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''The Fifth Element'' is a 1997 English-language French science fiction action film conceived and directed by Luc Besson, as well as co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, Chris Tucker, and
Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...
. Primarily set in the 23rd century, the film's central plot involves the survival of planet Earth, which becomes the responsibility of Korben Dallas (Willis), a taxicab driver and former
special forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
major, after a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his cab. To accomplish this, Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defence of Earth against the impending attack of a malevolent cosmic entity. Besson started writing the story that was developed as ''The Fifth Element'' when he was 16 years old; he was 38 when the film opened in cinemas. Besson wanted to shoot the film in France, but suitable facilities could not be found; filming took place in London and
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
instead. He hired comic artists Jean "Moebius" Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières, whose books inspired parts of the film, for production design. Costume design was by Jean-Paul Gaultier. ''The Fifth Element'' received mainly positive reviews, although some critics were highly negative. The film won in categories at the British Academy Film Awards, the
César Award Cesar, César or Cèsar may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''César'' (film), a 1936 film directed by Marcel Pagnol * ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt * César Award, a French film award Places * Cesar, Portugal * C ...
s, the Cannes Film Festival, and the Lumières Awards, but also received nominations at the
Golden Raspberry The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
and Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. ''The Fifth Element'' was a strong financial success, earning more than US$263million at the box office on a $90million budget. At the time of its release, it was the most expensive European film ever made, and it remained the highest-grossing French film at the international box office until the release of '' The Intouchables'' in 2011.


Plot

In 1914, aliens known as Mondoshawans meet their human contact, a priest of a secret order, at an ancient Egyptian temple. They take the only weapon capable of defeating a great evil that appears every five thousand years, and promise to return the weapon before the great evil's re-emergence. The weapon consists of the four
classical element Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simil ...
s, as four engraved stones, plus a
sarcophagus A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek ...
containing a "fifth element". In 2263, the great evil appears in deep space as a giant living fireball. It destroys an armed Earth spaceship as it heads to Earth. The Mondoshawans' current human contact on Earth, priest Vito Cornelius, informs the President of the Federated Territories of the great evil's history and of the weapon that can stop it. On their way to Earth, a Mondoshawan spacecraft carrying the weapon is ambushed and destroyed by a crew of Mangalores, alien mercenaries hired by Earth industrialist Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, who is working for the great evil. A severed hand in metal armor from the wreckage of the spacecraft is brought to New York City. From this, the government uses biotechnology to recreate the original occupant of the sarcophagus, a humanoid woman named Leeloo who remembers her previous life. Alarmed by the unfamiliar surroundings and high security, she escapes and jumps off a ledge, crashing into the flying taxicab of Korben Dallas, a former major in Earth's
Special Forces Special forces and special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...
. Dallas delivers Leeloo to Cornelius and his apprentice, David, who recognize her as the Fifth Element. As Leeloo recuperates, she tells Cornelius that the stones were not onboard the Mondoshawan ship. Simultaneously, the Mondoshawans inform Earth's government the stones were entrusted to an alien opera singer, the diva Plavalaguna. Zorg reneges on his deal with the Mangalores for failing to obtain the stones and kills some of them. Earth's military sends Dallas to meet Plavalaguna; a rigged radio contest provides a cover, awarding Dallas a luxury vacation aboard a flying hotel on planet Fhloston, accompanied by flamboyant talk-show host Ruby Rhod. It includes a concert by Plavalaguna, and learning that Leeloo shares his mission, Dallas lets her accompany him. Cornelius instructs David to prepare the temple, then stows away on the luxury spaceship. The Mangalore crew, pursuing the stones for themselves, also illegally board the ship. During the concert, the Mangalores attack and Plavalaguna dies. Dallas extracts the stones from her body and kills the Mangalore leader, causing the others to surrender. Zorg arrives, shoots and traumatizes Leeloo, and activates a
time bomb A time bomb (or a timebomb, time-bomb) is a bomb whose detonation is triggered by a timer. The use (or attempted use) of time bombs has been for various purposes including insurance fraud, terrorism, assassination, sabotage and warfare. They ar ...
. He flees with a carrying case he presumes contains the stones, but returns when he discovers it is empty. He deactivates his bomb, but a dying Mangalore sets off his own, destroying the hotel and killing Zorg. Meanwhile, Dallas, Cornelius, Leeloo, and Rhod escape with the stones in Zorg's private spaceship. As the great evil approaches Earth, the four meet David at the temple. They deploy the stones, but Leeloo, having learned of humanity's own terrible history of war, has given up on life. Dallas declares his love for her and kisses her. In response, Leeloo combines the power of the stones, emitting divine light onto the great evil and defeating it. She and Dallas are hailed as heroes and, as dignitaries wait to greet them, the two passionately embrace in a recovery chamber.


Cast


Themes

In an interview, Besson stated ''The Fifth Element'' was not a "big theme movie", although the film's theme was an important one. He wanted viewers to reach the point where Leeloo states, "What's the use of saving life when you see what you do with it?" and agree with her. Jay P. Telotte, writing in the book ''Science Fiction Film'', credited the film with exploring the theme of political corruption. Brian Ott and Eric Aoki writing in the feminist journal '' Women's Studies in Communication'' considered gender to be one of the film's central themes. The authors criticized the film for erasing women from the introductory scenes, noting that only two appeared in the first twenty minutes: an androgynous, mostly speechless presidential aide, and Leeloo undergoing reconstruction. When females appear in the film, they are presented as passive objects, such as the sexualised flight and McDonald's attendants; or stripped of their femininity, such as the "
butch Butch may refer to: People * Butch (nickname), a list of people * Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, an Old West outlaw gang *Barbara Butch, French lesbian DJ and activist * Butch Miller (wrestler) (born 1944), ring name of New Zealand professional wr ...
" Major Iceborg. Stefan Brandt, in the book ''Subverting Masculinity'', also said that the film "echoes stereotypical beliefs about gender" of all females in the film. He said that Leeloo left her passive role only during her fight with the Mangalores. Except for Tiny Lister's portrayal of the President, Brandt said that all males in the film were shown as unmanly as possible in various ways, such as Ruby Rhod's effeminacy, Vito Cornelius's clumsy form of speech, and General Munro's stupidity; their purpose was to make Korben's masculinity appear "god-like" by comparison. In the book ''The Films of Luc Besson'', Susan Hayward considered ''The Fifth Element'' to be a classic story of a man "making his break from the tribe, proving his manhood, overthrowing the malevolent forces, and killing the chief, finally to reap the rewards of security and marriage". Korben's journey, however, is threatened not only by the Mangalores and Zorg, but also by Leeloo, who does not relent or help him until the last minute, when she accepts his declaration of love. The love story within ''The Fifth Element'' was considered to be one of the main narratives in the film, and it faces the same deadline as the main storyline. Hayward also considered the film to grapple with environmental damage, in so far as waste and pollution are visible throughout the film. Whereas science-fiction films often show a world wherein some new technology or threat either surpasses or fails humanity, ''The Films of Luc Besson'' included ''The Fifth Element'' among the minority of science-fiction films that "hold up a mirror" and show humankind as responsible. Hayward said the film was skeptical of capitalist consumerism, in so far as the gadgets Zorg collected in his office suggested that he had an unhealthy obsession for technology. The tension between technology and man is treated as a problem requiring a final resolution.


Production

As a teenager, Besson envisioned the world of ''The Fifth Element'' in an attempt to alleviate boredom. He began writing the script when he was 16, though the film was not released in cinemas until he was 38. The original story was set in the year 2300 and was about a "nobody" named Zaltman Bleros (later renamed Korben Dallas) who wins a trip to the Club Med resort on the planet Fhloston Paradise in the Angel constellation. There, he meets Leeloo, a "sand-girl" who has the "beauty of youth" despite being over 2,000 years old. Besson continued to work on the story for years. By 1991, when his documentary film '' Atlantis'' was released, he had a 400-page script. Nicolas Seydoux and Patrice Ledoux from Gaumont were the first people to take on the project. In November 1991, while looking for actors for the film, Besson met
French comics French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with France ...
creators Jean Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières and recruited them for the film's production design. Giraud and Mézières's comics inspired the look that Besson wanted for his futuristic New York City. Mézières had designed ''
The Circles of Power ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (1994), which contains a character named S'Traks, who drives a flying taxicab through the congested air of the vast metropolis on the planet Rubanis. Mézières showed images of the flying taxi to Besson, who was inspired to change character Korben Dallas's background from a worker in a rocket-ship factory to a taxi driver who flies his cab around a Rubanis-inspired futuristic New York City. Besson's production also hired five other artists for the project. In addition, the noted fashion designer Jean-Paul Gaultier was hired to create the costumes. The team spent a year creating more than 8,000 drawings. During this time, Besson approached both Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson for the lead role. Willis expressed interest, though he was reluctant to take on the role as the film was considered risky after his previous two films, '' Hudson Hawk'' and ''
Billy Bathgate ''Billy Bathgate'' is a 1989 novel by author E. L. Doctorow that won the 1989 National Book Critics Circle award for fiction for 1990, the 1990 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the 1990 William Dean Howells Medal, and was the runner-up for the 1 ...
'', had been received poorly. Gibson eventually turned down the role. While the production team impressed film companies with their designs, they struggled to find one willing to take on a budget approaching nearly $100million. In December 1992, production stopped without any prior warning, and the team disbanded. Besson wrote and directed the commercially successful film '' Léon: The Professional'' (1994). During that period, he continued to work on the script for ''The Fifth Element'', shortening it. He reduced the film's budget to $90million before again attempting to find a studio willing to produce it. Columbia Pictures, which had a partnership in ''Leon'', agreed to finance the film. By this time, Besson had decided to go with a lesser-known lead actor to save on production costs. Besson happened to be in
Barry Josephson Barry Josephson (born April 2, 1956) is an American film producer and former music manager. Life and career After attending the McBurney School in New York City, Josephson graduated from American University, Washington DC in 1978, and was an ac ...
's office when Willis called regarding a different film. Besson asked to speak to Willis "just to say hello", and told him that ''The Fifth Element'' was finally going ahead, explaining his decision to go with a less-expensive actor. After a short silence, Willis said, "If I like the film, we can always come to an arrangement." After reading the script, Willis agreed to take on the role. Production began in early August 1995. Besson traveled to various places for casting, including Paris, London and Rome. He hired Gary Oldman (who had starred in ''Léon'') for the role of Zorg, describing Oldman as "one of the top five actors in the world". For the character Leeloo, Besson chose
Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich; sr-Latn, Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; russian: Милица Богдановна Йовович; uk, Милиця Богданoвна Йовович ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovo ...
from the 200 to 300 applicants he met in person. The "Divine Language" spoken by Leeloo is a fictional language of 400 words, invented by Besson. To practice, Jovovich and Besson held conversations and wrote letters to each other in the language. Besson was then married to Maïwenn Le Besco, who played the role of Diva Plavalaguna when filming began. He left her to take up with Jovovich during filming. Jovovich and Besson later married but divorced two years later in 1999. Although he wanted to shoot the film in France, Besson could not find suitable facilities and filmed in London. It was primarily filmed at
Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to te ...
on seven soundstages including the
007 Stage The Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage is one of the largest sound stages in the world. It is located at Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, and named after James Bond film producer Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli. The stage was ori ...
. Construction of sets began in October 1995. The opera scene was filmed at the Royal Opera House. Scenes depicted as being in Egypt were filmed in
Mauritania Mauritania (; ar, موريتانيا, ', french: Mauritanie; Berber: ''Agawej'' or ''Cengit''; Pulaar: ''Moritani''; Wolof: ''Gànnaar''; Soninke:), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania ( ar, الجمهورية الإسلامية ...
; the first shoot, a background shot of the desert, occurred there on 5 January 1996. Filming with actors began in late January, and was completed 21 weeks later. Willis finished filming on 16 May, while Oldman only commenced filming the following week; the protagonist (Korben) and antagonist (Zorg) never actually share any screen time. Despite being filmed in London, ''The Fifth Element'' was a French production, the costliest European film ever made at the time. The designs of buildings in New York were derived from both metabolist-inspired masses of modular apartments from the 1960s and the futuristic designs of architect
Antonio Sant'Elia Antonio Sant'Elia (; 30 April 1888 – 10 October 1916) was an Italian architect and a key member of the Futurist movement in architecture. He left behind almost no completed works of architecture and is primarily remembered for his bold sk ...
in the 1910s. Besson demanded that most of the action shots take place in broad daylight, as he was reportedly tired of the dark spaceship corridors and dimly lit planets common in science-fiction films, and wanted a brighter, "cheerfully crazy" look as opposed to a gloomy, realistic one. Gaultier designed each of the 900 costumes worn by extras in the Fhloston Paradise scenes and checked each costume every morning. His designs, described as "intellectually
transgressive Transgressive may mean: *Transgressive art, a name given to art forms that violate perceived boundaries *Transgressive fiction, a modern style in literature *Transgressive Records, a United Kingdom-based independent record label *Transgressive (l ...
", were said to challenge sexuality and gender norms. A single jacket he designed for the film cost $5,000. Jovovich's costume worn from when her character was first revived was inspired by typical hospital dressing and bandages that provided minimal modesty. The original name of the character Ruby Rhod was Loc Rhod, which appears both in the original script and in the novel adapted from the film. Hayward speculated that the name change was a play on data in the periodic table.
Rubidium Rubidium is the chemical element with the symbol Rb and atomic number 37. It is a very soft, whitish-grey solid in the alkali metal group, similar to potassium and caesium. Rubidium is the first alkali metal in the group to have a density higher ...
is the first of the period 5 elements, and exactly halfway along that row is the element rhodium. Using the first half of each element yields "Rubi Rhod". Others have speculated this name is a play on the character's
gender-bending A gender bender is a person who dresses up and acts like the opposite sex. Bending expected gender roles may also be called a genderfuck. Gender bending may be political, stemming from the early identity politics movements of the 1960s and 19 ...
persona, with a feminine first name and phallic surname. Prince was cast to portray Rhod but could not schedule filming around his touring dates. Chris Tucker and Jamie Foxx were each considered for the role; Besson liked Foxx but felt that Tucker's smaller body suited the character better.


Effects

Three different teams handled the three different types of special effects used in the film.
Nick Allder Nick Allder is an English special effects supervisor and coordinator. He started his career as an assistant camera operator and moved, after eight years, into special effects. He has won multiple awards, including an Academy Award for Best Vis ...
directed mechanical and pyrotechnical effects,
Nick Dudman Nick Dudman is a British make-up effects and creature designer for motion pictures. Dudman and his team have created the make-up effects and the animatronic creatures in the ''Harry Potter'' films, garnering BAFTA Award nominations for six of t ...
was placed in charge of 'creature' effects, and
Mark Stetson Mark Stetson (born 1952) is a visual effects artist. He has worked on over 60 films since his start in 1979. He won at the 74th Academy Awards in the category of Best Visual Effects for his work on the film '' The Lord of the Rings: The Fellows ...
headed the visual effects team. Visual effects company Digital Domain was hired, and
Karen Goulekas Karen Goulekas is a visual effects artist. Goulekas jointly won two Emmy Awards for her work covering the 1992 Summer Olympics. She has jointly won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects twice, for ''The Fifth Element'' in 1998 and ''Th ...
was given the role of digital effects supervisor.
Alias Alias may refer to: * Pseudonym * Pen name * Nickname Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Alias'' (2013 film), a 2013 Canadian documentary film * ''Alias'' (TV series), an American action thriller series 2001–2006 * ''Alias the ...
, Autodesk Softimage, Arete, Side Effect's Prisms, RenderMan, and in-house software, were used by Digital Domain to create effects. Some individual shots used a combination of live action,
scale model A scale model is a physical model which is geometrically similar to an object (known as the prototype). Scale models are generally smaller than large prototypes such as vehicles, buildings, or people; but may be larger than small prototypes ...
s,
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is the use of computer graphics to create or contribute to images in art, printed media, video games, simulators, and visual effects in films, television programs, shorts, commercials, and videos. The images may ...
, and particle systems. The lanes of traffic in the scenes in New York City were created with particle systems: Among the scale models used for filming were the buildings representing New York City. Dozens of apartment blocks and 25 skyscrapers, some high, were constructed in scale. It took a team of eighty workers five months to build all the models. The windows of the buildings were cited by the team as one of the most time-consuming tasks, along with details behind the windows, such as furniture, blinds, lightboxes, and tiny pieces of flat artwork. Virtual sets built within digital environments were created to enhance the use of miniatures. Motion control cameras moved throughout the scale sets, and the data they collected was exported to track and generate the CG animation and particle systems. Other techniques used included digital matte paintings for backgrounds and the NURBS mathematical model for certain animations, including the sequence in which Leeloo's body is reconstructed.


Soundtrack

In ''The Fifth Element'', some kind of music is playing during about ninety percent of the film; Besson's films have been described as "intrinsically musical". The
score Score or scorer may refer to: *Test score, the result of an exam or test Business * Score Digital, now part of Bauer Radio * Score Entertainment, a former American trading card design and manufacturing company * Score Media, a former Canadian m ...
was composed by
Éric Serra Éric Serra (; born 9 September 1959) is a French composer. He is a frequent collaborator of film director Luc Besson. Early life Serra was born in Saint-Mandé. His father Claude was a famous French songwriter in the 1950s and '60s, and so ...
. He relies chiefly on the use of orchestral textures, such as the oboe and strings heard as the surgeons prepare to regenerate Leeloo, and the pizzicato as she is reconstructed. Serra also used many non-French influences, such as the
Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory o ...
fanfare heard before the spaceport sequence, the reggae piece played in preparation for the flight, and the hula music that greets the passengers as they arrive in Fhloston. More conventional scoring techniques are present in the
leitmotif A leitmotif or leitmotiv () is a "short, recurring musical phrase" associated with a particular person, place, or idea. It is closely related to the musical concepts of ''idée fixe'' or ''motto-theme''. The spelling ''leitmotif'' is an anglici ...
that first sounds when professor Pacoli mentions the fifth element, the militaristic snares as the warship prepares to attack the dark planet, and the Mahlerian funereal piece heard when Leeloo learns about war. The music used for the taxicab chase scene, titled "Alech Taadi" by Algerian performer Khaled, did not appear on the film soundtrack but is available on Khaled's album ''
N'ssi N'ssi ''N'ssi N'ssi'' is a studio album from Algerian raï artist Khaled, produced by Don Was and Philippe Eidel. It includes the songs "N'ssi, N'ssi," "Chebba," and " Abdel Kader," which are among Khaled's most famous, and "Alech Taadi" which was us ...
''. The Diva Dance opera performance used music from
Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...
's '' Lucia di Lammermoor'': "
Il dolce suono "Il dolce suono" ("The Sweet Sound") is the incipit of the recitativo of a ''scena ed aria'' taken from Act III scene 2, ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' by Gaetano Donizetti. It is also commonly known as the "mad scene" sung by the leading soprano, Lucia. ...
", the
mad scene A mad scene is an enactment of insanity in an opera or play. It was a popular convention of Italian and French opera in the early decades of the nineteenth century. Mad scenes were often created as a way to offer star singers a chance to show off ...
of Act III, Scene 2. It is one of the few pieces of music in the film that is diegetic. It was sung by Albanian
soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261  Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...
Inva Mula. The role of Plavalaguna was played by French actress Maïwenn Le Besco. Part One (titled "Lucia di Lammermoor") and Part Two (titled "The Diva Dance") of this piece are included as separate tracks on ''The Fifth Element'' soundtrack but are sequenced to create the effect of the entire performance seen in the film. The end of Part One blends into the beginning of Part Two, creating a smooth transition between the two tracks. Released as an album under Virgin Records, the soundtrack peaked at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' 200. More than 200,000 copies of the lengthy soundtrack were sold in France alone. Rodney Batdorf of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, stating it was "diverse and accomplished, and it is just as effective outside of the film as it is within it." A review from Filmtracks.com also awarded the album three out of five stars.


Release and reception


Initial screening

The film premiered on 7 May at the
1997 Cannes Film Festival The 50th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 18 May 1997 in film, 1997. The Palme d'Or was jointly awarded to ''Taste of Cherry, Ta'm e guilass'' by Abbas Kiarostami and ''The Eel (film), Unagi'' by Shohei Imamura. Jeanne Moreau was the mistre ...
, where it was selected as the opening film. Gaumont built an area for the screening that was over . Guests were given a "Fifth Element" Swatch, which was used as their ticket for entry. The event included a futuristic ballet, a fashion show by Jean-Paul Gaultier, and fireworks. Gaumont spent between $1million and $3million on the event, a record at the time. The film's North American release was handled by
Sony Pictures Releasing Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group (commonly known as Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures Entertainme ...
via its Columbia Pictures label.


Box office

The film debuted at number one in the US, earning $17million on its opening weekend. It became a box-office success, grossing over $263million, almost three times its budget of $90million. About 75% of the receipts for ''The Fifth Element'' were from markets outside the United States, and it was the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide. It was the most successful film at the box office in France in 1997, with more than 7.69 million seeing the film. In Germany, the film was awarded the Goldene Leinwand, a sales certification award for selling more than three million tickets at the box office. ''The Fifth Element'' became the highest-grossing French film at the foreign box-office, a record it held for 16 years until the release of ''The Intouchables'' in 2011.


Critical response

Despite the popular response, critics split in their response to ''The Fifth Element''. Kevin Thomas of the '' Los Angeles Times'' described the film as an "elaborate, even campy sci-fi extravaganza, which is nearly as hard to follow as last year's '' Mission: Impossible''". He concluded that ''The Fifth Element'' was "a lot warmer, more fun, and boasts some of the most sophisticated, witty production and costume design you could ever hope to see". On the American film review '' At the Movies'', both
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
and
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune''. Along with colleague Roger Ebert, he hosted a series of movie review programs on television from 1975 until his d ...
gave the film a "thumbs up". In his separate review for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, calling it "One of the great goofy movies", and concluding, "I would not have missed seeing this film, and I recommend it for its richness of imagery. But at 127 minutes, which seems a reasonable length, it plays long." The film also received reviews that criticized its overblown style. Todd McCarthy of '' Variety'' wrote, "A largely misfired European attempt to make an American-style sci-fi spectacular, ''The Fifth Element'' consists of a hodgepodge of elements that don't comfortably coalesce." David Edelstein of ''
Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
'' said, "It may or may not be the worst movie ever made, but it is one of the most unhinged." Chris Tucker's performance as Ruby Rhod also divided critics. He was praised in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and '' Time''; the latter called him "the summer's most outrageous special effect". Josh Winning of '' Total Film'', singled out Tucker's performance as the low point of the film, ranking it as number 20 on his 2011 list, "50 Performances That Ruined Movies". ''The Fifth Element'' holds a approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on reviews, with an average score of . The site's consensus reads: "Visually inventive and gleefully over the top, Luc Besson's ''The Fifth Element'' is a fantastic piece of pop sci-fi that never takes itself too seriously." At Metacritic, it has a weighted score of 52 outof 100 based on reviews from 22 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is a market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts based on the data. Background Ed Mintz founded Ci ...
gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.


Plagiarism suit

Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean Giraud sued Besson after the film was released, claiming ''The Fifth Element'' had plagiarised their comic ''
The Incal ''The Incal'' (; French: ''L'Incal'') is a French graphic novel series written by Alejandro Jodorowsky and originally illustrated by Jean Giraud. ''The Incal'', with first pages originally released as ''Une aventure de John Difool'' ("A John Di ...
''. Giraud sued for 13.1million euros for unfair competition, 9million euros in damages and interest, and two to five percent of the net operating revenues of the film. Jodorowsky sued for 700,000 euros. The case was dismissed in 2004 on the grounds that only "tiny fragments" of the comic had been used and Giraud had been hired by Besson to work on the film before the allegations were made.


Adaptations

A novel was adapted from the screenplay of ''The Fifth Element'', written by Terry Bisson; it was published by HarperPrism in 1997. Rumors arose after the film's release that it would be followed by a sequel, tentatively titled ''Mr. Shadow''. In 2011 Besson said that he never planned a sequel and has no desire to make one. Activision created a
video game adaptation An adaptation is a transfer of a work of art from one style, culture or medium to another. Some common examples are: * Film adaptation, a story from another work, adapted into a film (it may be a novel, non-fiction like journalism, autobiography, ...
of ''The Fifth Element'' in 1998 for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...
game console and PC. The PlayStation version generally received negative reviews, but the PC version was better received. Lauren Fielder from '' GameSpot'' described the PlayStation version as "quite possibly the worst game I've ever played". Doug Perry from ''
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
'' wrote: "Take '' Tomb Raider'', add in Leeloo Multipass and boring puzzles, and you've got ''Fifth Element''." A racing game based on the film, '' New York Race'', was released in 2001. '' Eurogamer'' gave the game 6 outof 10, concluding: "''New York Race'' is a fun little arcade racer, which oozes style, but it's something you'll grow tired of extremely quickly and as such remains fun only in short bursts."


Accolades

''The Fifth Element'' was nominated for
Best Sound Editing This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow List of film awards, film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awa ...
at the 70th Academy Awards, and for Best Sound Editing at the 1998 Golden Reel Awards, but lost to '' Titanic'' in both cases. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects, and the Lumières Award for Best Director. It was nominated for seven César awards, winning three:
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
,
Best Cinematography This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and Best Production Design. It was nominated for Film of the Year at the 1997 European Film Awards, as well as the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and the
Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects The Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects is one of the annual Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References External links Official website {{Satellite ...
. Thierry Arbogast was awarded the
Technical Grand Prize The Vulcan Award of the Technical Artist (french: Prix Vulcain de l’Artiste Technicien) is an independent film award created in 2003. It rewards the work of a technician for his or her collaboration in the creation of a film from the official se ...
at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for his work on both ''The Fifth Element'' and ''
She's So Lovely ''She's So Lovely'' is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first (and still only) ...
''. The film received four
Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...
nominations: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Costume, Best Special Effects, and Best Supporting Actress for Milla Jovovich. Jovovich's fight against the Mangalores was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight, and the actress was also nominated for Best ActressNewcomer at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. Conversely, Jovovich received a
Golden Raspberry The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...
nomination for Worst Supporting Actress, and Chris Tucker was nominated for Worst New Star for his performances in both ''The Fifth Element'' and '' Money Talks''. The film also received four nominations at the 1997 Stinkers Bad Movie Awards: Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Supporting Actor for Tucker and Worst Supporting Actress for Jovovich.


Home media

The original home video release of ''The Fifth Element'' took place in North America on 10 December 1997, on VHS,
LaserDisc The LaserDisc (LD) is a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium, initially licensed, sold and marketed as DiscoVision, MCA DiscoVision (also known simply as "DiscoVision") in the United States in 1978. Its diam ...
, and DVD. The original DVD presented the film in its original 2.39:1
anamorphic widescreen Anamorphic widescreen (also called Full height anamorphic or FHA) is a process by which a comparatively wide widescreen image is horizontally compressed to fit into a storage medium (photographic film or MPEG-2 standard-definition frame, for exam ...
format, though carried no special features. The film was released in Sony's Superbit format in October 2001. In his review, Conrad Jeremy from ''IGN'' gave the picture quality of the original DVD release 9 outof 10, though awarded the Superbit version a perfect score for picture quality. Overall, the Superbit version was given 8 outof 10; the final score was brought down by the version's complete lack of special features. An "Ultimate Edition" set of two DVDs was released on 11 January 2005. The only difference between the Superbit version and the Ultimate Edition disc one is the addition of a "fact track", which when turned on displays trivia about the film, cast, and crew as the film plays. The second disc provides various special features, focusing on visual production, special effects, fashion in the film, featurettes, and interviews with Willis, Jovovich, and Tucker, as well as featurettes on the four different alien races in the film and Diva Plavalaguna. Ian Jane of '' DVD Talk'' praised the Ultimate Edition for its special features. The first Blu-ray release of the film on 20 June 2006 was criticised as having poor picture quality by Blu-ray standards, and for its lack of special features. In what has been called "an extremely rare move", Sony responded to complaints by making a remastered Blu-ray version available, released on 17 July 2007, and also offered a replacement exchange program for customers unhappy with the original Blu-ray release. Ben Williams from Blu-ray.com stated the remastered version "absolutely" made up for the substandard initial release, and praised its high video and audio quality; however, he criticised the continued lack of special features. The 20th-anniversary 4K remaster was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on 11 July 2017.


Legacy

The film has been described by
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, Rotten Tomatoes, and ComingSoon.com as a science-fiction cult classic. In 2007 the
Visual Effects Society The Visual Effects Society (VES) is an entertainment industry organization representing visual effects practitioners including artists, animators, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and pr ...
placed ''The Fifth Element'' at number 50, tied with ''
Darby O'Gill and the Little People ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' is a 1959 American fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Productions, adapted from the ''Darby O'Gill'' stories of Herminie Templeton Kavanagh. Directed by Robert Stevenson and written by Lawrence Ed ...
'', on their list of the fifty most influential visual effects films of all time. In 2014 ''
Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an enginee ...
'' listed the film at number 42 on their "100 best sci-fi movies" list. Film critic
Mark Kermode Mark James Patrick Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter and podcaster. He is the chief film critic for ''The Observer'', contributes to the magazine ''Sight & Sound'', prese ...
reported that ''The Fifth Element'' was one of the most divisive films among his readers, regarded as both the best and the worst summer blockbuster of all time. Years later, Kermode recalled: "I remember very clearly being in Cannes when '' heFifth Element'' was first played, and it ''really'' divided the audience." Stephen Cass of ''
Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * Di ...
'' ranked the film the third-best science-fiction film on subscription service
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, writing, "People seem to either like or loathe ''The Fifth Element ''... Lavish visuals and entertaining performances from Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman make this movie worth watching." In some circles, the film has gained a "
so-bad-it's-good A cult film or cult movie, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a cult following. Cult films are known for their dedicated, passionate fanbase which forms an elaborate subculture, members of which engage i ...
" status; Meredith Woerner of io9 listed ''The Fifth Element'' as one of "The 20 Best Worst Science-Fiction Movies of All Time".


Cast comments

Willis spoke favourably of the film in a 1999 interview, concluding: "It was a real fun movie to make." Tucker and Jovovich also spoke favourably of both their experiences making the film and working with Besson in interviews on the ''Ultimate Edition'' DVD; Jovovich described Besson as "the first really amazing director I had worked with". Asked in a 2014 interview if he liked the film, Gary Oldman stated, "Oh no. I can't bear it." He had explained in 2011: "It was me singing for my supper because Luc had come in and partly financed
y film Y, or y, is the twenty-fifth and penultimate letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. According to some authorities, it is the sixth (or seventh ...
'' Nil by Mouth''."


Notes and references


Bibliography

* * * * * *


External links

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