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The Fifth Element | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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ome two hundred or so years in the future, a benevolent alien species descends upon Earth to deliver an instrument of peace—a "fifth element" that unites earth, wind, fire and water and vanquishes evil across the universe. Unfortunately, immediately upon their arrival, a band of mercenaries attacks their ship and all but destroys the aliens and their cargo, thus sealing the fate of humanity forever. Using what little matter remains of this mysterious element, scientists are able to reconstruct a new savior named Leeloo (Jovovich), but without her comrades she escapes the authorities and lands literally in the lap of a cab driver named Korben Dallas (Willis).
Dallas is a former soldier—"the best the military has ever seen," according to his superiors—and is enlisted to rescue Leeloo from death at the hands of Zorg (Oldman), a malevolent entrepreneur who works at the behest of a deadly, unseen force that moves closer to Earth with every passing moment. Stricken by Leeloo's beauty and his own sense of duty, Dallas reluctantly agrees, and finds himself role-playing as the winner of a contest where he and his charge journey to far-off lands to uncover the secrets of her powers and, just perhaps, save the universe.
But before he can accomplish his mission, he must defeat not only Zorg but a dissenting army of Mangalores, killers for hire who want nothing more than to see the universe fall into disarray, when they can loot and plunder freely. The forces of good and evil come together in a colossal confrontation both in space and on Earth, and Dallas discovers that it's not only hard work, intelligence and ingenuity that will be necessary instruments to save the universe, but understanding, trust and, most of all, love.
Out from the shadow of Star Wars
The Fifth Element was initially released around the same time that George Lucas remastered and reissued his original Star Wars trilogy, and it's a detail that may speak both for and against Luc Besson's postmodern creation; while the box-office receipts certainly suffered because of Lucas' dominance of science-fiction viewers' attention, the comparison favors Besson's film by showing just how similar are and were the two filmmakers' ambitions. Both are overwhelmingly simple morality tales, told with archetypal characters, and both ultimately have simple and reassuring messages at the heart of their intricate designs.
As this recently released two-disc special-edition reveals, Besson's most ambitious adventure holds up as a classic of the genre; unlike Lucas' perpetual revisionism, The Fifth Element manages to charm its audience if for no other reason than that it's the same captivatingly simple tale it was at the time of its release. "Love conquers evil" is the elementary lesson it teaches, but the extras suggest that it took a great deal of work and imagination to bring that message to the screen effectively intact. Of the myriad featurettes, documentaries and behind-the-scenes materials, there's "The Visual Element," which Besson worked on for years, collaborating with celebrated artists Jean "Moebius" Giraud and Jean-Claude Meziers to create his utopian civilization; "The Digital Element," which explores Digital Domain's contributions to the film; "The Star Element," which details the actors' participation in the project; and the all-important "Fashion Element," which makes almost as much of an impression on audiences as do the CGI and character images.
Additionally, there's a "trivia track" that runs the length of the film, Pop Up Video style, and reveals little details about the actors, characters and story; this is a commentary presentation that would be welcome on all DVDs—that way, you can pay attention to the actual dialogue, and then read about the subtext, purpose, etc.—but works especially well on a movie like this, where the director's first language isn't English. Points are lost for not including the theatrical trailer—one of the best in recent history—but otherwise the collection finally provides fans with sufficient background to fully appreciate just how much work went into completing the film.
For better or worse, Luc Besson is a director with vision, and The Fifth Element may be the greatest fulfillment of that vision to date (though the director's cut of Leon isn't bad either). Moreover, this DVD is really a treasure trove of facts and background details that should deepen longtime fans' enjoyment of the picture, and win a few new ones as well. Try it with the trivia track and you'll find out info you never imagined you'd learn; for instance, I discovered that roaches can live for a full week without their heads. The Fifth Element, however, will live forever; it's got more than enough heart to compensate for any of its other (perceived or actual) shortcomings. —Todd
Also in this issue: Cursed and Phone DVD
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