I think this boxset was a HMV exclusive but I can’t confirm that, I had seen the film on VHS and loved it so when I saw this box for sale at my local HMV sometime in 2000 it was a no brainer to buy it, I don’t remember what I paid for it but I don’t think if was much.
Widescreen Edition + The Story of The Fifth Element
The box is made to look like the four element stones in the film and has a silky smooth feel, the lettering has a metallic silver look and this is copied around the four edges with the left edge showing the edition number, mine been 1686
The measurements of the box are as follows:
- 280mm wide
- 280mm deep
- 60mm high
- weight 2.0Kg
The back of the box shows the standard synopsis and film review.
The Story of The Fifth Element
The large thick 240 page book looks at the making of film and describes Luc Besson’s 20 year struggle in his own words, the agonies and ecstasies he experienced bringing his script to screen
A week of week diary, illustrated by exclusive behind the scenes photographs
Conceptual sketches and production art by comic artists, Jean-Claude Mézières and Moebius and costume designs by Jean-Paul Gaultier
An example of drawings and photographs in the book
Filming on week 17
An example of illustrations by Garcia and Jean-Claude Mézières
A another example of illustrations by Garcia, Jean-Claude Mézières and Moebius
The VHS Tape
The VHS tape is held in place by a simple folded cardboard box, showing the front cover front Special Widescreen Edition of the film
The VHS Tape
The back cover of the VHS box is similar to the back cover of the main box
The widescreen is 2.35:1 with a running time of 121 minutes
My Final Thoughts
This is a good box, The book could have been purchased separately for £25 and so could the widescreen VHS tape, but this box put together by HMV made a good addition to my small collection, I know I’ve played the tape a number of times but as there’s nothing special about the tape and there are better versions of the film out there I have no need to play this tape, but maybe one day I will.
I have seen people selling the book and sometimes just the empty box online for a lot of money, I will not sell mine and my copy is in perfect condition.
OUT OF MY COLD DEAD HANDS WILL I PART WITH THIS BOXSET