The Fifth Element (1997)

Director:

Luc Besson

Writers (WGA):

Luc Besson (story)
Luc Besson (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

9 May 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

It Mu5t Be Found.

Plot:

In the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr Zorg at bay.

Plot Keywords:

Evil | Future | Weapon | 1910s | Cab Driver

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 7 wins & 17 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Tue. Dec. 1	11:30 AM	MAX
Wed. Dec. 2	1:50 AM	MAX
Sun. Dec. 6	10:00 PM	MAX

Cast

Bruce Willis	...	Korben Dallas
Gary Oldman	...	Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
Ian Holm	...	Father Vito Cornelius
Milla Jovovich	...	Leeloo
Chris Tucker	...	Ruby Rhod
Luke Perry	...	Billy
Brion James	...	General Munro
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	President Lindberg (as Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr.)
Lee Evans	...	Fog
Charlie Creed-Miles	...	David (as Charlie Creed Miles)
Tricky	...	Right Arm
John Neville	...	General Staedert
John Bluthal	...	Professor Pacoli
Mathieu Kassovitz	...	Mugger
Christopher Fairbank	...	Mactilburgh

Also Known As:

Le cinquième élément (France)
The 5th Element (USA) (alternative spelling)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense sci-fi violence, some sexuality and brief nudity.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

France

Language:

English | Swedish | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Iceland:10 | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Australia:M (TV rating) | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34794) | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | New Zealand:PG | Australia:PG | Belgium:KT | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 | Ireland:12 | Israel:PG | Italy:T | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | South Korea:12 | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:PG

Filming Locations:

Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, Pinewood Studios, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Gaumont

Trivia:

Zorg's monologue about destruction creating productivity is actually a classic economics fallacy exposed in "The Parable of the Broken Window" by economist Frederic Bastiat.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the very beginning of the movie, right before Leeloo punches through the glass that is supposed to be "unbreakable", you can see that the glass is already cracked and ready to be broken.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Omar: [whispers to sleeping Aziz] Aziz! Aziz!
Professor Pacoli: [shouts] Aziz! Light!
[Aziz wakes up with a start]
Billy: "Aziz! Light!"

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in G.O.R.A. (2004)

"That's ma favorite!" (Gary Oldman)

THE FIFTH ELEMENT is a complex film....if you WANT it to be! It offers varying levels of analysis depending on the tools you have to dig with! On the surface, a "leave your brain in the cloakroom" sci-fi yarn, you may well find wanting! As far removed from STAR WARS as Austin Powers is from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER. this film is pitched uniquely at those who can laugh at life but who have deep down an unquenchable desire for adventure and the romantic.

Set on a futuristic earth, where really nothing has changed except the technology, Bruce Willis is STILL John McLane, a has-been stormtrooper reduced now to driving air-cabs for a living...same old premise for him - nothing's changed much since STRIKING DISTANCE, except maybe the yellow hair-rinse. Now, legend has it that in a time long long ago, the forces of darkness visited earth and were repelled by the unification in close proximity, of four stones representing the four elements. earth, wind, fire and water together with a fifth "element" of unknown origin.

Dear old Ian Holm is Priest Cornelius, an expert authority on the five elements and keeper of all knowledge on things magical and mysterious. Gary Oldman in arguably his most way-put role is General Zorg who has done a deal with "The Dark Side" and whose sole purpose is to take possession of the elemental stones. The scene wherein he demonstrates the new weaponry to his alien henchman (from which the one-line "summary quote" above is taken) is an absolute classic of cinema. Milla Jovovich (Married to Besson at the time of the flick) is absolutely rivetting as Leeloo, the cloned/unzipped humanised fifth element. She must have practised long and hard perfecting her ancient language dialog....it's amazing. She strikes exactly the right note as a being of purity, femininity and warrior woman. As the film progresses she assumes the identitiy of the perfect girl any man would wish for and want to protect.

The comedy angle is hysterical, the action sequences in your face, and the fx generally impressive if not mega weird at times. Color and visuals play a major role in this pro-European production, the continent where not surprisingly it was most successful. The outcome naturally is predictable and in the best traditions of "will love save the day?" as if it wasn't always going to???

So, there u have it. Watch it one-dimensionally and that's what you'll get back. let it flow, immerse yourself in IT and you couldn't fail to have a good time, unless of course you are clinically dead or devoid of any sense of fun or fantasy ....but in that case you'd be wasting your time anyway, it wasn't MADE for you!