THE
FIFTH ELEMENT ($25) is one hell of a cool movie, a pure pulp science
fiction action film that is brought off with a great deal of humor and a
total sense of bravado. With a story that is not easily pigeonholed into
any particular category writer/director Luc Besson took his inspiration
for THE FIFTH ELEMENT from the comic book artwork of French artists
Jean-Claude Mézières and Jean Giraud (AKA Moebius, who brought the world
Heavy Metal magazine) to create a visually stunning take on
the world of the future. Set several hundred years from now, the plot of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT tells of an ancient evil that awakens every 5000 years,
and the ultimate weapon created by aliens to combat the evil upon its
return to Earth.
Bruce
Willis stars in THE FIFTH ELEMENT as Major Korben Dallas, a retired
military man now driving a cab in the futuristic megalopolis of New York
City. When a beautiful, but completely unexpected fare literally drops out
of the sky and into his cab, Korben Dallas finds himself with more than he
bargained for, as he is recalled to active duty to help the lovely Leeloo
(Milla Jovovich) fulfill her destiny and save the Earth from the oncoming
evil. Of course, Korben Dallas quickly learns that saving the world is
never a simple business, as he finds himself having to contend power mad
industrialists, renegade priests, violent alien mercenaries and over the
top radio personalities- all with their own agendas. The fine cast of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT also features Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Luke
Perry, Brion James, Tom 'Tiny' Lister Jr., and John Neville.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE FIFTH ELEMENT available on
DVD in a 2.35:1 widescreen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This Ultimate Edition release of THE FIFTH
ELEMENT is actually a Superbit release of the film along with a second
disc of bonus materials. As expected, this Superbit presentation of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT is outstanding on the video and audio fronts. The high
bit rate provides the down converted high definition transfer every
opportunity to shine. Image quality is truly excellent, with the picture
appearing wonderfully crisp and fully detailed. Colors genuinely pop, with
the fully saturated hues being rendered without noise of smearing. Black
are pitch perfect, whites are clean and the contrast is silky smooth.
Shadow detail is also excellent, and the picture produces a marvelous
dimensional quality. The film elements used for the transfer display few
blemishes and there is very little by way of a noticeable grain structure.
The Superbit process keeps digital compression artifacts completely at
bay.
For
this Superbit release, THE FIFTH ELEMENT comes with 5.1 channel
soundtracks in both the Dolby Digital and DTS varieties. Even it its first
incarnation on DVD, THE FIFTH ELEMENT has been one of my favorite
demonstration quality soundtracks. I’ve always considered this
soundtrack to be rather amazing, with plenty of aggressively mixed sonic
razzle-dazzle to befit this type of science fiction action movie. However
it is the subtleties and shadings in the sound mix that make it a track to
be reckoned with. Actually, my favorite sonic passage from the soundtrack
is the sequence featuring the Diva’s rendition of the aria from Lucia
di Lammermoor, which is inter-cut with Leeloo’s butt kicking
brawl with a group of repugnant aliens that shows off the best of this
soundtrack at both extremes.
As
for the dialogue, it is crystal clear and fully intelligible, plus the
bass it plenty deep and always ready to rumble. OK, the big question…
the Superbit version certainly one-ups the original release of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT by producing a stronger and even more engaging Dolby
Digital track that is encoded at a higher bit rate. However, the real
cherry on this sundae has to be the DTS track, which creates a more
cohesive listening experience with more sonic warmth, than the standard
bearer, even at the higher bit rate. Subtitles are provided on the DVD in
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Thai, Chinese, and Korean.
Breaking
from the typical ultra sparse Superbit menus, a bit of full motion video
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive menus. Through the menus,
one has access to standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
the supplemental materials, which have been spread across both discs of
this set. Disc one features a trivia subtitle track containing factoids
about the production. Moving on to disc two, one will find the remainder of the supplemental programming. Featuring over two hours of content, disc
two has been broken down into the following sections: The Visual
Element, The Digital Element, The Star Element,
The Alien Element, The Fashion Element, The
Diva & Poster Gallery.
The
Visual Element includes various test of sets, plus an
eighteen-minute featurette on the contributions of artists Jean-Claude
Mézières and Jean Giraud. The Digital Element is a
nine-minute program focusing the effects work of Digital Domain that
brought the film’s futuristic world to life. The Star Element
includes interviews with Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich and Chris Tucker
from the time of the film’s release, plus several Milla Jovovich screen
tests. The Alien Element includes four featurettes and
various test for the following aliens: Mohndosawahs, Mangalores, Picasso
and Strikers. The Fashion Element includes a seven-minute
featurette on the film’s costuming, as well as several wardrobe tests. The
Diva is one of my favorite sections, as it features an interview
with actress Maïwenn Le Besco, who portrayed on of the film most
enigmatic characters, Diva Plavalaguna. Also featured in this section are
makeup tests and the Diva’s complete performance of the aria in front of
a green screen, which had been inter-cut with the fight sequence in the
film. The Poster Gallery is exactly what you would expect.
Bonus trailers for THE FORGOTTEN, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL and
MIRRORMASK close out disc two.
I
love THE FIFTH ELEMENT; it is a really cool movie that I never tire
of watching thanks to its clever mix sci-fi, action, humor and visual
bravado. The Superbit presentation is truly excellent and the supplements
make for a totally enjoyable package. If you are a fan of THE FIFTH
ELEMENT, and don’t already own the previous Superbit edition, you
will definitely want to add this disc to you collection. Even if you have
the previous Superbit, the extra features are definitely worth checking
out, and make it worth considering the upgrade. Either way, The Ultimate
Edition of THE FIFTH ELEMENT is recommended.
THE
FIFTH ELEMENT ($25) is one hell of a cool movie, a pure pulp science
fiction action film that is brought off with a great deal of humor and a
total sense of bravado. With a story that is not easily pigeonholed into
any particular category writer/director Luc Besson took his inspiration
for THE FIFTH ELEMENT from the comic book artwork of French artists
Jean-Claude Mézières and Jean Giraud (AKA Moebius, who brought the world
Heavy Metal magazine) to create a visually stunning take on
the world of the future. Set several hundred years from now, the plot of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT tells of an ancient evil that awakens every 5000 years,
and the ultimate weapon created by aliens to combat the evil upon its
return to Earth.
Bruce
Willis stars in THE FIFTH ELEMENT as Major Korben Dallas, a retired
military man now driving a cab in the futuristic megalopolis of New York
City. When a beautiful, but completely unexpected fare literally drops out
of the sky and into his cab, Korben Dallas finds himself with more than he
bargained for, as he is recalled to active duty to help the lovely Leeloo
(Milla Jovovich) fulfill her destiny and save the Earth from the oncoming
evil. Of course, Korben Dallas quickly learns that saving the world is
never a simple business, as he finds himself having to contend power mad
industrialists, renegade priests, violent alien mercenaries and over the
top radio personalities- all with their own agendas. The fine cast of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT also features Gary Oldman, Ian Holm, Chris Tucker, Luke
Perry, Brion James, Tom 'Tiny' Lister Jr., and John Neville.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE FIFTH ELEMENT available on
DVD in a 2.35:1 widescreen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This Ultimate Edition release of THE FIFTH
ELEMENT is actually a Superbit release of the film along with a second
disc of bonus materials. As expected, this Superbit presentation of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT is outstanding on the video and audio fronts. The high
bit rate provides the down converted high definition transfer every
opportunity to shine. Image quality is truly excellent, with the picture
appearing wonderfully crisp and fully detailed. Colors genuinely pop, with
the fully saturated hues being rendered without noise of smearing. Black
are pitch perfect, whites are clean and the contrast is silky smooth.
Shadow detail is also excellent, and the picture produces a marvelous
dimensional quality. The film elements used for the transfer display few
blemishes and there is very little by way of a noticeable grain structure.
The Superbit process keeps digital compression artifacts completely at
bay.
For
this Superbit release, THE FIFTH ELEMENT comes with 5.1 channel
soundtracks in both the Dolby Digital and DTS varieties. Even it its first
incarnation on DVD, THE FIFTH ELEMENT has been one of my favorite
demonstration quality soundtracks. I’ve always considered this
soundtrack to be rather amazing, with plenty of aggressively mixed sonic
razzle-dazzle to befit this type of science fiction action movie. However
it is the subtleties and shadings in the sound mix that make it a track to
be reckoned with. Actually, my favorite sonic passage from the soundtrack
is the sequence featuring the Diva’s rendition of the aria from Lucia
di Lammermoor, which is inter-cut with Leeloo’s butt kicking
brawl with a group of repugnant aliens that shows off the best of this
soundtrack at both extremes.
As
for the dialogue, it is crystal clear and fully intelligible, plus the
bass it plenty deep and always ready to rumble. OK, the big question…
the Superbit version certainly one-ups the original release of THE
FIFTH ELEMENT by producing a stronger and even more engaging Dolby
Digital track that is encoded at a higher bit rate. However, the real
cherry on this sundae has to be the DTS track, which creates a more
cohesive listening experience with more sonic warmth, than the standard
bearer, even at the higher bit rate. Subtitles are provided on the DVD in
English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Thai, Chinese, and Korean.
Breaking
from the typical ultra sparse Superbit menus, a bit of full motion video
and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive menus. Through the menus,
one has access to standard scene selection and set up features, as well as
the supplemental materials, which have been spread across both discs of
this set. Disc one features a trivia subtitle track containing factoids
about the production. Moving on to disc two, one will find the remainder of the supplemental programming. Featuring over two hours of content, disc
two has been broken down into the following sections: The Visual
Element, The Digital Element, The Star Element,
The Alien Element, The Fashion Element, The
Diva & Poster Gallery.
The
Visual Element includes various test of sets, plus an
eighteen-minute featurette on the contributions of artists Jean-Claude
Mézières and Jean Giraud. The Digital Element is a
nine-minute program focusing the effects work of Digital Domain that
brought the film’s futuristic world to life. The Star Element
includes interviews with Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich and Chris Tucker
from the time of the film’s release, plus several Milla Jovovich screen
tests. The Alien Element includes four featurettes and
various test for the following aliens: Mohndosawahs, Mangalores, Picasso
and Strikers. The Fashion Element includes a seven-minute
featurette on the film’s costuming, as well as several wardrobe tests. The
Diva is one of my favorite sections, as it features an interview
with actress Maïwenn Le Besco, who portrayed on of the film most
enigmatic characters, Diva Plavalaguna. Also featured in this section are
makeup tests and the Diva’s complete performance of the aria in front of
a green screen, which had been inter-cut with the fight sequence in the
film. The Poster Gallery is exactly what you would expect.
Bonus trailers for THE FORGOTTEN, LEON: THE PROFESSIONAL and
MIRRORMASK close out disc two.
I
love THE FIFTH ELEMENT; it is a really cool movie that I never tire
of watching thanks to its clever mix sci-fi, action, humor and visual
bravado. The Superbit presentation is truly excellent and the supplements
make for a totally enjoyable package. If you are a fan of THE FIFTH
ELEMENT, and don’t already own the previous Superbit edition, you
will definitely want to add this disc to you collection. Even if you have
the previous Superbit, the extra features are definitely worth checking
out, and make it worth considering the upgrade. Either way, The Ultimate
Edition of THE FIFTH ELEMENT is recommended.
