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Royal Palace of Milan
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Royal Palace of Milan
Palazzo Reale di Milano
Royal Palace of Milan façade
General information
Status
now used as a museum
Type
Palace
Architectural style
Neo-Classical
Location
Milan, Italy
Address
Piazza del Duomo 12
Technical details
Floor count
3
Design and construction
Architect
Giuseppe Piermarini
Website
Comune of Milan
Invalid designation
Official name
Palazzo Reale di Milano
Type
Non-movable
Criteria
Monument
State Party
Italy
Palazzo Reale and the square in front as seen from the roof of the Duomo, among the marble spire
The Royal Palace of Milan (Italian: Palazzo Reale di Milano) was the seat of government of the Italian city of Milan for many centuries. Today it serves as a cultural centre and home to expositions and exhibitions.
Originally designed with a structure of two courtyards, the palace was then partially demolished to make room for the Duomo. The palace is located to the right of the facade of the cathedral opposite the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. The facade of the building follows the style of the ancient courtyard, forming a recess in respect to Piazza del Duomo, known as the Piazzetta Reale (English: Small Royal Square).
The magnificent Hall of Caryatids can be found on the main floor of the building. It occupies the site of the old theatre, which burned down in 1776 and is the only room that survived the heavy bombings of 1943. The damage caused by the incendiary and violent air movement was followed by a state of abandonment for over two years, which contributed to further serious damage to the building. Many of the neoclassical interiors of the Palace were lost.
Contents
[hide]
1 History
1.1 Origins
1.2 16th century
1.3 17th and 18th centuries
1.4 Reconstruction by Piermarini
1.5 Napoleonic era and restoration
1.6 The building era and loss of the Hall of Caryatids
2 The Museum of the Palace
3 Cultural centre
4 References
5 Sources
6 External links
History[edit]
Origins[edit]
The royal palace has ancient origins. It was first called the Palazzo del Broletto Vecchio and was the seat of city's government during the period of medieval communes in the Middle Ages.
The palace became a key political centre during the rules of the Torriani, Visconti and Sforza households. After the construction of the Cathedral, the palace was heavily renovated under the government of Francesco Sforza.
16th century[edit]
Between the late 15th and early 16th centuries, with the end of the Sforza dynasty and the French invasion, the Castello Sforzesco, which until then had been the official residence of the Dukes of Milan, had increasingly become more of a fortress suited for weapons. Under the French rule of Louis XII and of François I, the seat of the court was moved to the current Royal Palace.
Thanks to the arrival of the Governor Ferrante Gonzaga in Milan, who took permanent residence in the city from 1546, the building flourished, elevating the ducal court to a true palace and governor's residence in Milan. The Gonzaga family were the first to begin to complete the rooms of the complex.
To pursue these projects, we know that the Gonzaga governor demolished the old church of Sant'Andrea al Muro Rotto, annexing the land area of the building, while an interior road and enclosed courtyard leading from the church of San Gottardo.
New renovations of the building were chosen at the end of the 16th century with the arrival of Governor Antonio de Guzman y Zuniga, Marquis of Ayamonte, who was able to recruit Pellegrino Tibaldi, the architect for the archbishop Charles Borromeo, already engaged in the work of the Duomo in the archbishop's palace and the courtyard of the royalties. Tibaldi worked on the construction of the building from 1573 in 1598 and it was in these years which the pictorial decoration of the apartments noble porticos, of the private chapel and the church of San Gottardo was rebuilt. Several major artists of the time undertook this task, including Aurelio Luini, Ambrogio Figino, Antonio Campi and naturally Pellegrino Tibaldi himself, while other stucco and grotesque works were built by Valerio Profondavalle, a Flemish artist-impresario who had also produced some windows for the Duomo of Milan.
This was the era when the first Court Theater was completed, the beginning of a long process that ended only in the 18th century with the final construction of La Scala.
17th and 18th centuries[edit]
Portrait of Maria Theresa of Austria made by Anton von Maron and kept in the Palazzo Reale in representation of the importance of its role for the city of Milan
On 24–25 January 1695, a fire destroyed the Court theater. Reconstruction and expansion of a new ducal theater did not begin until 1717, when Milan, now ceded to the Austria after the War of Spanish Succession, received its first Austrian governor, the Count of Loewenstein. The new theater was designed by Francesco Galli Bibbiena, and his pupils Giandomenico Barbieri and Domenico Valmagini. The theater was larger, with four tiers of boxes and a gallery in the shape of a horseshoe; on the side was a small Ridottino for gambling and the sale of drinks and sweets beside masks and costumes for the feasts. It was completed on 26 December 1717 and it was inaugurated with the opera Costantino by Gasparini.
In 1723, a second fire struck, damaging the ceremonial halls of the palace. The Austrian magistrate, Wirich Philipp von Daun, commissioned restorations, updating the wings of the Cortile d'Onore (Honor Courtyard) in a livelier style, whitewashing walls and framing the windows with baroque frames designed by Carlo Rinaldi. The church of San Gottardo was redecorated with re-painting, stucco and gilding, becoming the Royal-Ducal Chapel.
The Cortile d'Onore wings housed the chancery, magistrate and accounting offices, the mint, and other administrative and financial offices. The Governor and the Privy council met in new rooms built at the north side of the garden. The piano nobile was restored, including the Salone dei Festini and the Salone di Audienzia (now Hall of Emperors). The Governor was housed in the northern and southern wings of the courtyard.
In 1745, Gian Luca Pallavicini became governor and minister plenipotentiary of Milan. At his expense, he refurbished the interiors – including furniture, silverware, chinaware and chandeliers –, employing the architect Francesco Croce, active with the Cathedral Workshop. Croce commissioned tapestries reproducing Raphaelite works from the Gobelins factories. The halls of Festini and Audienzia were merged to create an enormous 46 by 17 meter ballroom (current Hall of the Caryatids) with boxes built to hold an orchestra. Pallavacini also commissioned a salon for gala dinners – a new fashion coming from France. When Pallavacini left in 1752, he sold his furniture and decor to the state.
Reconstruction by Piermarini[edit]
Piermarini 18th century facade.
The Archduke Ferdinand of Austria-Este, a son of Maria Theresa of Austria married Maria Beatrice d'Este in Milan in 1771. For their wedding, Ascanio in Alba by Mozart was staged in the palace. Mozart almost gained an appointment in the Milan court. Maria Beatrice was the heir for the Duchy of Modena and Reggio, and the young archduke was named governor of the Duchy of Milan, and a decade later of Lombardy. Ferdinand had hoped to build a new palace, but settled on increasing the rooms forming part of the royal residence, but moving many of the administrative offices.
The neoclassical grand staircase of the building
Rebuilding in 1773 was directed by Giuseppe Piermarini, in collaboration with the Viennese Leopold Pollack. Piermarini eliminated the side of the courtyard to the Cathedral, leaving the other three, thus creating the Piazzetta Reale - and its geometric design on the pavement - then larger than the square of the Cathedral. The renovation had to balance the demands of the archduke and the financial limitations imposed by Vienna. Piermarini built the present neoclassical facade.
Fire struck again, destroying the Court Theater on February 26, 1776. This time the fire-prone Court Theater was built elsewhere, now Teatro Alla Scala, which became one of, if not the first public opera houses. A smaller court theater, now Teatro Lirico, was built at the site of a demolished school.
The interior underwent transformations. The largest-scale enterprise is undoubtedly represented by the famous Hall of Caryatids (named after 40 caryatids made by Gaetano Callani.) It was simultaneously restored the ducal chapel of St. Gotthard getting a new altar and an internal decoration in neoclassical style. Only the bell tower was preserved, being considered a model of the idea of architectural beauty of the time of Azzone Visconti.
The Archduke ordered more Gobelin tapestries with the stories of Jason and those of Pallavicini. The rooms were decorated in stucco by Albertolli, frescoed by Giuliano Traballesi and Martin Knoller, a cycle of works that will end only in the 19th century due to the intervention of Andrea Appiani before and Francesco Hayez then.
Piermarini tasks officially ended on 17 June 1778, when the Archduke moved back into the new Palazzo Reale.
Napoleonic era and restoration[edit]
One of the commemorative paintings commissioned to Andrea Appiani for the Palazzo Reale in Milan, depicting the triumph of Napoleon, shown above in the style of the era as a Roman emperor
In 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte - still a general - occupied and ruled Lombardy for nearly two decades. The Palace was renamed the National Palace and became the seat of the main governing bodies of the new republic, namely the military command, first and then the Directory. When the Austro-Russians regained control of Milan in 1799, the French government hastily sold most of the furnishings of the building at auction as well as allowing the looting of other halls by the population.
It will only be in 1805 that the building will rise again, reaching its peak of splendor. It would indeed be in the same year that Milan will become the capital of the newborn Kingdom of Italy consisting of Napoleon's adopted son Eugène de Beauharnais who was appointed Viceroy and took residence right in Milan's Palazzo Reale. Milan is the capital of a vast kingdom including all of northern Italy and as such also the home of the new government needs to be worthy of this privilege.
Therefore the damages caused by war were repaired and new and lavish furnishings werepurchased and Eugène de Beauharnais himself proceeded to the enlargement of the rear of the building thanks to a project entrusted to Luigi Canonica, which added the entire block - now occupied by the city council offices - where there are fitted new stables, a large riding school and many local offices, all in austere neo-classical style (the project was completed years later by Tazzini that was also the author of the facade on Via Larga.) From the riding school, known as "La Cavallerizza" and the seat of horse shows, one could access through a bridge on via Restrelli to the court theater (theatre Cannobiana). Andrea Appiani was given the completion of the frescoes in the halls of representation that were opened the 8th of May 1805 during an official visit by Napoleon in Milan.
With the fall of Napoleon in 1814, the kingdom of Italy in Milan toppled and the huge palace begins a slight loss of importance, immediately recovered with the Restoration. Under the Austrians, the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was formed and as such the Palazzo Reale in Milan would serve as the seat of the new viceroy of a wide realm.
The building era and loss of the Hall of Caryatids[edit]
Reception held in 1875 for the German Emperor Wilhelm I in the Hall of Cariatidi held in the Hall of the Palazzo Reale. This depicts the Hall of Caryatids before its destruction by fire on 15 August 1943.
The Emperor's room in 1875
With the annexation of Lombardy to Piedmont in 1859, the palace housed the new governor of Milan, Massimo d'Azeglio. With the proclamation of the kingdom of Italy in the 1861, the palace became a royal residence of the Savoy monarchy, however it was little used once the capital was moved onto Florence. Umberto I, resided mainly in the Villa Reale di Monza, but after his assassination in 1900, his son, Vittorio Emanuele III, avoided Milan. The last official royal reception held in Milan occurred in 1906 for the Universal Exhibition.
In 1919 President Woodrow Wilson was welcomed in Milan by Vittorio Emanuele III of Savoy and it was the last official visit. On October 11 of that same year, the palace was sold by the House of Savoy to the Italian state, however, on the condition that the apartments remained available to the royal family.
With the sale of the palace, large changes occurred. The first was the shortening of the side nearest to the Duomo, spoiling the monumental proportions of the palace. Second havoc occurred in 1925, with the demolition of the Royal Stables and then again in 1936-37 when the so-called "long sleeves" are shortened by at least 60 metres more, to build the Arengario. This has definitely ruined the beauty of the building, linked largely to the proportioned relations between the bodies. Same goes for the square.
The whole building was heavily damaged during the night of 15 August 1943 when the city was hit by a British bombing raid. The bombs didn't directly hit the building, though the building was destroyed by fire unleashed in neighbouring buildings that eroded the attic of the Hall of Caryatids, burning the wood warping and causing the collapse of large trusses. The trusses fell and eventually split the balcony in several places also damaging the floor. The high temperature in the room overheated the stucco causing it to delaminate. The materials changed colour under the heat, permanently ruining the famous hall, including Appiani's paintings that were kept there.
After the war, in 1947, the Superintendence of Cultural Heritage started the refurbishment of the building beginning with the Hall of Caryatids. A new floor and a new roof were made, though these lacked the earlier decorations (of which, however, there is ample documentation) to leave a testimony to the war in Milan.
The room gained in reputation in 1953 when it was chosen by Picasso to host an exhibition. The Spanish artist's work Guernica, was displayed at Palazzo Reale, with the venue being chosen as a clear symbolic purpose.
Only from 2000, however, the room has regained its former glory with a very careful restoration that removed the blackening on the walls caused by the fire of the 1943 and consolidated all surfaces (structural and painting). On the cover of the ceiling, previously white, have been drawn sketches of how the ceiling of the room was to appear before the collapse.
The Museum of the Palace[edit]
Only at the beginning of the 21st century, more than fifty years after destruction during the war, is the Royal Palace finding a central role in the social and cultural life of Milan. It is currently in the third stage of restoration, following the completion of two earlier stages. This allows visitors the opportunity to admire the halls of the Palace Museum with an itinerary through the four seasons of the historic Palazzo: the era Teresiana and Neoclassical, the Napoleonic era, the Restoration and the Unification of Italy.
The restoration took place through a complex task of reconstruction of the original furniture to allow a wider and more articulate historical and stylistic reading of court life. The first visible halls belonging to the neoclassical period, with reconstruction ranging from Giuseppe Piermarini to Napoleonic times, are those that best explain the splendor of the "enlightened" era, during which the city had a major role in Europe. The third phase of restoration, still in progress, will return to the museum the rooms of the old Apartment of Reserve, in which the royal ways of living of the 19th century are documented and maintained.
Cultural centre[edit]
The Royal Palace is a cultural centre in the heart of the city coordinated with three other exhibition venues: the Rotonda della Besana, the Palace of Region and Palazzo dell'Arengario.
The building played an important role with regard to art in Milan, as shown by the great success of recent years exhibitions that included Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and other painters and sculptors. Fundamental was the exhibition opened at the Palazzo Reale in 2009 on the centenary of the birth of Futurism.
Since November 4, 2013 the collection of the Great Museum of the Duomo of Milan (Grande Museo del Duomo di Milano in Italian) has been shown to the public in a wing of the Palace.[1]
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Inauguration of the refurbishment of the Archive and of the new Grande Museo del Duomo in Milan - Archivum Fabricae". Archivio.duomomilano.it. Retrieved 2016-10-29.
Sources[edit]
Melano, Oscar Pedro Milano di terracotta e mattoni, Mazzotta, 2002.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Palazzo Reale (Milan).
Comune di Milano - Palazzo Reale
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Coordinates: 45°27′48″N 9°11′28″E / 45.4632°N 9.19114°E / 45.4632; 9.19114
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Directed by
Luc Besson
Produced by
Patrice Ledoux
Screenplay by
Luc Besson
Robert Mark Kamen
Story by
Luc Besson
Starring
Bruce Willis
Gary Oldman
Chris Tucker
Ian Holm
Milla Jovovich
Music by
Éric Serra
Cinematography
Thierry Arbogast
Edited by
Sylvie Landra
Production
company
Gaumont
Distributed by
Gaumont Buena Vista International[1] (France)
Columbia Pictures (United States)
Release date
7 May 1997 (1997-05-07)
Running time
126 minutes[2]
Country
France
Language
English
Budget
$90 million[3][4][5][6][a]
Box office
$263.9 million[7]
The Fifth Element (French: Le Cinquième Élément) is a 1997 English-language French science-fiction action film directed and co-written by Luc Besson. It stars Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman and Milla Jovovich. Primarily set in the 23rd century, the film's central plot involves the survival of planet Earth, which becomes the responsibility of Korben Dallas (Willis), a taxicab driver and former special forces major, after a young woman (Jovovich) falls into his cab. Dallas joins forces with her to recover four mystical stones essential for the defence of Earth against an impending attack.
Besson started writing the story that became The Fifth Element when he was 16 years old; he was 38 when the film opened in cinemas. Besson wanted to shoot the film in France, but suitable locations could not be found; filming took place instead in London and Mauritania. Comics writers Jean "Moebius" Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières, whose comics provided inspiration for parts of the film, were hired for production design. Costume design was by Jean Paul Gaultier.
The Fifth Element received mainly positive reviews, although it tended to polarize critics. It has been called both the best and worst summer blockbuster of all time. The film was a financial success, earning more than $263 million at the box office on a $90 million budget. At the time of its release it was the most expensive European film ever made, and it remained the highest-grossing French film at the international box office until the release of The Intouchables in 2011.
Contents
[hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Themes
4 Production
4.1 Effects
4.2 Soundtrack
5 Release
5.1 Initial screening
5.2 Box office
5.3 Critical response
5.4 Legacy and related media
6 Accolades
7 Home media
8 Notes
9 References
10 Bibliography
11 External links
Plot[edit]
In 1914, aliens known as Mondoshawans arrive at an ancient Egyptian temple to collect, for safekeeping concerning World War I, the only weapon capable of defeating a great evil that appears every 5,000 years. The weapon consists of four stones, containing the essences of the four classical elements, and a sarcophagus containing a fifth element in the form of a human, which combines the power of the other four elements into a divine light capable of defeating the evil. The Mondoshawans promise their human contact, a priest from a secret order, that they will come back with the weapon in time to stop the great evil when it returns.
In 2263,[b] the great evil appears in deep space in the form of a giant ball of black fire, and destroys an attacking Earth spaceship. The Mondoshawans' current contact on Earth, priest Vito Cornelius, informs the President of the Federated Territories of the history of the great evil and the weapon that can stop it. As the Mondoshawans return to Earth they are ambushed by Mangalores, a race hired by the industrialist Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg, who has been directed by the great evil (sending messages as “Mister Shadow”) to acquire the element stones.
The Mondoshawans' spacecraft is destroyed, and the only "survivor" is a severed hand in a metal glove from the Fifth Element's sarcophagus that still contains some living cells. Scientists take it to a New York City laboratory and use it to reconstruct a powerful humanoid woman who takes the name Leeloo. Terrified of the unfamiliar surroundings, she breaks out of confinement and jumps off a high ledge, crashing into the flying taxicab of Korben Dallas, a former major in the special forces.
Dallas delivers Leeloo to Cornelius and his apprentice, David, whereupon it is revealed that she is the Fifth Element. Cornelius learns from her that the element stones were not on the Mondoshawans' ship, as they entrusted the stones to the alien Diva Plavalaguna, an opera singer. Zorg kills many of the Mangalores because of their failure to obtain the stones, but their surviving compatriots determine to seize the artifacts in revenge. Upon learning from the Mondoshawans that the stones are in Plavalaguna's possession, General Munro, Dallas' former superior, recommissions Dallas and orders him to travel undercover to the planet Fhloston to meet Plavalaguna on a luxury cruise; Dallas takes Leeloo with him. Meanwhile, Cornelius instructs David to prepare the temple designed to house the stones, then stows away on the space plane transporting Dallas to the cruise liner.
Plavalaguna is killed when the Mangalores attack the cruise ship, but Dallas succeeds in retrieving the stones from the Diva. During his struggle with the Mangalores he kills their leader. Meanwhile, Zorg arrives, shooting and seriously wounding Leeloo before taking a carrying case that he presumes contains the stones back to his spacecraft, leaving behind a time bomb that forces the liner's occupants to evacuate. Discovering the case to be empty, Zorg returns to the ship and deactivates his bomb, but a dying Mangalore sets off his own device, destroying the ship and killing Zorg. Dallas, Cornelius, Leeloo, and talk-show host Ruby Rhod escape with the stones aboard Zorg's spacecraft.
The four join up with David at the weapon chamber in the temple as the great evil approaches. They arrange the stones and activate them with their corresponding elements, but having witnessed and studied so much violence, Leeloo has become disenchanted with humanity and refuses to cooperate. Dallas confesses his love for Leeloo and kisses her. In response, Leeloo combines the power of the stones as the Fifth Element and releases the divine light on the great evil, destroying its power and causing the planet to be proclaimed dead by Earth scientists as it becomes another moon in Earth orbit.
Cast[edit]
Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas
Gary Oldman as Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg
Milla Jovovich as Leeloo Minaï Lekatariba-Laminaï-Tchaï Ekbat de Sebat
Ian Holm as Father Vito Cornelius
Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod
Charlie Creed-Miles as David
Brion James as General Munro
Tricky as Right Arm
Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. as President Lindberg
Christopher Fairbank as Professor Mactilburgh
Lee Evans as Fog
John Bluthal as Professor Massimo Pacoli
Luke Perry as Billy Masterson
John Bennett as Priest
Kim Chan as Mr. Kim
John Neville as General Staedert
Al Matthews as General Tudor
Maïwenn Le Besco as Diva Plavalaguna
Themes[edit]
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 states "What's the use of saving life when you see what you do with it?", and agree with her.[8] Jay P. Telotte, writing in the book Science Fiction Film, credited the film with exploring the theme of political corruption.[9]
An article by Brian Ott and Eric Aoki in the feminist journal Women's Studies in Communication considered gender to be one of the film's main themes. The authors accused the film of erasing women from the introductory scenes, noting that Leeloo's reconstruction marked only the second appearance of a female in the film's first 20 minutes; the other is an androgynous, mostly speechless presidential aide. When females appear in the film, they do so as passive objects, such as the sexualised flight and McDonald's attendants; or stripped of their femininity, such as the "butch" Major Iceborg.[10] Stefan Brandt, in the book Subverting Masculinity, also said that the film "echoes stereotypical beliefs about gender" of all females in the film, including Leeloo, who he thought only left her passive role in the film during her fight with the Mangalores. With the exception of Tiny Lister's portrayal of the President, all males in the film were considered to be as unmanly as possible in various ways, such as Ruby Rhod's effeminacy, Vito Cornelius's clumsy form of speech, and General Munro's stupidity; their purpose was to make Korben's masculinity appear "god-like" by comparison.[11]
In the book The Films of Luc Besson, Susan Hayward considered The Fifth Element to be a classic story of a man "making his break from the tribe, proving his manhood, over-throwing the malevolent forces and killing the chief, finally to reap the rewards of security and marriage".[12] Korben's journey, however, is under threat not only from the Mangalores and Zorg, but also from Leeloo, who relents and helps him only at the last minute, accepting his declaration of love.[12] The love story within The Fifth Element was considered to be one of the main narratives in the film, and it faces the same deadline as the main storyline.[12] Hayward also considered the issue of environmental damage, in so far as waste and pollution are visible throughout the film.[13] Whereas science fiction films often show a world wherein some new technology or threat either surpasses or fails humanity, The Films of Luc Besson included The Fifth Element amongst the minority of science fiction films that "hold up a mirror" and show humankind as responsible.[14] The film was said to be skeptical of capitalist consumerism, in so far as the gadgets in Zorg's office make an unhealthy obsession of his lust for technology.[14] The tension between technology and man is treated as a problem requiring a final resolution.[14]
Production[edit]
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, though it was not released in cinemas until he was 38.[15] The original storyline was set in the year 2300, and was about a "nobody" named Zaltman Bleros (later renamed Korben Dallas) who wins a trip to the Club Med resort on the planet Fhloston Paradise. There he meets Leeloo, a "sand-girl" who has the "beauty of youth" despite being over 2,000 years old.[16] Besson continued to work on and modify the storyline for years; by the time his documentary film Atlantis was released in 1991 he had a 400-page script. Nicolas Seydoux and Patrice Ledoux from Gaumont were the first people to take on the project. In November 1991, while looking for actors for the film, Besson met French comics creators Jean Giraud and Jean-Claude Mézières and recruited them[17] for the film's production design.[18][19] Giraud and Mézières's comics were a major source of inspiration for Besson's futuristic New York City.[20] Mézières wrote the book The Circles of Power, which contains a character named S'Traks, who drives a flying taxicab through the congested air traffic of the vast metropolis on the planet Rubanis. Mézières showed images of the flying taxi to Besson, who was inspired to change the background of Korben Dallas from a worker in a rocketship factory to that of a taxi driver who flies his cab around a Rubanis-inspired futuristic New York City.[21] Five other artists were hired for the project, and Jean Paul Gaultier was hired to design the film's costumes. The team spent a year creating over 8,000 drawings, during which time Besson approached both Bruce Willis and Mel Gibson for the lead role. Willis expressed interest, though he was reluctant to take on the role as the film was considered risky after his previous two films, Hudson Hawk and Billy Bathgate, had been received poorly; Gibson eventually turned down the role.[22] While the team impressed film companies with their designs, they struggled to find one willing to take on the film's budget of almost $100 million. In December 1992 production of the film stopped[23] without any prior warning, and the team disbanded.[3]
Korben's flying taxicab (top), which was inspired by the comics series The Circles of Power[24]
Besson went on to direct the commercially successful film Léon: The Professional, which was released in September 1994. While shooting and releasing Leon, he continued to work on the script for The Fifth Element, shortening it and reducing the film's budget to $90 million before attempting to find a studio willing to produce it. Columbia Pictures, who had a partnership in Leon, agreed to finance the film. By this time Besson had decided to go with a lesser-known lead actor in order to save on production costs.[3][8] Besson was in Barry Josephson's office when Willis called regarding a different film. Besson asked to speak to Willis "just to say hello", and told him that The Fifth Element was finally going ahead, explaining the decision to go with a less-expensive actor. After a short silence, Willis stated "If I like the film, we can always come to an arrangement";[3] he agreed to take on the role after reading the script. Production of the film commenced in early August 1995. Besson traveled to various places for casting, including Paris, London and Rome.[25] He hired Gary Oldman (who had starred in Léon) for the role of Zorg, describing Oldman as "one of the top five actors in the world."[8] For the character Leeloo, Besson chose Milla Jovovich from the 200 to 300 applicants he met in person.[8] The "Divine Language" spoken in the film by Leeloo is a fictional language with only 400 words, invented by Besson. Jovovich and Besson held conversations and wrote letters to each other in the language as practice.[26] Besson was in a relationship with Maïwenn Le Besco, who played the role of Diva Plavalaguna, for six years when filming commenced; however, he left her for Jovovich during filming.[27] Jovovich and Besson later married, but divorced in 1999.[28]
Wishing to shoot the film in France, Besson could not find suitable facilities and "with a heavy heart" filmed in London.[29] It was primarily filmed at Pinewood Studios on seven soundstages[30] including the 007 Stage.[31] Construction of sets began in October 1995.[17] The opera scene was filmed at the Royal Opera House.[32] Scenes depicted as being in Egypt were filmed in Mauritania;[33] the first shoot for the film, a background shot of the desert, occurred there on 5 January 1996.[34] Filming with actors began in late January, and was completed 21 weeks later.[35] Willis finished filming on 16 May,[36] while Oldman only commenced filming the following week;[37] the film's protagonist (Korben) and antagonist (Zorg) never actually share any screen time.[38] Despite being filmed in London, The Fifth Element was a French production,[39][40] and went on to become the costliest European film ever made at the time.[41] The buildings in New York were derived from both metabolist-inspired masses of modular apartments from the 1960s, and the futuristic designs of architect Antonio Sant'Elia in the 1910s.[42] Besson demanded that most of the action shots in the film take place in broad daylight, as he was reportedly tired of the dark spaceship corridors and dimly lit planets common in science fiction films, and wanted a brighter "cheerfully crazy" look as opposed to a gloomy realistic one.[20] Gaultier designed every one of the 900 costumes worn by extras in the film's Fhloston Paradise scenes, and checked each costume every morning.[38] His designs, described as "intellectually transgressive",[43] were said to challenge sexuality and gender norms.[44] A single jacket he designed for the film cost $5,000.[45]
The original name of the character Ruby Rhod was Loc Rhod. The name appears in both the original script and in the novelisation of the film.[46] Speculation has been raised that the name change was a play on information in the periodic table. Rubidium is the first of the Period 5 elements, and exactly halfway down that row is the element Rhodium. Taking the first half of each element yields "Rubi Rhod".[47] Others have speculated his name is a play on his gender bending personality; having a feminine first name and phallic surname.[10] The term "ruby rod" also refers to the essential component of the first working laser design.[48]
Effects[edit]
One of the models used to portray an NYPD car in the film
Three different teams handled the three different types of special effects used in the film. Nick Allder was placed in charge of mechanical and pyrotechnical effects, Nick Dudman was placed in charge of 'creature' effects and Mark Stetson headed the visual effects team.[30] Visual effects company Digital Domain was hired for the film, and Karen Goulekas was given the role of digital effects supervisor.[49] Alias,[33] Autodesk Softimage, Arete, Side Effect's Prisms, RenderMan, as well as in-house software, were used by Digital Domain to create effects.[50] Some individual shots used a combination of live action, scale models, computer-generated imagery and particle systems.[51] The lanes of traffic in the scenes in New York City were created with particle systems:
We had maybe 80 cityscape shots with CG cars hurtling around, and you couldn't animate them all by hand because there were just too many of them in each scene ... When the cars turned a corner, the velocity changes were automatic, so the animator didn't have to worry about that. They just planned the moves in a very blocky way, and the mathematics smoothed out the rest.
Amongst the scale models used for filming were the buildings seen in New York City. Dozens of apartment blocks and 25 skyscrapers, some 20 feet (6.1 m) high, were constructed in 1/24th scale.[52] It took a team of 80 workers five months to build the models used in the film.[52] The windows of the buildings were cited by the team as one of the most time-consuming tasks, along with details behind the windows, such as furniture, blinds, lightboxes and tiny pieces of flat artwork.[52] Virtual sets built within digital environments were created to enhance the use of miniatures.[53] Motion control cameras moved throughout the scale sets, and the data they collected was exported to track and generate the CG animation and particle systems.[42] Other techniques used in the film included digital matte paintings for backgrounds[54] and the NURBS mathematical model for certain animations, including the sequence in which Leeloo's body is reconstructed.[55]
Soundtrack[edit]
The Fifth Element is one of Besson's films which have been described as "intrinsically musical";[56] some kind of music is playing during about 90 percent of the film.[57] The film's score was composed by Éric Serra. He relies heavily on the use of orchestral textures, such as the oboe and strings heard as the surgeons prepare to regenerate Leeloo, and the pizzicato as she is reconstructed. Serra also used many exotic influences, such as the Stalinist fanfare heard before the spaceport sequence, the reggae piece played in preparation for the flight, and the hula music that greets the passengers as they arrive in Fhloston.[58] More conventional scoring techniques are present in the leitmotif that first appears when professor Pacoli mentions the fifth element, the militaristic snares as the warship prepares to attack the dark planet, and the Mahlerian funereal piece heard when Leeloo learns about war.[58] The music used for the taxicab chase scene, titled "Alech Taadi" by Algerian performer Khaled,[59][60] is excluded from the film soundtrack, but is available on Khaled's album N'ssi N'ssi.[61]
"The Diva Dance"
A sample of Inva Mula's vocals in The Diva Dance
Problems playing this file? See media help.
The Diva Dance opera performance used music from Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor: "Il dolce suono",[62] the mad scene of Act III, Scene 2. It is one of the few pieces of music in the film that is diegetic.[63] It was sung by Albanian soprano Inva Mula,[64] while the role of Plavalaguna was played by French actress Maïwenn Le Besco.[27] Part One (titled "Lucia di Lammermoor") and Part Two (titled "The Diva Dance") of this piece are included as separate tracks on The Fifth Element soundtrack, but are sequenced to create the effect of the entire performance seen in the film. The end of Part One blends into the beginning of Part Two, creating a smooth transition between the two tracks.[65]
Released as an album under Virgin Records, the soundtrack peaked at No. 99 on the Billboard 200.[66] More than 200,000 copies of the lengthy soundtrack were sold in France alone.[67] Rodney Batdorf of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, stating it was "diverse and accomplished, and it is just as effective outside of the film as it is within it."[68] A review from Filmtracks.com also awarded the album three out of five stars.[69]
Release[edit]
Initial screening[edit]
The film premiered on 7 May 1997 at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, where it was selected as the opening film.[70][71] Gaumont built an area for the screening that was over 100,000 square feet (9,300 m2). Guests were given a "Fifth Element" Swatch, which was used as their ticket for entry. The event included a futuristic ballet, a fashion show by Jean Paul Gaultier, and fireworks. Gaumont spent between US $1 million and $3 million on the event, a record at the time.[72]
Box office[edit]
The film debuted at number 1 in the US, earning $17 million on its opening weekend.[39] It went on to become a box-office success, grossing over $263 million, almost three times its budget of $90 million.[7] Seventy-six percent of the receipts for The Fifth Element were from markets outside the United States,[7] and it was the ninth-highest-grossing film of the year worldwide.[7] It was the most successful film at the box office in France in 1997,[73] with more than 7.69 million seeing the film.[74] In Germany the film was awarded the Goldene Leinwand, a sales certification award for selling more than three million tickets at the box office.[75] The Fifth Element went on to become the highest grossing French film at the foreign box-office,[41][76] a record it held for 16 years until the release of The Intouchables in 2011.[77]
Critical response[edit]
The Fifth Element holds a 72% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, based on 61 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Visually inventive and gleefully over the top, Luc Besson's The Fifth Element is a fantastic piece of pop sci-fi that never takes itself too seriously."[78] It has a weighted score of 52/100 at Metacritic, based on 22 professional reviews, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[79] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[80]
The Fifth Element polarised critics on release. Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times described the film as an "elaborate, even campy sci-fi extravaganza, which is nearly as hard to follow as last year's Mission: Impossible." He concluded that The Fifth Element was "a lot warmer, more fun and boasts some of the most sophisticated, witty production and costume design you could ever hope to see."[81] On film review show At the Movies, both Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel gave the film a "thumbs up";[82] in his own review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Ebert gave the film 3 stars out of 4, calling it "One of the great goofy movies", and concluding, "I would not have missed seeing this film, and I recommend it for its richness of imagery. But at 127 minutes, which seems a reasonable length, it plays long."[4]
The film was, however, subject to a number of harsh reviews that expressed disapproval of its overblown style. Todd McCarthy of Variety wrote, "A largely misfired European attempt to make an American-style sci-fi spectacular, The Fifth Element consists of a hodgepodge of elements that don't comfortably coalesce."[71] David Edelstein of Slate was even more critical, saying, "It may or may not be the worst movie ever made, but it is one of the most unhinged."[5]
Chris Tucker's performance as Ruby Rhod also polarised critics.[83] He was praised in the Los Angeles Times[84] and in Time; the latter called him "the summer's most outrageous special effect."[85] Josh Winning of GamesRadar, however, singled out Tucker's performance as the low point of the film, ranking it as No. 20 on his 2011 list, "50 Performances That Ruined Movies".[86]
Legacy and related media[edit]
The film has been described by CBS News, Rotten Tomatoes, and ComingSoon.com as a science fiction cult classic.[87][88][89] However film critic Mark Kermode reported that The Fifth Element was one of the most divisive films among his readers, regarded as both the best and the worst summer blockbuster of all time. Kermode recalled his own experience: "I remember very clearly being in Cannes when [The] Fifth Element was first played, and it really divided the audience."[90] Stephen Cass of Discover ranked the film the third-best science fiction film on subscription service Hulu, writing, "People seem to either like or loathe The Fifth Element ... Lavish visuals and entertaining performances from Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, and Gary Oldman make this movie worth watching."[91] In some circles the film has gained a "so-bad-it's-good" status; Meredith Woerner of io9 listed The Fifth Element as one of "The 20 Best Worst Science Fiction Movies of All Time".[92] In 2007 the Visual Effects Society placed The Fifth Element at No. 50, tied with Darby O'Gill and the Little People, on their list of the 50 most influential visual effects films of all time.[93] In 2014, Time Out listed the film at No. 42 on their "100 best sci-fi movies" list.[94]
Willis spoke favourably of the film in a 1999 interview, concluding "it was a real fun movie to make."[95] Tucker and Jovovich also spoke favourably of both their experiences making the film and working with Besson in interviews on the Ultimate Edition DVD; Jovovich described Besson as "the first really amazing director I had worked with".[96] Asked in a 2014 interview if he liked the film, Gary Oldman stated, "Oh no. I can't bear it."[97] He had explained in 2011: "It was me singing for my supper because Luc had come in and partly financed [my film] Nil by Mouth."[98]
Alejandro Jodorowsky and Jean Giraud sued Besson after the film was released, claiming The Fifth Element had plagiarised their comic The Incal. Giraud sued for 13.1 million euros for unfair competition, 9 million euros in damages and interest and two to five percent of the net operating revenues of the film. Jodorowsky sued for 700,000 euros. The case was dismissed in 2004 on the grounds that only "tiny fragments" of the comic had been used[99] and also because Giraud had been hired by Besson to work on the film before the allegations were made.[18]
A novel adaptation of The Fifth Element, written by Terry Bisson, was published by HarperPrism in 1997.[100][101] There were rumors after the film's release that it would be followed by a sequel, tentatively titled Mr. Shadow. In 2011, Besson stated that a sequel was never planned, and that he has no desire to make one.[102]
A video game adaptation of The Fifth Element was created by Activision for the PlayStation game console and PC in 1998. The PlayStation version was generally met with negative reviews,[103] though the PC version was better received.[104] Lauren Fielder from GameSpot called the PlayStation version "quite possibly the worst game I've ever played."[105] Doug Perry from IGN commented: "Take Tomb Raider, add in Leeloo Multipass and boring puzzles, and you've got Fifth Element."[106] A racing game based on the film, New York Race, was released in 2001.[107] Eurogamer gave the game 6 out of 10, concluding: "New York Race is a fun little arcade racer which oozes style, but it's something you'll grow tired of extremely quickly and as such remains fun only in short bursts."[107]
Accolades[edit]
The Fifth Element was nominated for Best Sound Editing at the 70th Academy Awards,[108] and for Best Sound Editing at the 1998 Golden Reel Awards,[109] but lost to Titanic in both cases. It won the BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects,[110][111] and the Lumières Award for Best Director.[112] It was nominated for seven César awards, winning three: Best Director,[113] Best Cinematography and Best Production Design.[111][114] It was nominated for Film of the Year at the 1997 European Film Awards,[115] as well as the Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation,[116] and the Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects.[117] Thierry Arbogast was awarded the Technical Grand Prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for his work on both The Fifth Element and She's So Lovely.[111] The film received four Saturn Award nominations: Best Science Fiction Film, Best Costume, Best Special Effects,[118] and Best Supporting Actress for Milla Jovovich.[119] Jovovich's fight against the Mangalores was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Fight,[119][120] and the actress was also nominated for Best Actress – Newcomer at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards.[121]
Conversely, Jovovich received a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actress, and Chris Tucker was nominated for Worst New Star for his performances in both The Fifth Element and Money Talks.[122]
Year
Event
Award
Nominee
Result
1998 Academy Awards Best Sound Editing Mark Mangini Nominated
1998 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Best Actress – Newcomer Milla Jovovich Nominated
1997 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Special Visual Effects Mark Mangini Won
1997 Cannes Film Festival Technical Grand Prize Thierry Arbogast Won
1998 César Award Best Cinematography Thierry Arbogast Won
Best Director Luc Besson Won
Best Production Design Dan Weil Won
Best Costume Design Jean Paul Gaultier Nominated
Best Editing Sylvie Landra Nominated
Best Film Luc Besson Nominated
Best Music Written for a Film Éric Serra Nominated
Best Sound Daniel Brisseau Nominated
1997 European Film Awards Film of the Year Patrice Ledoux Nominated
1998 Golden Raspberry Awards Worst Supporting Actress Milla Jovovich Nominated
Worst New Star Chris Tucker Nominated
1998 Golden Reel Awards Best Sound Editing Mark Mangini Nominated
1998 Hugo Awards Best Dramatic Presentation The Fifth Element Nominated
1997 Lumières Award Best Director Luc Besson Won
1998 MTV Movie Awards Best Fight Milla Jovovich vs. Aliens Nominated
1998 Satellite Award Best Visual Effects Mark Stetson Nominated
1998 Saturn Award Best Science Fiction Film The Fifth Element Nominated
Best Costumes Jean Paul Gaultier Nominated
Best Special Effects Special effects team Nominated
Best Supporting Actress Milla Jovovich Nominated
Home media[edit]
The original home video release of The Fifth Element took place in North America on 10 December 1997, on VHS, LaserDisc, and DVD.[123] The original DVD presented the film in its original 2.39:1 anamorphic widescreen format though carried no special features.[124] The film was released in Sony's Superbit format in October 2001.[125] In his review, Conrad Jeremy from IGN gave the picture quality of the original DVD release 9 out of 10, though awarded the Superbit version a perfect score for picture quality. Overall the Superbit version was given 8 out of 10; the final score was brought down by the version's complete lack of special features.[125]
An "Ultimate Edition" set of two DVDs was released on 11 January 2005.[123][126] The only difference between the Superbit version and the Ultimate Edition disc one is the addition of a "fact track", which when turned on displays trivia about the film, cast and crew as the film plays. The second disc provides various special features, focusing on visual production, special effects, fashion in the film, featurettes and interviews with Willis, Jovovich, and Tucker, as well as featurettes on the four different alien races in the film and Diva Plavalaguna. Ian Jane of DVD Talk praised the Ultimate Edition for its special features.[126]
The first Blu-ray release of the film on 20 June 2006 was criticised as having poor picture quality by Blu-ray standards, and for its lack of special features.[127] In what has been called "an extremely rare move" Sony responded to complaints by making a remastered Blu-ray version available, released on 17 July 2007, and also offered a replacement exchange program for customers unhappy with the original Blu-ray release.[128] Ben Williams from Blu-ray.com stated the remastered version "absolutely" made up for the lacklustre initial release and praised its high video and audio quality; however, he criticised the continued lack of special features.[127]
The 20th anniversary 4K remaster was released on Ultra HD Blu-ray on July 11, 2017.[129]
Notes[edit]
Jump up ^ Conflicting sources stated the film's budget to be various figures between $50 million and $100 million, however, $90 million is the most frequently cited figure, and is also the figure cited by Besson in his book, The Story of The Fifth Element.
Jump up ^ The film's opening scene states the year is 1914, and the following scene in space states it is “300 years later”, though Korben's alarm clock clearly shows the year as being 2263. The year is given as 2257 on the DVD sleeve notes published by Pathé in 1997, and as 2259 by Besson in The Story of The Fifth Element.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ "Le Cinquième élément" [The Fifth Element]. Ciné-Ressources (in French). Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
Jump up ^ "Fifth Element, The Le Cinquieme Elemente". Australian Classification Board. Retrieved 11 April 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b c d Besson 1997, p. 11.
^ Jump up to: a b Ebert, Roger (9 May 1997). "The Fifth Element". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
^ Jump up to: a b Edelstein, David (11 May 1997). "Unmitigated Gaul: The Fifth Element and Irma Vep". Slate. Archived from the original on 27 October 2014. Retrieved 28 January 2015.
Jump up ^ Mazdon 2000, p. 110; Hayward 2009, p. 91.
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Bibliography[edit]
Besson, Luc (1997). The Story of the Fifth Element: The Adventure and Discovery of a Film. London: Titan Books. ISBN 978-1-85286-863-5.
Bizony, Piers (2001). Digital Domain: The Leading Edge of Visual Effects. London: Aurum Press. ISBN 978-0-8230-7928-5.
Hanson, Matt (2005). Building Sci-Fi Moviescapes: The Science Behind the Fiction. Waltham, Massachusetts: Focal Press. ISBN 978-0-240-80772-0.
Hayward, Susan; Powrie, Phil (2009). The Films of Luc Besson: Master of Spectacle. Manchester: Manchester University Press. ISBN 978-0-7190-7029-7.
Mazdon, Lucy (2000). Encore Hollywood: Remaking French Cinema. London: British Film Institute. ISBN 978-0-8517-0801-0.
Mézières, Jean-Claude; Christin, Pierre (2004). "The Circles of Power". Valerian: The New Future Trilogy. Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent. Trans. Timothy Ryan Smith. New York: iBooks. ISBN 978-0-7434-8674-3.
External links[edit]
Wikiquote has quotations related to: The Fifth Element
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Fifth Element.
Official website
The Fifth Element on IMDb
The Fifth Element at the TCM Movie Database
[hide]
v
t
e
Luc Besson
Directed
Le Dernier Combat (1983)
Subway (1985)
The Big Blue (1988)
Nikita (1990)
Atlantis (1991)
Léon: The Professional (1994)
The Fifth Element (1997)
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)
Angel-A (2005)
Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009)
Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010)
The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
The Lady (2011)
The Family (2013)
Lucy (2014)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Produced
Le Dernier Combat (1983)
Subway (1985)
Atlantis (1991)
Cold Moon (1991)
Nil by Mouth (1997)
Taxi (1998)
Taxi 2 (2000)
Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
Wasabi (2001)
La Turbulence des fluides (2002)
The Transporter (2002)
Fanfan la Tulipe (2003)
Les Côtelettes (2003)
Michel Vaillant (2003)
Taxi 3 (2003)
District 13 (2004)
Taxi (2004)
Revolver (2005)
The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005)
Transporter 2 (2005)
Unleashed (2005)
Angel-A (2005)
Arthur and the Invisibles (2006)
Bandidas (2006)
Love and Other Disasters (2006)
Nuovomondo (2006)
Tell No One (2006)
The Secret (2007)
Taxi 4 (2007)
Hitman (2007)
Taken (2008)
Transporter 3 (2008)
District 13: Ultimatum (2009)
Home (2009)
Staten Island (2009)
Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009)
Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds (2010)
From Paris with Love (2010)
22 Bullets (2010)
Colombiana (2011)
The Source (2011)
A Monster in Paris (2011)
The Lady (2011)
Lockout (2012)
Taken 2 (2012)
No Limit (2012)
Collison (2013)
Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart (2013)
3 Days to Kill (2013)
The Family (2013)
Brick Mansions (2014)
The Homesman (2014)
Taken 3 (2015)
The Transporter Refueled (2015)
The Warriors Gate (2016)
Renegades (2016)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
Taxi 5 (2018)
Written
Taxi (1998)
Taxi 2 (2000)
Kiss of the Dragon (2001)
Wasabi (2001)
Yamakasi (2001)
The Transporter (2002)
Fanfan la Tulipe (2003)
Taxi 3 (2003)
Michel Vaillant (2003)
Crimson Rivers II: Angels of the Apocalypse (2004)
District 13 (2004)
Revolver (2005)
Transporter 2 (2005)
Unleashed (2005)
Bandidas (2006)
Taxi 4 (2007)
Taken (2008)
Transporter 3 (2008)
District 13: Ultimatum (2009)
From Paris with Love (2010)
Colombiana (2011)
Lockout (2012)
Taken 2 (2012)
3 Days to Kill (2014)
Brick Mansions (2014)
Lucy (2014)
Taken 3 (2015)
The Transporter Refueled (2015)
The Warriors Gate (2016)
Renegades (2017)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
TV series
No Limit (2012-2015)
Taxi Brooklyn (2014)
Taken (2017)
See also
Filmography
EuropaCorp
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values: العنصر الخامس (فيلم) – Arabic

values: Пяты элемэнт – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)

values: Петият елемент – Bulgarian

values: Το Πέμπτο Στοιχείο – Greek

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values: האלמנט החמישי – Hebrew

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values: მახუთა ელემენტი (ფილმი) – Mingrelian

values: フィフス・エレメント – Japanese

values: Пятый элемент (фильм) – Russian

values: Пети елемент – Serbian

values: The Fifth Element – puuttuva tekijä – Finnish

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