Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Behind the Scenes Awesomeness: The Fifth Element (1995)

Conceptual Artwork 

Concept Art by Jean Paul Mezieres

Conceptual art by Jean Paul Gautier for Ruby Rod, back when Ruby Rod was going to be played by Prince 

Conceptual Artwork for Mandashowan spaceship by Jean Giraud 


4 comments:

Sergei Kolobashkin said...

When this movie came out, it blew my mind. I remember the 90s and movies were so different back then. The Fifth Element was a like a breath of fresh air. Yes, it's goofy in many ways and has a ton of editing mistakes, but looks incredible to this day.

Franco Macabro said...

I agree with you it has a ton of little editing errors, but movies of this scope often do. Speaking of editing errors, I was actually watching a Scorcese movie the other day and noticed some editing and continuity errors as well, it's like even some of the best directors will have these types of mistakes.

But The Fifth Element still looks amazing, it still entertains the hell out of me, it still dazzles. I'm looking forward to Luc Besson's new sci-fi based on yet another French comic book. The film is called Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets....its based on this ultra famous comic by Jean Claude Mezieres called Valerian and Laureline...it looks like it will be yet another amazing big budget sci-fi epic from Besson. Actually, if we get down to it, Valerian and Laureline also served as inspiration for The Fifth Element. The whole scene with the flying taxi cab was taken from a Valerian story and Mezieres worked with Moebius on the conceptual art department of The Fifth Element, so these films and comics are all connected by three geniuses: Moebius, Besson and Mezieres. With talent like that you can't go wrong. Can't wait for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets to premiere in 2017!

Sergei Kolobashkin said...

I hope he won't end up doing another Jupiter Ascending instead.

Franco Macabro said...

I hear ya Sergei! I hope we don't get that either, I absolutely hated Jupiter Ascending! But this is Luc Besson and his has proven himself to be a great director through the years. Also, the source material that the film will be based on looks solid. Mezieres is an amazing artist, on par in terms of excellence to Moebius, which is mostly why I'm looking forward to this. I hope Besson succeeds and gives us once again a memorable film.

The Fifth Element was as awesome as it was because it was heavily influenced by Moebius and Mezieres work, and Valerian and Laureline is a beloved french comic book, it's been going on for decades and decades, I'm sure its a comic book Besson himself holds very dear, I doubt he'll do a shitty movie. By the way, Valerian and Laureline even influenced the designs for Star Wars if you can believe it. It's an extremely influential book. Looking forward to it!

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