Solid Snake

Just got the remastered set at a nice cheap price from BB from that Sony Sale they're having, thanks to AaronSch for that thread. Bought 10 things from it.

Anyway... the BD is fucking gorgeous. Aside from some aged effects that kind of look iffy now.. the more practical elements in it are fucking solid as shit. It looks fucking new. Great remastering. Absolutely gorgeous...

The film? I grew up w/ it a good bunch as a kid. To the point where I was bored by it at some point. Too much of a good thing. Showtime or HBO had it on a lot. Either way.... while I have always remembered the film for the most part. I hadn't seen it in over a decade. I had forgotten how dense it is. Dense in world information, the makeup of that film universe. Not even what the characters present to us, just... the details on the side that you may not pay attention to. Madness. Such a wildly visual world too. So much detail and style. It's just like all this science fiction bullshit being thrown up into one thing... and it works. It had to be a French guy to make that shit work right. It's really ridiculous too. Some of these styles out of the world context... would look stupid as fuck. They seem very normal here. The production design is massive too. Too much at times that astounds me to go that far for a set.

Nice to see Leon's theme being used a bit here when Leeloo first meets Korbin.

While all the actors are awesome in here w/ some off the wall casting for some roles. Jovovich is amazing. All these little details she brings to the character. Especially at where she was in her career. A lot of stuff that would make her the talent that she is now, regardless of the shit she's been in. Really wish she'd be in better things but she's pretty solid from the shit she's been in from what I've seen of her work. Tucker is amazing as well. Just allowed to be an extreme character. Always loved that character. Especially as a kid. He's someone that would normally piss me off in a movie but nope. He's a fucking piece of gold in this thing. Just a great side character that enhances the already fucking crazy visuals and tone of the world.

There's a thing to Besson that I don't think any director can do. He knows to make a tone feel natural even when it's ridiculous as fuck. Look at Lucy... it's a really fucking stupid film. Stupid. But somehow... he makes it work and I love that thing. It's not gold. But it's a good if not at least an entertaining film held together by Besson's way of controlling the environment to make it "feel" real for us. Angel-A is a flick I'd like to see a US BD. Loved that thing like crazy. Things that don't gel in the real world... gel in Besson's worlds. A offbeat reflection of our cultural foundations that work in his stuff.

I'm pretty excited for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets. Just cuz of Besson working in a big film like that. If not good, it's already just unique as hell for existing now.

Fun Facts: Sucks that Besson is kind of a shitty guy to leave his then current wife (Maïwenn aka Diva Plavalaguna) for Jovovich. Met her when she was 15, 1991. Jesus... he had a kid w/ Maïwenn when she was 16. Then leaves her for Jovovich in 1997.

Maïwenn is apparently a notable director of sorts now. Never seen her stuff.

inri222

I'm in the minority, not a fan of this film. I did enjoy it more than that turd The Messenger.




If you want to see a good film by Maiwenn see the one below. She writes, directs and acts in it. It's a gritty film about a police department's juvenile protection unit.

B5Erik

I've never been a fan of this movie.

Every time Chris Tucker comes on screen I want to punch him in the face. That is one of the most annoying performances of one of the most annoying characters ever.

RichC2

I love this movie and watch it pretty much everytime it comes on.

But I am one of those people that thought Tucker was more hilarious than annoying (by a pretty wide margin), one of the more memorable Sci-fi movie characters.

It's like a professionally made Sci-fi as conceived by a 10 year old, it has some real child-like wonder elements thrown in and is just all around a lot of fun.

printerati

I loved this film since the first time I saw it theatrically, and watch it at least once a year. My wife hates it.

1997 remains one of my favorite years for film, despite Alien: Resurrection.

Giantrobo

Loooove everything about this film. Visuals, story, soundtrack, performances, costumes, humor, actors..

Why So Blu?

Yeah, it's a great splash page of a film. Lots of weird shit thrown in there, too. Tucker is the worst part of the film, but some of his stupid shit still makes me laugh like the whole "bzzzzzzzz" and the end "whachu screamin' for?" Bits and pieces only. The screaming shit is dumb as shit, though.

Dan

Tucker's performance was ahead if its time, man.

stvn1974

I like to think Tucker paved the way for Jar Jar Binks two years later.

TGM

Tucker killed this movie. without him, it'd be fantastic.

Michael Corvin

Love this movie even down to the devisive Tucker performance. It was a wacky character and who better to pull that zany shit off? He nailed it. We've kinda beat that to death in various threads though.

I'll always watch some if I stumble across it on tv. I actually showed it to my oldest (12) about a month ago. She didn't know what to make of it, but I think she enjoyed it. Kinda like when I walked out of the theater... I didn't know what the hell I had just seen or whether or not I liked it. The appreciation set in once it came out on video.

There is one line that I quote all the time, that know one ever knows, but I can't help it: "Aziz, LIGHT!" That got a chuckle from my daughter a week or so ago since she knew the reference.

I also keep the Diva Plavalaguna tune and "Little Light of Love" on my phone with all my music so it'll pop up in the shuffle from time to time. Killer soundtrack.

Dan

you're goddamn right.

Deftones

My favorite movie of all time. Saw it theatrically with my gf at the time who hated it. I will watch it any time it is on. It is my buddy's favorite movie too, so we randomly throw quotes out to each other.

devilshalo

I dunno about that... shades of Smokey all up in that mufuka.

Solid Snake

Tucker was perfect for that character. That character is an annoying little bitch. Tucker embodied that well.

TGM

the problem isn't Tucker or the character. He did nail it for what it was meant to be. the problem is how much fucking screentime that character had once introduced. He become one of the leads when he should've been a supporting character shown in small spurts.

Why So Blu?

OldBoy

Love this movie. Just saw it the other night. Fantastic Besson.

Troy Stiffler

Loved this the first time I saw it (I was around 13). I saw it in theaters and basically sat and waited patiently for the VHS to be released. I remember having lots of dreams about being able to see it again. Lots of waiting.

The world and logic is dense. I probably watched it 20 times before really absorbing the whole thing.

Besson and Co just made up shit to keep everything moving. Case in point: the part where Leeloo dives through the tinfoil wall. And then ends up in ... some kind of sewer or HVAC system? That's one of the moments that I still don't understand. As I watch it again and again, more of that kind of stuff makes sense. But that's a part that's still a leap in logic that never made sense to me.

That leap in logic was there for a lot of stuff. And then I watch and watch and watch, and more of it makes sense. And I think that's part of why I like watching it so many times. Next time I watch it, maybe I'll finally understand that damn tinfoil wall. Or why the Diva would want to walk around with giant stones mounted in her gut (if they weren't attacked, was she going to poop them out or something?).

Dr. Mantle

I saw it four times in theaters. Still have the tickets somewhere.

Seeing The Fifth Element on the big screen, I feel I know what audiences felt in 1977 when Star Wars came out. The visuals were truly, truly astonishing. I've seen many other films since that blew me away, but (from a visual standpoint) nothing ever really matched The Fifth Element.

1997 was also a great year for SciFi in film.
The Fifth Element
Contact
Men in Black
Gattaca
Starship Troopers (I hate this movie, but it had an impact)
Mimic
Cube
The Postman (never as bad as people said)
The Lost World
Spawn
Event Horizon
Alien: Resurrection

Solid Snake

Doesn't it cut away to something after she jumps through the foil wall and after that she pops open that vent grating? It's assume that some time has passed and she found herself there.

The stones bit is more of the generic nature of things that some tales can go. The BS symbolism of the stones being in her.

Mabuse

I saw it in the theater. The cityscape felt like a Blade Runner rip off. Hardly original.

Does this film have the record for most DVD and Blu Ray releases?

Bluelitespecial

I think that goes to Terminator 2 or The Evil Dead movies.

Solid Snake

ED1 for sure. That's got to be it. T2 is nothing compared to that thing, I'd guess. Fucking ED. hahaha. Luckily that fucker topped itself w/ that LE BD some time ago. Damn fine BD. The EPIC DVD set was also pretty fucking badass.

Abob Teff

I love this movie, yet ... I feel that way about Tucker in anything. This was before he hit it big, so I thought it was acting and went with it. I didn't realize that was his full time schtick.

According to the Science Fiction Film Podcast, the role was offered to Prince. Prince was interested in doing it until he saw the costumes which he deemed "too feminine". That's one hell of a line to cross ...