The Fifth Element: A Visual Retrospective by Patrice Girod and Arnaud Grunberg ~ a Review

by MK French

The 1997 movie The Fifth Element has become a cult classic. This book contains photos from the set, concept art, blueprints, prop models, and costumes. There is also the annotated script by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

September 2026; Titan Books; 978-1835411940
print (270 pages); art book

Like many of us, the authors love the movie and have watched it dozens of times. And like us, their love of the movie shines through this artbook. In between sketches, we get the original story that eventually became The Fifth Element, and some of the ideas that went into other films that Besson directed. We also get information about the effort that went into making the movie and the art interspersed with the shooting script itself.

I like seeing behind-the-scenes looks at how Hollywood works, and in this case we see how scripts are arranged and have the authors' annotations to explain it. With the concept art alongside the script, we get to see other designs right when we imagine what happened in the movie. It's a fascinating way to put together an artbook like this, when most organize chapters by type of photo or prop discussed. 

It was a fun trip down memory lane reading this.

Buy The Fifth Element: A Visual Retrospective at Amazon

Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.

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