Search - The Fifth Element [Ultimate Edition] on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Nudity, Questionable for Children, Sexual Situations Movie Release: 1997 DVD Release: 01/11/2005 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV Edition: Restored/Remastered Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: Cantonese, English, French, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 2 Number of Discs: 2 Run Time: 2 hrs 6 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Total Copies: 1 Genres: Science Fiction, Sci-Fi Action, Space Adventure See Also: The Fifth Element, The Fifth Element [Superbit], The Fifth Element [UMD for PSP], The Fifth Element [DVD/UMD], The Fifth Element [Blu-ray], The Fifth Element [Blu-ray]

Good and evil battle for the future of 23rd century Earth in this visually striking big-budget science fiction epic. In the movie's prologue, which is set in 1914, scientists gather in Egypt at the site of an event that transpired centuries earlier. Aliens, it seemed, arrived to collect four stones representing the four basic elements (earth, air, fire and water) - warning their human contacts that the objects were no longer safe on Earth. A few hundred years later (in the 23rd century), a huge ball of molten lava and flame is hurtling toward Earth, and scientist-holy man Victor Cornelius (Ian Holm) declares that in order to prevent it from destroying the planet, the same four elemental stones must be combined with the fifth element, as embodied by a visitor from another world named Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). However, if the force of evil presents itself to the stones instead, the Earth will be destroyed, and an evil being named Zorg (Gary Oldman) will trigger the disaster. Despite her remarkable powers, Leeloo needs help with her mission, and she chooses her accomplice, military leader-turned-cab driver Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), when she literally falls through the roof of his taxi. Writer and director Luc Besson began writing the script for The Fifth Element when he was only 16 years old, though he was 38 before he was able to bring it to the screen.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Bruce Willis - Korben Dallas
Milla Jovovich - Leeloo
Ian Holm - Victor Cornelius
Gary Oldman - Jean-Baptiste-Emmanuel Zorg
Chris Tucker - Ruby Rhod
Luke Perry - Billy

Eight years after its release, The Fifth Element finally gets the love it deserves on DVD with this Ultimate Edition from Columbia TriStar. Released in tandem with a two-disc of another Luc Besson masterpiece, =Leon: The Professional, =The Fifth Element boasts the same Superbit transfer from the 2001 release, and the film looks and sounds simply incredible on whichever system you're running. With utterly amazing levels of detail and color saturation, the 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen image will astound you over and over again, while the 5.1 Dolby and DTS tracks will leave you with your jaw on the floor long after the action is over and love has conquered all. Packaged as a two-disc, the first is dedicated solely to the film, with one exception -- a fact trivia track packed with trivia and ridiculous humor that somehow fits the film's goofy tone.

The second disc is stuffed with enticing extras that boast featurettes, galleries, test footage, interviews, and outtakes. The supplemental disc starts off with the visual side of the film as it focuses on the two graphic artists on whose vision the story was originally based. Jean-Claude Mézières and Jean Moebius Giraud are two of the most renowned comic artists in France, and their interviews here are the highlight of the disc. The rest of the extras cover all other aspects of the production; from the digital aspects to the makeup and costumes, each department is thoroughly explored, including some extremely rare test footage of deleted scenes, along with never-before-seen interviews and countless behind-the-scenes glimpses. There are only two drawbacks to the entire package: one, that Luc Besson refused to supply either a commentary or interviews for the discs, and two, that the production felt the need to use one of the most annoying voice-over artists for the featurettes (the guy sounds like he's voiced one too many E! Entertainment Spring Break specials). All in all, though, this release is one wallop of a good time that's worthy of being on anyone's DVD shelf. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide