# For fans of The Fifth Element **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [May 19, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718 "2022-05-19T22:41:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/21 "2022-05-20T12:50:41Z")
My thought on The Fifth Element is that four different people made different parts of the movie, and it somehow got stitched together. It is somewhat all over the place, but still pretty entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/22 "2022-05-20T14:08:24Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > If you get the chance, Besson’s less-loved movie, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” is worth it as well. > [@Worst movie of the century so far?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-movie-of-the-century-so-far/964420/3): > > I would vote for [Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2239822/). I just love the contrasting opinions. That is all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/23 "2022-05-20T14:15:26Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > > [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > > > I had a hard time explaining why I was laughing uncontrollably when Ruby Rhod came on. > > You mean because of the laser reference? (Even if that’s _not_ what you meant, it is only now occurring to me that that was something that might fly past most people.) Remind me; what laser reference? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/24 "2022-05-20T14:24:33Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > _The Fifth Element_ is kind of the epitome of this; looks beautiful, hyperactive script, plot makes zero sense. Concern for plot is not expected to survive the aesthetic flash-bang of the visuals, the audio, the cinematography and sets and costumes and world-building. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/25 "2022-05-20T14:39:25Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Remind me; what laser reference? [The name itself.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby_laser) ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/26 "2022-05-20T14:40:54Z")
I love the _Fifth Element_, it really was a SciFi BD come to life. I also like _Valerian_, but don’t really credit Besson with the worldbuilding, most of that stuff is there in the source comics anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/27 "2022-05-20T15:00:02Z")
I’m definitely a fan. Like the original _Star Wars_ and _The Princess Bride_, _The Fifth Element_ is a great popcorn adventure movie. Always good for a repeat viewing. They’re simply fun–no thinking needed, just follow along the characters as they go places and do things. The characters are iconic, the places they go are memorable, the things they do are exciting. As far as I’m concerned, movies like these are what make movie-going a pastime. (I’m not a fan of plotting and other critic-driven elements for their own sakes.) ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/28 "2022-05-20T15:01:02Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > I love the _Fifth Element_ , it really was a SciFi BD come to life. What does “BD” mean here? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/29 "2022-05-20T15:11:01Z")
[_Bande dessinée_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bande_dessin%C3%A9e) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/30 "2022-05-20T15:12:48Z")
Did you think that was obvious enough to most people that the acronym would be clear? ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/31 "2022-05-20T15:14:09Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Did you think that was obvious enough to most people that the acronym would be clear? - My first thought was Black & Decker. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/32 "2022-05-20T15:20:24Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > [_Bande dessinée_](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bande_dessin%C3%A9e) Thanks, I hadn’t heard that term before. Similar to “sequential art”. > **[Sequential art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sequential_art)** > > In comics studies, sequential art is a term proposed by comics artist Will Eisner to describe art forms that use images deployed in a specific order for the purpose of graphic storytelling (i.e., narration of graphic stories) or conveying information. The best-known example of sequential art is comics. The term "sequential art" was coined in 1985 by comics artist Will Eisner in his book Comics and Sequential Art. Eisner analyzed this form into four elements: design, drawing, caricature, and writ... ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/33 "2022-05-20T15:24:08Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Did you think that was obvious enough to most people that the acronym would be clear? Quite frankly, I didn’t think about it at all. If you have a problem with me using that term of art in a thread about a film very much derived from that particular comic form, the Pit is thataway. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/34 "2022-05-20T15:26:40Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Quite frankly, I didn’t think about it at all. > > If you have a problem with me using a term of art in a thread about a film very much derived from that particular comic form, the Pit is thataway. I appreciated your comment because it is spot-on (it _is_ a live-action SciFi BD) and because it prompted me to learn a new term. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/35 "2022-05-20T15:29:11Z")
Thanks, I didn’t have a problem with you asking for clarification at all, always happy to pass on new info. Or, as xkcd put it, you’re one of today’s lucky 10,000 > **[Ten Thousand](https://xkcd.com/1053/)** > > Saying 'what kind of an idiot doesn't know about the Yellowstone supervolcano' is so much more boring than telling someone about the Yellowstone supervolcano for the first time. Much better than passive-aggressive complaining about using a term of art _in a genre thread_. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/36 "2022-05-20T15:38:43Z")
When I was a teen the sciency magazanies used to have small ads in the back advertising ruby rods for building lasers, and I _so_ wanted one. I wish I knew what happened to my Radio Shack diode laser pointer I bought when they first came out. I was in college, and would jam towels in the gap under the bathroom door, turn the shower on full heat, and watch the beam through the fog. > **[Radio Shack Slinline Laser Pointer 63 1046 300 Ft Range EUC | #1882216780](https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/radio-shack-slinline-laser-pointer-63-1882216780)** > > Radio Shack Slineline Laser Pointer 63 1046 300 Ft Range In Excellent Condition, in the Box!My Husband & I buy Storage Units for a much everything I list comes from other homes, I do not know if it co ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/37 "2022-05-20T15:47:29Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > If you have a problem with me using that term of art in a thread about a film very much derived from that particular comic form, the Pit is thataway. Add one more to the people who had no idea what the abbreviation or the full words meant. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/38 "2022-05-20T16:20:28Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Add one more to the people who had no idea what the abbreviation or the full words meant. I’m not even sure how, or if, a _BD_ (Bondage and Discipline?) is different that a regular comic strip, or _le strippe du comix_, perdon moi french. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/39 "2022-05-20T16:51:17Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > If you get the chance, Besson’s less-loved movie, “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” is worth it as well. The casting was questionable at best, but the effects and world he creates are on a par with, or exceed that of, The Fifth Element. I agree that the visuals created for Valerian are amazing, and while I didn’t watch in the theater, I did watch on the medium sized home TV screen. And your last sentence, that the effects are as good, I’ll grant although the world building are derived from the source material so that isn’t a net +/- for me. The problem though is summed up for me by the quote below. > [@Kedikat](#): > > Yeah, Valerian had an interesting world aspect. But there was not a good variety of characters and their interactions. Fifth Element had great characters and intertwining of their threads. I did not get into any characters in Valerian. Whether from writing, casting (and agreed poor choices), acting issues against a giant green screen, or other factors, NONE of the characters in Valerian prompted me to give a damn. I did not care, and thus could not engage - which didn’t make it less of a visual wonder, but doesn’t make me want to revisit it. While one the other hand, I’ll watch (or at least play in the background) Fifth Element at least once a year, own it on DVD, and enjoy my copy of the soundtrack from time to time. But if you enjoy Valerian, it’s fine - it is an amazing piece of SF comic history splashed up to modern big budget extravaganzas, and I was glad to see the source recognized, it just did very little for me as entertainment. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2022, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718/40 "2022-05-20T17:56:03Z")
It’s probably a terrible movie, but I love it to pieces. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-fans-of-the-fifth-element/964718.md?page=3)