Fails the Bechdel test
The Fifth Element
1997. Directed by Luc Besson, written by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen.
The Bechdel test
Bechdel score
1 / 3
Fails
-
Yes
1. At least two women
21 women characters. 6 of them speak. -
No
2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other. -
No
3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.
Second opinion
Agree bechdeltest.com readers give it 1 out of 3.
The film
In the 23rd century, the universe is threatened by evil. The only hope for mankind is the Fifth Element, which comes to Earth every 5,000 years to protect humans with stones of the four elements: fire, water, earth, and air. A Mondoshawan spacecraft is bringing the Fifth Element back to Earth but it is destroyed by the cruel Mangalores. However, a team of scientists use the DNA of the remains of the Fifth Element to rebuild the perfect being called Leeloo. She escapes from the laboratory and stumbles upon taxicab driver and former elite commando Major Korben Dallas who helps her to escape from the police. Leeloo informs him that she must meet space priest Father Vito Cornelius to accomplish her mission. Meanwhile, the Evil uses the cruel Jean-Baptiste Emmanuel Zorg and a team of mercenary Mangalores to retrieve the stones and avoid the protection of Leeloo. But the experienced Korben Dallas has fallen in love with Leeloo and decides to help her retrieve the stones.
- Released
- 09 May 1997
- Genres
- Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
- Rated
- PG-13
- IMDb
- 7.6 / 10
- Metascore
- 52 / 100
- Awards
- Nominated for 1 Oscar. 10 wins & 39 nominations total
- Elsewhere
- View on IMDb
Starring, by lines spoken
- Women
- Men
- Not in the cast list
- Bigger name, more lines
- Korben 245 lines, man
- Cornelius 99 lines, man
- Zorg 68 lines, man
- Loc Rhod 52 lines, man
- President 50 lines
- Leeloo 48 lines, woman
- Munro 36 lines, man
- Professor 24 lines
- Voice 20 lines
- Captain 16 lines
Full cast, 120 people
- Bruce Willis as Korben Dallas
- Milla Jovovich as Leeloo
- Gary Oldman as Zorg
- Ian Holm as Cornelius
- Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod
- Luke Perry as Billy
- Brion James as General Munro
- Tommy Lister Jr. as President Lindberg
- Lee Evans as Fog
- Charlie Creed-Miles as David
- Tricky as Right Arm
- John Neville as General Staedert
- John Bluthal as Professor Pacoli
- Mathieu Kassovitz as Mugger
- Christopher Fairbank as Mactilburgh
- Kim Chan as Thai
- Richard Leaf as Neighbour
- Julie T. Wallace as Major Iceborg
- Al Matthews as General Tudor
- Maïwenn as Diva
- John Bennett as Priest
- Ivan Heng as Left Arm
- Sonita Henry as President's Aide
- Tim McMullan as Scientist's Aide
- Hon Ping Tang as Munro's Captain
- George Khan as Head Scientist
- John Hughes as Head of Military
- Roberto Bryce as Omar
- Said Talidi as Aziz
- Justin Lee Burrows as Mondoshawan
- Richard Ashton as Mondoshawan
- Jerome St. John Blake as Mondoshawan
- Kevin Molloy as Mondoshawan / Ground Crew
- Bill Reimbold as Mactilburgh's Assistant
- Colin Brooks as Staedert's Captain
- Anthony Chinn as Mactilburgh's Technician
- Sam Douglas as Chief NY Cop
- Derek Ezenagu as NY Cop
- David Kennedy as Flying Cop
- David Barrass as Flying Cop
- Roger Monk as Flying Cop / Military Technician
- Mac McDonald as Flying Cop
- Mark Seaton as Flying Cop
- Jean-Luc Caron as Flying Cop
- Riz Meedin as Flying Cop
- Jerry Ezekiel as Flying Cop
- Indra Ové as VIP Stewardess
- Nicole Merry as VIP Stewardess
- Stacey McKenzie as VIP Stewardess
- Rachel Willis as Stewardess
- Genevieve Maylam as Stewardess
- Josie Perez as Stewardess
- Natasha Brice as Stewardess
- Sophia Goth as Check In Attendant
- Martin McDougall as Warship Captain
- Peter Dunwell as Diva's Manager
- Paul Priestley as Cop
- Jason Salkey as Cop
- Stewart Harvey-Wilson as Ruby Rhod Assistant
- David Fishley as Ruby Rhod Assistant
- Carlton Chance as Ruby Rhod Assistant
- Gin Clarke as Diva's Assistant
- Vladimir McCrary as Human Aknot
- Clifton Lloyd Bryan as Mangalore Aknot / Airport Guard
- Aron Paramor as Mangalore Akanit
- Alan Ruscoe as Mangalore Kino
- Christopher Adamson as Airport Cop
- Ève Salvail as Tawdry Girl
- Kaleem Janjua as Shuttle Pilot
- Tyrone Tyrell as Shuttle Co-Pilot
- Kevin Brewerton as Shuttle Mechanic
- Vincenzo Pellegrino as Ground Crew
- Ian Beckett as Baby Ray
- Sonny Caldinez as Emperor Kodar Japhet
- Zeta Graff as Princess Achen
- Eddie Ellwood as Roy von Bacon
- Yui as Fhloston Hostess
- Laura De Palma as Fhloston Hostess
- Michael Culkin as Hefty Man
- Lenny McLean as Police Chief
- Robert Oates as Fhloston Commander
- John Sharian as Fhloston Captain
- Fred Williams as Hotel Manager
- Sibyl Buck as Zorg's Secretary
- Sarah Carrington as Scientist
- Grant James as Scientist
- Ali Yassine as Scientist
- Sean Buckley as Scientist
- Dane Messam as Military Technician
- Nathan Hamlett as Military Technician
- Cecil Cheng as Military Technician
- Scott Woods as Lab Guard
- Leon Dekker as Lab Guard
- David Garvey as Staedert's Technician
- Stanley Kowalski as Staedert's Technician
- Omar Hibbert Williams as Staedert's Technician
- Robert Clapperton as Robot Barman
- Robert Alexander as Warship Technician
- Mia Frye as TV Stewardess
- Leo Williams as Power Operator
- C. Keith Martin as Power Operator
- J.D. Dawodu as Zorg's Man
- Patrick Nicholls as Zorg's Man
- Shaun Davis as Zorg's Man
- Roy Garcia Singh as Zorg's Man
- Alex Georgijev as Zorg's Man
- Marie Guillard as Burger Assistant
- Renee Montemayor as Burger Assistant
- Stina Richardson as Burger Assistant
- Gillian M. Berrow as Mondoshawan (uncredited)
- François Guillaume as Mondoshawan #3 (uncredited)
- Kristen Fick as Glamorous Alien Diva at Event (uncredited)
- Anita Koh as Japanese Hostess (uncredited)
- Kamay Lau as Glamorous Japanese Girl (uncredited)
- Inva Mula as Diva's Singing Voice (uncredited)
- Gito Santana as VIP Lounge Worker (uncredited)
- Frank Senger as Bodyguard (uncredited)
- Joss Skottowe as Mangalor Alien (uncredited)
- Fred Wood as Emissary (uncredited)
- Roger Wright as Afro Scott (uncredited)
Who talks, scene by scene
Lines of dialogue in every 6 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 17% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.
Women
Men
Scene 1 Scene 247
Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.
Show the numbers
| Scenes | Women's lines | Men's lines |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 6 | 0 | 9 |
| 7 to 12 | 0 | 5 |
| 13 to 18 | 0 | 10 |
| 19 to 24 | 0 | 16 |
| 25 to 30 | 0 | 7 |
| 31 to 36 | 0 | 20 |
| 37 to 42 | 0 | 5 |
| 43 to 48 | 2 | 44 |
| 49 to 54 | 5 | 14 |
| 55 to 60 | 4 | 43 |
| 61 to 66 | 4 | 37 |
| 67 to 72 | 1 | 14 |
| 73 to 78 | 0 | 44 |
| 79 to 84 | 9 | 55 |
| 85 to 90 | 4 | 34 |
| 91 to 96 | 7 | 28 |
| 97 to 102 | 20 | 40 |
| 103 to 108 | 1 | 6 |
| 109 to 114 | 0 | 5 |
| 115 to 120 | 1 | 9 |
| 121 to 126 | 2 | 1 |
| 127 to 132 | 1 | 10 |
| 133 to 138 | 12 | 32 |
| 139 to 144 | 0 | 3 |
| 145 to 150 | 0 | 4 |
| 151 to 156 | 1 | 2 |
| 157 to 162 | 0 | 5 |
| 163 to 168 | 0 | 5 |
| 169 to 174 | 9 | 12 |
| 175 to 180 | 2 | 26 |
| 181 to 186 | 1 | 9 |
| 187 to 192 | 0 | 15 |
| 193 to 198 | 1 | 23 |
| 199 to 204 | 0 | 3 |
| 205 to 210 | 0 | 11 |
| 211 to 216 | 3 | 8 |
| 217 to 222 | 3 | 9 |
| 223 to 228 | 0 | 15 |
| 229 to 234 | 2 | 20 |
| 235 to 240 | 7 | 11 |
| 241 to 246 | 3 | 8 |
| 247 to 247 | 0 | 0 |
The evidence
- Straight from the script
- Counted from the script and the credits
Tap an exhibit to open it.
Exhibit A: every 100 lines
Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 13 are women's.
105 lines from women, 677 from men.
- Women
- Men
Exhibit B: who's in it
21 women and 67 men in the cast. 6 women and 35 men from it get lines.
Characters
With lines
- Women
- Men
Exhibit C: who gets heard
The first woman speaks at line 200 of 944.
The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 199 lines.
Every line of dialogue, first to last
- First line by a woman
- Longest stretch with no woman speaking
Words spoken
Women speak 11% of the words (856), men 89% (6,836). Women have 13% of the lines, so their lines run shorter than men's.
Exhibit D: the test the other way
Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.
Conversations between two named characters
Two women
0
Two men
61
Exhibit E: behind the camera
3 of the 13 people in these jobs are women.
Across the whole crew, 21% of the people whose gender is listed are women.
- Directed by
- Luc Besson (man)
- Written by
- Robert Mark Kamen (man), Luc Besson (man)
- Story by
- Luc Besson (man)
- Produced by
- Patrice Ledoux (man)
- Shot by
- Thierry Arbogast (man), Nick Tebbet (gender not listed)
- Edited by
- Sylvie Landra (woman)
- Music by
- Éric Serra (man)
- Production design by
- Dan Weil (man)
- Costumes by
- Jean-Paul Gaultier (man)
- Cast by
- Lucinda Syson (woman), Francine Maisler (woman)
The crew, department by department
-
Other crew
7 women, 46 men, 49 not listed
-
Art
6 women, 27 men, 20 not listed
-
Visual Effects
0 women, 13 men, 26 not listed
-
Sound
6 women, 20 men, 10 not listed
-
Production
7 women, 7 men, 16 not listed
-
Camera
1 women, 14 men, 12 not listed
-
Costume & Make-Up
7 women, 2 men, 9 not listed
-
Directing
0 women, 7 men, 11 not listed
- Women
- Men
- Gender not listed on TMDB
Exhibit F: how old the stars were
Women: 21 on average. Men: 39 on average.
The top-billed cast, at the film's release.
Women
Milla Jovovich 21
Men
Chris Tucker 25, Charlie Creed-Miles 25, Luke Perry 30, Lee Evans 33, Tommy Lister Jr. 38, Gary Oldman 39, Bruce Willis 42, Brion James 52, Ian Holm 65
Exhibit G: the money
It made 2.9 times what it cost.
- Budget
- $90 million
- Box office
- $264 million
From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.
About this analysis
Our parser read the script: 247 scenes and 944 lines of dialogue. The bechdeltest.com rating comes from that site’s readers. How the test works
