Top 10 facts about the film "The Fifth Element"

In 1997, at the Cannes Film Festival, the public saw for the first time the fantastic comedy thriller by French director Luc Besson "The Fifth Element" starring Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich and Gary Oldman. The plot of this touching picture about fantastic love contains a fair share of humor, romance and spectacular fights, which allowed her to claim the attention of the most diverse audience.

The comedy plot of the fantastic action is based on a philosophical parable about love. In the image of a fragile at first glance girl Lilu, created from the DNA of aliens of the ancient race of Mondoshavans, love itself appears. It is love that is the only "fifth element" that is able to connect the other four primary matters of the universe and save the planet from imminent destruction.

The film starred not only professional actors. So, the role of the assistant to the main villain of the film, Mr. Zorg, was played by Adrian Toews, better known as Tricky, a British trip-hop musician and one of the founders of the genre. Luc Besson also invited several models to his film, who played stewardesses on a cruise liner in Floston orbit.

The film "The Fifth Element" at the time of its release became the highest-budget film shot outside of Hollywood. For 1997, this film also showed the most expensive special effects. The budget of the film was $ 80 million, and the fees were $ 264 million. So far, the film "The Fifth Element" is the most expensive for French cinema.

The role of diva Plavalaguna was played by Maivenne Le Besco, a French actress, director and screenwriter. Her heroine performed the aria Il Dolce Suono from the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor" by Italian composer Domenico Gaetano Donizetti. By the way, Besson also took the name of the alien diva from his childhood. This was the name of the bomb shelter in Croatia, where Luke was on summer vacation.

The explosion in the main hall of the space cruise liner was the most powerful explosion inside the room that was ever shown on a movie screen at that time.

The shooting of the film became for the French director Luc Besson (pictured next to Bruce Willis) the embodiment of a childhood dream. Luke wrote the basis of the plot as a teenager. At that time, he did not think that he would become a director. According to Besson, in the absence of a real friend, brothers, sisters, or at least a TV, he invented himself a friend — a flying taxi driver in New York of the XXIII century.

Gary Oldman agreed to a role in the film without even reading the script. By this time, he had already managed to star in Besson's film "Leon". Before that, the actor met the director thanks to his girlfriend. After filming Leon, Oldman and Besson became friends, which is why Gary agreed to star in The Fifth Element so quickly. Later, he complained a lot about his uncomfortable suit.

Throughout the film, the main character and the main villain never cross paths and never even meet each other.

Luc Besson celebrates his birthday on March 18, which is probably why on the calendar of Corben Dallas, when the viewer first sees him in the frame, there is a date of March 18, 2263. In the photo: Bruce Willis with his then-wife Demi Moore and Luc Besson with Milla Jovovich (then they were also a couple) at the premiere of the film in Cannes.