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''The Fifth Element'' () is a 1997 English-language French
science-fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, sp ...
action film The action film is a film genre that predominantly features chase sequences, fights, shootouts, explosions, and stunt work. The specifics of what constitutes an action film has been in scholarly debate since the 1980s. While some scholars such as D ...
conceived and directed by
Luc Besson Luc Paul Maurice Besson (; born 18 March 1959) is a French filmmaker. He directed and produced the films '' Subway'' (1985), '' The Big Blue'' (1988), and '' La Femme Nikita'' (1990). Associated with the '' Cinéma du look'' film movement, he h ...
, and co-written by Besson and Robert Mark Kamen. It stars Bruce Willis,
Milla Jovovich Milica Bogdanovna Jovović; ; ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction film, science-fiction and action films led th ...
, Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, and Chris Tucker. 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 taxi driver and former
special forces Special forces or 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 named Leeloo (Jovovich) falls into his cab. To accomplish this, Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defence of
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...
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 London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
and
Mauritania Mauritania, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
, 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 or César may refer to: Arts and entertainment * César (film), ''César'' (film), a 1936 French romantic drama * César (film), ''César'' (play), a play by Marcel Pagnolt Places * Cesar, Portugal * Cesar Department, Colombia * Cesar R ...
s, the
Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, and the Lumière Awards, but also received nominations at the Golden Raspberry and Stinkers Bad Movie Awards. ''The Fifth Element'' was a strong financial success, earning more than US$263million at the box office on a $90-million 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 contact on Earth, a priest of a secret order, at an
ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...
ian temple. They take the only weapon capable of defeating a great evil that appears every 5000 years, promising to protect it and return it before the great evil's re-emergence. The weapon consists of the four
classical element The classical elements typically refer to Earth (classical element), earth, Water (classical element), water, Air (classical element), air, Fire (classical element), fire, and (later) Aether (classical element), aether which were proposed to ...
s, as four engraved stones, plus a sarcophagus containing a "fifth element". In the 23rd century, 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 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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. 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 or 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 recognizes her as the fifth element. As Leeloo recuperates, she tells Cornelius that the stones were not on board the Mondoshawan ship. Simultaneously, the Mondoshawans inform Earth's government that 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 is killed. Dallas extracts the stones from her body and kills the Mangalore leader, causing the others to surrender. Zorg arrives, shoots Leeloo, and activates a time bomb. He flees with a carrying case he presumes contains the stones, but returns when he discovers it is empty. As Zorg's bomb causes the hotel's evacuation, Dallas finds Leeloo traumatized and escapes with her, Cornelius, Rhod, and the stones in Zorg's private spaceship. Zorg deactivates his bomb, but a dying Mangalore sets off his own, destroying the hotel and killing Zorg. As the great evil approaches Earth, the four meet David at the temple. They deploy the stones, but Leeloo, having learned of humanity's history of cruelty, has given up on life. Dallas declares his love for her and kisses her. Leeloo combines the power of the stones, emitting divine light onto the great evil and defeating it. Dallas and Leeloo 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 Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other tha ...
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 appear in the first 20 minutes: an
androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in humans, it often r ...
, 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 McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
attendants, or stripped of their
femininity Femininity (also called womanliness) is a set of attributes, behaviors, and Gender roles, roles generally associated with women and girls. Femininity can be understood as Social construction of gender, socially constructed, and there is also s ...
, such as the " butch" 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 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 Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
, in so far as the gadgets Zorg collected in his office suggested that he had an unhealthy obsession for
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
. The tension between technology and man is treated as a problem requiring a final resolution.


Production


Development

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, originally envisioning the story as a novel, 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 Club Med SAS, commonly known as Club Med and previously known as Club Méditerranée SA, is a French travel and tourism operator headquartered in Paris, specializing in all-inclusive holidays. Founded in 1950, the company has been primarily ow ...
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 seeking actors for the film, Besson met French comic 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.


Designs

Mézières had designed '' The Circles of Power'' (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 Korben Dallas' 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, noted fashion designer Jean Paul Gaultier was hired to create the costumes. The team spent a year creating more than 8,000 drawings.


Casting

During this time, Besson approached both Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson for the lead role, and also considered Julia Roberts for Leeloo. 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'', had been poorly received. 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 '' 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 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...
, 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'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.


Filming

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 Jovović; ; ( ; born December 17, 1975), known professionally as Milla Jovovich (), is an American actress and former fashion model. Her starring roles in numerous science fiction film, science-fiction and action films led th ...
from the 200–300 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 exchanged letters in the language. Besson was then married to Maïwenn le Besco, who played the role of the 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 in France, Besson was unable to find suitable facilities, so he filmed in London. It was primarily filmed at Pinewood Studios on seven soundstages including the 007 Stage. 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, officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a sovereign country in Maghreb, Northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Western Sahara to Mauritania–Western Sahara border, the north and northwest, ...
; 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 New York designs were derived from both metabolist-inspired masses of modular apartments from the 1960s and the futuristic designs of architect Antonio Sant'Elia 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", were said to challenge sexuality and gender norms. A single jacket he designed 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 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 persona, with a feminine first name and phallic surname. Musician
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
was originally cast to portray Rhod, but could not schedule filming around his Jam of the Year World Tour 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. Nick Allder directed mechanical and pyrotechnical effects, Nick Dudman was placed in charge of 'creature' effects, and Mark Stetson headed the visual-effects team. Visual effects company Digital Domain was hired, and Karen Goulekas was given the role of digital-effects supervisor. Alias, 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 Live action is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games o ...
, scale models,
computer-generated imagery Computer-generated imagery (CGI) is a specific-technology or application of computer graphics for creating or improving images in Digital art, art, Publishing, printed media, Training simulation, simulators, videos and video games. These images ...
, and particle systems. The lanes of traffic in the New York City scenes 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 80 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 were exported to track and generate the
computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...
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.


Music

In ''The Fifth Element'', some kind of music is playing during about 90% of the film; Besson's films have been described as "intrinsically musical". The score was composed by
Éric Serra Éric Serra (; born 9 September 1959) is a French film composer, known as a frequent collaborator of director Luc Besson. He is a five-time César Award nominee, winning once for '' The Big Blue'' (1988). Early life Serra was born in Sain ...
. He relies chiefly on the use of orchestral textures, such as the
oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
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 fanfare heard before the spaceport sequence, the
reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
piece played in preparation for the flight, and the
hula Hula () is a Hawaiian dance form expressing chant (''oli'') or song (Mele (Hawaiian language), ''mele''). It was developed in the Hawaiian Islands by the Native Hawaiians who settled there. The hula dramatizes or portrays the words of the oli ...
music that greets the passengers as they arrive in Fhloston. More conventional scoring techniques are present in the
leitmotif A leitmotif or () 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 a partial angliciz ...
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''. The Diva Dance opera performance used music from Gaetano Donizetti's '' Lucia di Lammermoor'': " Il dolce suono", the mad scene 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 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
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.


Soundtrack

Released as an album under
Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...
, the soundtrack peaked at number 99 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and number 44 in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
. More than 200,000 copies of the lengthy soundtrack were sold in France alone. Rodney Batdorf of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
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."


Release and reception


Initial screening

The film premiered on 7 May at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, 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 (formerly known as the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group until 2013, and abbreviated as SPMPG) is a division of Sony Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment to manage its motion picture operatio ...
via its Columbia Pictures label.


Box office

The film debuted at number one in France, grossing 55 million Francs ($10 million) in its opening week from 527 screens and 1.81 million admissions, setting a record opening for a French film and the second-biggest opening in the country after ''
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
''. It remained at number one for seven weeks. It also opened at number one in the United States, grossing $17million on its opening weekend and remained there the following weekend. It was 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 highest-grossing film at the box office in France, from 7.7 million admissions, a record it held for 16 years until the release of ''The Intouchables'' in 2011. In Germany, the film was awarded the Goldene Leinwand, a sales certification award for selling more than three million tickets at the box office.


Critical response

Critics were divided in their response to ''The Fifth Element''. Kevin Thomas of the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' 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, ''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 criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
and
Gene Siskel Eugene Kal Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) was an American film critic and journalist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' who co-hosted a movie review television series alongside colleague Roger Ebert. Siskel started writing for the '' ...
gave the film a "thumbs up". In his separate review for the ''
Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...
'', 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 ro ...
'' said, "It may or may not be the worst movie ever made, but it is one of the most unhinged." Bruce Willis dismissed critical reviews of the film, believing they would have no impact on the film's success. Chris Tucker's performance as Ruby Rhod also divided critics. He was praised in the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''; the latter called him "the summer's most outrageous special effect". Josh Winning of ''
Total Film ''Total Film'' was a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly with a summer issue added, between the July and August issues, every year since issue 91, 2004) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and of ...
'' 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 Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
, 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 Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, 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 an American 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 from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
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''. 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 and published by
HarperPrism Harper Prism (1993–1999) was launched by John Silbersack, Publishing Director, in 1993 as the first science fiction and fantasy imprint (trade name), imprint of HarperCollins Publishers in the United States. Prism's early authors included Steph ...
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. Gaumont Multimedia commissioned developer Kalisto Entertainment to develop a video-game adaptation of ''The Fifth Element'' in 1998 for the
PlayStation is a video gaming brand owned and produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), a division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. Its flagship products consists of a series of home video game consoles produced under the brand; it also consists ...
game console and PC. The PlayStation version generally received negative reviews, but the PC version was better received. Lauren Fielder from ''
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'' described the PlayStation version as "quite possibly the worst game I've ever played". Doug Perry from ''
IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming 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 district and is headed by its former e ...
'' wrote: "Take ''
Tomb Raider ''Tomb Raider'', known as ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' from 2001 to 2008, is a media franchise that originated with an Action-adventure game, action-adventure video game series created by British video game developer Core Design. The franchise i ...
'', 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. ''
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'' 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 Effects Editing 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 Lumière Award for Best Director. It was nominated for seven César awards, winning three: Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Production Design. It was nominated for Film of the Year at the 1997
European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...
, as well as the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, and the Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects. Thierry Arbogast was awarded the Technical Grand Prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for his work on both ''The Fifth Element'' and '' She's So Lovely''. The film received four Saturn Award 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 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,
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, and DVD. The original DVD presented the film in its original 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen 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 ''
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'' praised the Ultimate Edition for its special features. The first
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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 Ultra HD Blu-ray (4K Ultra HD, UHD-BD, or 4K Blu-ray) is a digital optical disc data storage format that is an enhanced variant of Blu-ray. Ultra HD Blu-ray supports 4K UHD (3840 × 2160 pixel resolution) video at frame rates up to 60 progre ...
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 A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...
. In 2007 the Visual Effects Society placed ''The Fifth Element'' at number 50, tied with '' Darby O'Gill and the Little People,'' on their list of the fifty most influential visual effects films of all time. In 2014 '' Time Out'' listed the film at number 42 on their "100 best sci-fi movies" list. Film critic Mark Kermode 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'' 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" status; Meredith Woerner of
io9 ''io9'' is a sub-blog of the technology blog ''Gizmodo'' that focuses on science fiction and fantasy pop culture, with former focuses on science, technology and futurism. It was created as a standalone blog in 2008 by editor Annalee Newitz under ...
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'' Nil by Mouth''."


Notes


References


Bibliography

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fifth Element 1990s English-language films 1990s French films 1997 science fiction action films 1997 action films 1997 films 1997 science fiction films BAFTA winners (films) Buena Vista International films Columbia Pictures films English-language French films Fiction about flying cars Fictional-language films Films about ancient astronauts Films about extraterrestrial life Films directed by Luc Besson Films involved in plagiarism controversies Films scored by Éric Serra Films set in 1914 Films set in Egypt Films set in the 23rd century Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films shot in London Films shot in Mauritania Films whose cinematographer won the Best Cinematography César Award Films whose director won the Best Director César Award Films whose director won the Best Director Lumières Award Films with screenplays by Luc Besson Films with screenplays by Robert Mark Kamen Foreign films set in the United States French action adventure films French films set in New York City French science fiction action films Gaumont (company) films Science fantasy films Space adventure films English-language science fiction action films English-language action adventure films