I just picked this up, and while I can't compare the quality of the transfer with previous versions (having never seen them) I can say that this version looks GREAT.

I had mixed feelings about "5E" when I first saw it, but the parts I like I really like: Leeloo's "reconstruction"... Dallas's introduction... Leeloo's escape from the lab and the reveal of New York City (wow!)... the police/ taxi-cab chase... the blue diva's aria/ Leeloo's brawl with dog-faced space baddies... Gary Oldman's hair...

I mean, there's a lot of really fun stuff here -- and I'd forgotten how strong the performances are! With all the visual and aural razzmatazz it would have been easy for the actors to fall between the cracks, but that never happens. Bruce Willis The Everyman Hero has never been put to better use, and Milla Jovovich (with apologies to Daryl Hannah in "Blade Runner") is the ultra-hot ass-kicking uber-waif that all others must be measured by. And then there's Gary Oldman and Chris Tucker, whose over-the-top performances are absolutely appropriate given the movie's giddy, unhinged, bombastic tone.

The problems are still fairly obvious, but somehow they don't bother me as much as they once did: "Evil" turns out to be a boring villain, and the plot looses some steam before reaching an anti-climactic conclusion. Suffice it to say getting there is all the fun; I'd simply forgotten how much fun.

I haven't had a chance to check out the bonus features, but there are over two hours worth. Format is 2.35 anamorphic widescreen, remastered in Hi-Def.

I picked this up this morning. Haven't watched it yet, either. Looking forward to comparing it, too!

I love that movie, its one of those situations where you can throw everything you expect from a sci-fi movie aside, and enjoy the action and the visuals as they bombard you, and boy do they bombard you! Pure escapist fantasy, I loved this movie.

I love this movie too. As far as I'm concerned, the production design for "The Fifth Element" beats "Star Wars" and "Blade Runner" in creating an aesthetically believable sci-fi world. Beyond being just so damned fun to watch - Besson's direction and the editing in this film is just phenomenal. And while I watch most of this movie with a delightfully bemused smile on my face, the aria by the Blue Diva, and her subsequent death, literally brings a tear to my eye every time I see it. There's real genius in this movie.

Besson's direction and the editing in this film is just phenomenal.

One editorial technique I find particularly effective is Besson's tendency to place his establishing shots at the END of a scene rather than at the beginning. Early in the story, Bruce Willis orders take-out for dinner. The scene plays out in a series of close shots, inter-cutting between Willis and a Chinese vendor. Not until the end does the scene go wide and we discover the vendor is in an anti-grav junk hovering alongside Willis's apartment building. It's a great reveal -- one of many editorially playful moments in a film that constantly strives to surprise.

Agreed with most of what's been said so far...although a little bit of Chris Tucker's dj goes a long way. He does add to the crazed intensity of the thing, but it takes a few viewings to get used to him. The humor is deliciously skewed, and thank god for Willis' underplaying in the face of it all.

Despite an enduring love for La Femme Nikita, I was no big fan of Besson's work in general. This was much better than I had been afraid it would be. I'll have to revisit his body of work at some point.

Unfortunately, I already have one of the older editions. Being double-dipped ain't in the budget.

Hell, I have it on laserdisc! :lol:

Carson, EXCELLENT review!

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

I have the regular edition as well, but for this movie I will make an exception and get the SE.

After teasing my wife for a couple years about how I'd never get the DVD because they kept showing it on cable, she finally broke down and put one in my stocking... 2 weeks before they release the SE, of course! :o

I'm curious about the extras as well, I have the old "Superbit" version. To be honest, I couldn't tell much difference between the Superbit version and the earlier version that replaced, the original version had a great transfer. I'd love to hear specifics on the extras when somebody slogs thru them.

Love this flick too, the stars must have been in alignment for Milla and Besson, because I've been disapointed by every single movie either have done or been in since. Milla was great in the fight scenes, but I thought she was really amazing playing vulnerable & innocent in the beginning. Willis was better than usual, and dependable Oldman, Holms,and even Sideshow Luke Perry do pretty good. Chris Tucker, not so much.

Heck, any movie where cult vet Tiny Lister is President of the Galaxy is ok by me!

...thank god for Willis' underplaying...

Besson makes a number of smart creative choices in T5E, but his smartest move of all was casting Bruce Willis. As in "12 Monkeys," Willis's strong but vulnerable screen persona provides a much needed touch of humanity to go along with Besson's (and Gilliam's) insanity. I'm fond of both films, but I'm not sure either would be watchable without Willis's steady, quiet, empathy-inducing presence.

Favorite Willis line: "No. I am a meat popsicle."