Luc Besson's 10 best films

& copy; EuropaCorp

10. & Lucy & raquo; (2014)

The dose of the experimental drug Scarlett Johansson turns from a stereotypical blonde into a real miracle woman.

This unpretentious, at first glance, fantastic action, perhaps, is not a particularly bright star in the creative horizon of Luke Besson, but he deserves attention. Not least because of "Scarlett Johansson, who is convincingly transformed from a frightened little fool into a murder machine, endowed with superhuman intelligence." In addition, in the script Besson scattered a large number of references to famous fantasy films, and also diluted battle scenes with philosophical talks about the nature of man, the universe and time itself. In a paraphrase, all this, maybe, sounds too eclectic, but it looks in one breath.

& copy; Gaumont

9. & laquo; Blue abyss & raquo; (1988)

The story (sometimes heavily embellished) of friendship and rivalry between two famous divers, Jacques Mayol and Enzo Mallorc.

With this film Besson performed as one from the bright representatives of the movement cinema du look, actively developed in the French cinema of the 1980s. For films of this kind, the predominance of the visual component over the storyline is characteristic, which, by the way, does not hinder this particular tape too much. & laquo; Blue abyss & raquo; became a cult picture in the community of fans of freediving and brought the young Besson to a brand new level of fame: suffice it to say that "Blue abyss & raquo; were shown in the out-of-competition program of the Cannes Film Festival.

& copy; Gaumont

8. & laquo; Subway & raquo; (1985)

Christopher Lambert hides from the Mafia in the Paris metro and organizes a pop group there.

& Subquisition & raquo; remains a film that is remembered mostly by ardent fans of Besson, since over 30 years since the release of the film, he was overshadowed by much brighter projects. This is understandable, but also sad, since "Underground", generally speaking, is a very interesting director's experience of the times of cinema du look. It is especially interesting to watch it retrospectively, knowing those Besson films that everyone now knows. Look out the features of the corporate identity in this criminal-comedic story about the inhabitants of the metro — in itself a curious occupation for anyone who is interested in the creative path of the future author of such different films as Leon & raquo; and "Angel A".

& copy; Les Films du Loup

7. & laquo; The Last Battle & raquo; (1983)

In the black and white post-apocalyptic future, two gangs fight without a word for the hospital.

As Besson's directorial debut, this black and white tape deserves much more attention than some of his much more famous and popular works. Firstly, this is one of the best variations on post-apocalyptic cinema in terms of style and atmosphere: for all the obvious low-budgetity of the production, the world from which the joy of life has disappeared after an unnamed catastrophe is shown extremely convincingly. Secondly, the picture is taken almost without a single line of dialogue: all actors do not say a word, since their characters have forgotten human speech. Thirdly, the film can be easily viewed as an action, paying homage to all the stories about post-apocalyptic life, and as a parable for which the background is purely secondary, but human behavior is always the focus of the director's attention.

& copy; EuropaCorp

6. & amp; angel-A & raquo; (2005)

The loser is about to commit suicide, but the mysterious girl suddenly begins to help him.

For those who know Besson as the producer and director of all kinds of militants and fantastic blockbusters, this picture may look strange, but only if you forget about the beginning of his career. In this case, for "Angela-A & raquo; the right place is right: it is a nostalgic hi to his early works (even a black and white picture indicates it) and at the same time a romantic parable about strange but sincere human relations, told in a very stylish visual language.

< img alt="5." Jeanne d'Arc "(1999)" height="485" src="/storage/images/pages/2017-08/f9c67804117788fa0e116de1ab89e0c3.jpeg" width="750" />

& copy; Gaumont

5. & Jeanne d'Arc & raquo; (1999)

Milla Jovovich — the French saint.

In Besson's career, this is the only experience of setting up a large-scale historical cinema, which in itself is interesting. This film may not have been warmly received by viewers, and even critics, but this is probably the result of the erroneous expectations that Besson placed in the late 1990s. Instead of another fantastic fairy tale, the director undertook to shoot a biopic about one of the key characters in the whole of French history, taking on his main role at that time his wife, Milla Jovovich. As a result, it turned out to be a drama with a distinct taste of classical tragedy, than an epic action in a historical entourage.

& copy ; Gaumont

4. & laquo; Nikita & raquo; (1990)

A girl who was sentenced to prison was selected for training as an elite killer.

Second after & laquo; Leon & raquo; the most famous insurgent Besson and at the same time a film that consolidated his fame as an action-director. The plot of a girl who turns against her will into a cold-blooded killer was so popular that it spawned not only two remakes (the American film "No Return" and the Hong Kong "Black Cat", 1991), but two series, of which the second ended very recently. Love homage to militants in the 1960s, sometimes turning into drama, eventually became not only a classic, but also set a stylistic reference point for many authors: almost entirely with Nikita & raquo; copied the game series Hitman (later, incidentally, a film adaptation), a lot in common with & laquo; Nikita & raquo; from the film & laquo; The Crying Assassin & raquo; with Dakaskos, and so on.

& copy; STX Entertainment

3. & la Valérion and the city of a thousand planets & raquo; (2017)

A pair of charismatic special agents of the interplanetary United Nations are traveling around the galaxy.

With this adaptation of the original French comic book, Luc Besson finally cured the Old World cinema from the eternal budget complex. His grandiose cosmooper costs $ 175 million, and these director's money is spent more efficiently than the authors of all the newest films in the Star Wars universe. " Wild, unbridled and therefore delightful scenes, consisting entirely of special effects, do not end until the very end. When the whole opening scene takes place in a giant market that exists only in virtual reality, when the singer Rihanna plays a super-prostitute-chameleon, and Ethan Hawke — her pimp, when the most important artifact in the universe is the cute little creature, which pokes with energy pearls, it only remains to recognize that Besson was and remains the most important film-teller in the world. And the twenty years that have elapsed since the time of the Fifth Element have not affected his unfamiliar fantasy in any way.