Watch The Fifth Element free on Pluto TV

One of sci‑fi's most famous sequences nearly never reached the screen. Associate producer John Amicarella recalled that negatives flown from London to Los Angeles spilled onto the tarmac at LAX and were run over by a forklift, leaving trashcans full of damaged footage.

The ruined material included the blue‑skinned opera singer scene—whose body hides four magical stones—and, remarkably, the footage was salvaged. Set in the 23rd century, The Fifth Element follows Korben Dallas (Bruce Willis), a former special forces soldier turned flying taxi driver whose life changes when Leeloo (Milla Jovovich) literally crashes into his cab.

Leeloo is a reconstructed divine being, the titular Fifth Element, and the only entity able to activate four ancient stones representing earth, air, fire and water to stop a cosmic evil that returns every 5,000 years.

United States, Los Angeles

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