| La Femme Nikita | |
|---|---|
&sq=&lang=&file=File:Nikita_france.jpg) French theatrical release poster | |
| French | Nikita |
| Directed by | Luc Besson |
| Written by | Luc Besson |
| Produced by | Patrice Ledoux[1] |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Thierry Arbogast |
| Edited by | Olivier Mauffroy[1] |
| Music by | Éric Serra |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Gaumont (France) Penta Distribuzione (Italy) |
Release dates |
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Running time | 117 minutes[2] |
| Countries |
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| Language | French |
| Budget | 39 million F (€ 5.6 million) |
La Femme Nikita,[a] also called Nikita in France, is a 1990 French-language action thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson. The film stars Anne Parillaud as the title character, a criminal who is convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering policemen during an armed pharmacy robbery. Her government handlers fake her death and recruit her as a professional assassin. After intense training, she starts a career as a killer, where she struggles to balance her work with her personal life. She shows talent at this and her career progresses until a mission in an embassy goes awry.
Besson has said that he wrote Nikita with Parillaud, then his romantic partner, in mind.[3] The film was considered a surprise hit.[3] Roger Ebert called it a "smart, hard-edged, psycho-romantic thriller" in his review.[4] Janet Maslin wrote in The New York Times: "La Femme Nikita combines hip violence, punk anomie, lavish settings and an old-fashioned paean to the power of love."[5]
It was remade as Black Cat (1991) in Hong Kong, Point of No Return (1993) in Hollywood, and in Bollywood as Kartoos (1999). Two English-language television series were produced based on the film, La Femme Nikita (1997–2001) and Nikita (2010–2013).
- ^ a b Hayward 2010, p. 129.
- ^ "Nikita (18)". British Board of Film Classification. 6 July 1990. Retrieved 1 January 2012.
- ^ a b Dutka, Elaine (1991-03-27). "The 'Fairy Tale' Luck of Director Luc Besson : Movies: His latest film, 'La Femme Nikita,' the story of a crazed addict transformed into a ruthless undercover agent, is a surprise hit". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ Ebert, Roger. "La Femme Nikita movie review & film summary (1991) | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com/. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (1991-03-08). "Review/Film; A Bad Girl Who Turns Into a True Femme Fatale". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-08-01.
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