In 1914, aliens known as Mondoshawans meet their contact on Earth, a priest of a secret order, at an ancient Egyptian temple. They take the only weapon capable of defeating … See more

• Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas
• Gary Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
• Ian Holm as Vito Cornelius See more

In an interview, Besson stated The Fifth Element was not a "big theme movie", although the film's theme was an important one. He wanted viewers to reach the point where Leeloo … See more

Development
As a teenager, Besson envisioned the world of The Fifth Element in an attempt to alleviate boredom. He began writing the script when he was 16, originally envisioning the story as a novel, though the film was not … See more

Initial screening
The film premiered on 7 May at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected as the … See more

A novel was adapted from the screenplay of The Fifth Element, written by Terry Bisson and published by HarperPrism in 1997. Rumors arose after the film's release that it would be followed by a sequel, tentatively titled Mr. Shadow. In 2011 Besson said that he … See more

The Fifth Element was nominated for Best Sound Editing at the 70th Academy Awards, and for Best Sound Editing at the 1998 Golden Reel Awards, but lost to Titanic in both cases. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects, and the Lumières Award for Best Director See more