviewAI-generated
The Professional (Le Professionnel) is a 1981 French film directed by Georges Lautner, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jacques Audiard, Patrick Alexander, and Michel Audiard. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Desailly, Robert Hossein, and Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, with cinematography by Henri Decaë and a score by Ennio Morricone. Belmondo also served as one of its producers, alongside Georges Dancigers and Alexandre Mnouchkine.
The film is a crime, spy, drama, and thriller picture set in Paris, produced by companies including StudioCanal, Cerito Films, and Les Films Ariane. It runs 108 minutes and was distributed by Gaumont and Netflix. Its tagline reads: 'Never leave vengeance to amateurs.'
Synthesized by Vinony from 30 facts across 3 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.2Josselin Beaumont, a French secret agent, is tasked with assassinating Njala, the president for life of Malawi in Africa. A shift in French policy means that assassinating Njala is no longer an option. But instead of recalling their agent, high-ranking officials deliberately sacrifice Beaumont by handing him over to the Malawian authorities. Arrested, tried, and imprisoned, he nevertheless manages to escape. Back in Paris after a two-year absence, he informs his superiors through Colonel Martin that he will fulfill his contract during Njala’s upcoming official visit to Paris between the 12th and 15th of this month, and that he has a few scores to settle with the D.G.S.E. The question is, should Beaumont be stopped or not?
Cast
- Jean-Paul Belmondo as Commandant Joss Beaumont
- Robert Hossein as Commissaire Rosen
- Elisabeth Margoni as Jeanne Baumont, épouse de Joss
- Jean-Louis Richard as Colonel Martin
- Jean Desailly as Ministre
- Michel Beaune as Capitaine Édouard Valeras
Themes
- prison
- sniper
- homeless person
- husband wife relationship
- paris, france
- africa
- intelligence
- secret agent
- prison escape
- love
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Key facts
- Directed by
- Georges Lautner
- Screenplay by
- Michel Audiard Georges Lautner Jacques Audiard
- Based on
- Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal , 1976 novel, by Patrick Alexander
- Produced by
- Alain Belmondo
- Starring
- Jean-Paul Belmondo
- Cinematography
- Henri Decaë
- Edited by
- Michelle David
- Music by
- Ennio Morricone
- Production company
- Les Films Ariane
- Distributed by
- Gaumont Distribution
- Release date
- 21 October 1981 ( 1981-10-21 )
- Running time
- 109 minutes
- Country
- France
- Language
- French
- Budget
- $3.5 million
- Box office
- $63.4 million
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Genre
- mystery film
- Country of origin
- France
- Original language
- French
- Director
- Georges Lautner
- Screenwriter
- Michel Audiard
- Cast member
- Marie-Christine Descouard
- Composer
- Ennio Morricone
- Producer
- Alexandre Mnouchkine
- Production company
- StudioCanal
- Cinematographer
- Henri Decaë
- Narrative location
- Paris
- Duration
- 108
- FilmAffinity ID
- 859130
- Distribution format
- video on demand
Show 4 more facts
- publication date
- 1982-01-08
- title
- Le Professionnel
- distributed by
- Netflix
- Commons category
- Le Professionnel
Sources (9)
via Wikidata · CC0
~7 min read
Encyclopedic overview
The Professional (original title: Le Professionnel; French pronunciation: [lə pʁɔfɛsjɔˈnɛl]) is a 1981 French action thriller film directed by Georges Lautner. The film stars Jean-Paul Belmondo as the title role. The film is based on the award-winning 1976 novel Death of a Thin-Skinned Animal by Patrick Alexander.
The film was a commercial success upon its theatrical release and was the fourth most watched feature film in France in 1981 behind La Chèvre, Raiders of the Lost Ark and The Fox and the Hound, selling 5,243,559 tickets.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “The Professional” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.