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The Sixth Sense
review by Zach B.
Rated PG-13
Studio: Disney
Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni
Collette, Olivia Williams
Running Time: 107 Minutes
Written and Directed by M. Night Shyamalan
Retail Price: 29.99
Features: Storyboard to Film Comparison, The Cast, Music
And Sound Design, Reaching The Audience, Rules And Clues,
Deleted Scenes, A Conversation With M. Night Shyamalan,
Theatrical Trailer, TV Spots, Filmmakers' And Cast Bios
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, 5.1 Dolby
Digital English, French Language Track, English Captions,
Chapter Search
No one was prepared for the success of "The Sixth Sense".
It was about as eerie as the movie itself. It debuted number
one at the box office with about 27 million dollars, and the
word of mouth spread. And it kept spreading. The Sixth Sense
went on to be one of the top grossing films of all time. To
be honest with you, when it first came in number one, I
thought the movie would decline in sales each week. But it
didn't. The movie didn't have so many elaborate special
effects, it didn't have a whole lot of hype, either. But it
did have an excellent story which audiences ate up, plus a
new catchphrase. Plus that ending. No one can forget that
twist ending.
When I first saw TV spots for the movie I didn't know
what to think. I thought it was another run of the mill
thriller. Yet critics were favorable, and everyone kept
telling me to see the movie. I never got around to see the
movie in theaters, but the ending was ruined for me when I
was sitting down in a restaurant and two ladies at the next
table were talking about films they saw recently - in a loud
tone.
I won't ruin the ending for you, but I think it's an
amazing ending. It forces you to go back and look at the
film twice. Of course, I had the ending in mind so it did
kind of ruin the film for me. What I mean is that I thought
about the ending and things ahead of time. The movie just
really works well that way.
For those of you who have never seen the film, the film
follows Dr. Malcom Crowe (Willis), a child psychologist, as
he helps a disturbed boy, Cole (Osment) with his troubles
about the supernatural and encountering the dead. The movie,
even though it has a plot, focuses more on the relationship
between the two. Willis and Osment have excellent chemistry,
which is one reason why I think the movie works well.
Osment's performance is incredible, while Willis, even
though he wasn't nominated for anything, I think he's
perfect and breathtaking as Crowe. His performance is really
good, and one of the best of his career.
M. Night Shyamalan, responsible for the clunker "Wide
Awake", wrote and directed the movie. His script is very
good and clever, but not without some problems. Character
development is very good, but the movie is pretty uneven.
There are also some plotholes which I would like to get
into, but I can't, since it does sorta ruin the movie.
Make no mistake, however, "The Sixth Sense" is an
excellent movie. It's a bit freaky, yet it retains heart and
is an overall solid picture. This DVD shouldn't disappoint
either.
Disney is finally giving us anamorphic transfers, and
when they do, they're excellent. "The Sixth Sense" has very
good detail and strong colors, though at some points they
were oversaturated. Artifacts and dirt come up now and then,
and there is some shimmer. Otherwise, the extra resolution
makes this film look really nice and strong. A nice transfer
by Disney.
The 5.1 Dolby Digital track has some good shocks to it,
which may make you jump a bit. Even though there is a good
amount of talking going on, the sound quality fits
perfectly. The music makes good use of the channels, and
sound effects are mixed appropriately. Things are clear and
easy to hear. A really good sound mix. There is also a
French track and English captions.
Thankfully, Disney was not that stupid to release a
really liked and successful picture into a bare bones
release. While it's not filled to the brim with supplements,
there is a good amount of extras here to make fans of the
film happy.
First off, there is a Storyboard To Film
Comparison. This is pretty much what it says it is. A
few central scenes are boarded and compared. Pretty
interesting to see how they were visioned at first and how
it made it to the screen.
A Conversation With M. Night Shyamalan and The
Cast are pretty much interviews with a bit of promo
fluff to them. Shyamalan tells the origins of the film, and
the rest of the interviews from the cast are just run of the
mill interviews.
Music And Sound Design, Reaching The
Audience and Rules And Clues are very nice
featurettes. They do get into a nice amount of depth in
their respected areas, and are pretty intriguing to watch.
The Sound Design was pretty interesting to see, and
"Reaching The Audience" and "Rules And Clues" sections show
how certain things were done.
Deleted Scenes is probably the crown jewel of the
disc, to see the things that were cut from the film.
Shyamalan intros each scene and explains it, as well as
giving a reason why they were cut. Anyhow, you can pretty
much see why, and the film does go at a better pace without
these. Still, they are here, and make an interesting watch.
Also be on the lookout for a clip of one Shyamalan's home
movies, which is an easter egg that is pretty easy to find.
It's not bad for amateur filmmaking and is a joy to watch.
Rounding out the disc there are Filmmakers' And Cast
Bios, as well as the well put together Theatrical
Trailer and TV Spots.
On a little side note, it seems Shyamalan was pretty
involved in the making of this DVD. I wonder why there is no
running commentary with him and the film...
"The Sixth Sense" is presented with excellent anamorphic
picture and sound. The supplements are nice, a lot more than
what we're used to having Disney give us. You probably
bought the disc if you liked the movie. This DVD is strongly
recommended.
 (4/5, NOT included in
final score)
 (3.5/5)
(4/5)
 (3/5)
(3.5/5, NOT an average)
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