Sometimes, a good science fiction epic comes from almost out of nowhere and becomes an instant classic. It happened with Guardians Of The Galaxy, Vol. I and Pitch Black. It happened with Alien and Predator. But those movies also launched franchises or are a part of one. When The Fifth Element came out in 1997, there was just about nothing like it. In fact, some critics heralded it as “the next Star Wars.” In some ways, there still hasn’t been a film like this one.
Yes, the story of a savior and the people trying to help him or her save the world or the galaxy or what have you has been told before. But much like George Lucas did twenty years prior, writer and director Luc Besson took a simple story and crafted an entirely new way to tell it. 300 some odd years in the future, the galaxy is a super dense place with all kinds of colorful aliens. Bruce Willis is of course still playing the everyman character that he popularized.
With all of the insanity going on, Milla Jovovich steals the show at Leeloo, the savior tasked with saving the galaxy. She subverts what an action heroine usually is. She doesn’t need saving, although having Willis around for quippy one-liners and blowing things up is certainly helpful.
It’s one of the best sci-fi/action movies of all time. Here are 25 Hidden Details Only True Fans Noticed In The Fifth Element.
Luc Besson Wrote The Story At 16
If the world of The Fifth Element seems really fleshed out and lives in by the characters, that’s because it was! Director Luc Besson has dreamt up the story decades before cameras rolled. He was only 16 at the time he first thought of the story.
He conceived of a lot of the story elements to escape his lonely childhood. He had originally envisioned the story as a trilogy. But thankfully was able to condense it all into one jam-packed fun movie. He didn’t start filming it until he was 38 years old.
The Purple One As Ruby Rhod
Chris Tucker gives a way-over-the-top performance as radio shock jock, Ruby Rhod. Besides Chris Tucker’s casting unintentionally reuniting him with Friday co-star, Tiny Lister, The comedian gives one of the best performances of his career in this movie. The guy wasn’t even Besson’s first choice for the role.
Someone as outlandish as Rhod could have only been dreamt up with one or two of the eighties’ most charismatic and effeminate performers. One was the King Of Pop, Michael Jackson. The other was the Purple One himself, Prince. But he actually turned the role down, because Rhod was too effeminate for him.
The Director’s Diva
When Leeloo needs to meet with the Diva Plavalaguna, it gives way to some of the best sequences in the movie. The big blue opera singer is as a sight to behold and the original actress set to play the role stepped out, Besson turned to his wife for help.
Maïwenn Le Besco was more than willing to help her hubby out and jumped into the skin of the blue-skinned opera singer. She didn’t do the singing for her though, that would go to opera singer Inva Mula. She also wouldn’t be Besson’s wife much longer than these scenes.
Plavalaguna’s Impossible Voice
Even if you don’t like the Opera or seldom have heard an opera song, then you should at least know how difficult it is for an Opera Singer to hold those notes, let alone reach some of this octaves; no matter the range of your voice.
When opera singer Inva Mula was brought in to record the Diva Plavalaguna’s epic song, an arrangement of Il Dolce Suono, she had to explain to the composer, Eric Serra, that those notes and combinations together weren’t just a physical impossibility for her, but for any singer. Mula had to record parts separately that were spliced together and edited during post-production.
Oldman Hates The Flick
Gary Oldman does what he does best in The Fifth Element, he chews up scenery as if his life depended on it. As Zorg, Oldman is bent on retrieving the stones that are intended to be used to save humanity. As great as the actor is on the movie, he has expressed much dislike for this movie.
He did the movie without looking at a script as a favor to his friend, Besson. Luc Besson then helped to finance Oldman's directorial debut, Nil By Mouth.
The Divine Language
When creating Leeloo, Besson decided that the savior needed to have her own language to speak. It’s not uncommon for sci-fi characters to wind up with languages of their own. But only a select few wind up fully functional. Klingon, Huttese, and the Divine Language to name a few.
While it sounds like nonsense, Besson had written at least 400 words for this language. By the end of filming, both Besson and Jovovich were able to have full conversations in this made up language.
Everyone Met On Set
Sometimes to get genuine reactions from their actors, directors will often wait to show their stars, or clue them into certain things. Luc Besson is no different. While making the movie, he didn’t show Bruce Willis what Milla Jovovich’s iconic “white tape” costume would look like.
He also didn’t let anyone know about what the Diva Plavlaguna would look like. When Maïwenn Le Besco came out onto the stage, the reaction from all of the extras was genuine, as if they really were staring at a giant blue alien opera singer.
Vin Diesel’s Voice
After films like Saving Private Ryan and Pitch Black, Vin Diesel would be just about everywhere on his road to becoming one of the world’s biggest action stars. He’s also in The Fifth Element, playing an ancillary character – Korben’s dispatcher, Finger.
You don’t him, do you? That’s because you didn’t. Diesel did the gig as an uncredited voice actor. For everyone who never knew this before go back and watch...and listen. Hearing him here will be a trip.
The Most Expensive Foreign Film Ever Made
With the special and practical effects extravaganza, not to mention landing a big name like Bruce Willis (even at a reduced price) – making a movie gets pretty expensive. “Duh,” right. We all know this. But what you might not know is that all those production houses that get a credit at the beginning of any movie forked over a slew of cash to get the movie made.
In America Columbia Pictures and abroad, Gaumont shared the funds to get the movie made. A movie that Besson kept asking more money for, it would become at this point the most expensive foreign film ever made.
No Face To Face Meeting
When an action hero like Bruce Willis is in your movie, you can expect a lot of explosions and snappy one-liners. You can also expect him to be a smart alec right in front of the bad guy pointing a gun at him.
But The Fifth Element is a much different movie. While there are plenty of elements of an action sci-fi movie are there, they're also slightly skewed. Which is why Korben and Zorg never meet face to face or have any confrontation at all in the movie.
