« The Shawshank Redemption Review | Home | The Mummy: COLLECTOR’S EDITION Review »
The Sixth Sense Review
By admin | December 16, 2009
The Sixth Sense Trailer
The Sixth Sense Review
COMMENTS
I don’t normally read film reviews before going to the theater. I learned a long time ago that even the very best critics sometimes say too much when discussing aspects of a film’s plot. Intending to tease you, they go a bit too far, and later, while you’re sitting in the theater, his or her words pop into mind and you find yourself one step further ahead in the tale than you should be and surprises have been ruined.
Then there’s the less than tactful friend or relative who doesn’t even try to preserve a film’s capper and blurts it out during casual conversation. Once, my brothers and I were chatting about films we’d recently seen, an my eldest brother asked if we’d seen THE VERDICT — a heavy courtroom drama, starring Paul Newman. When I said I had not yet seen it, my brother said something like ”It was OK. Not bad. I really didn’t think he’d win.” UGH!
To avoid the risk of ruining the experience for first time viewers of this magnificent thriller by director M. Night Shyamalan, I’ll not dare tread where blabbermouthed critics have tread and I’ll not blurt like my brother. In fact, I’ll say very little about the THE SIXTH SENSE’s storyline. So fear not. There will be no spoilers here.
To Disney’s credit, they didn’t spoil the film by providing too much information in their trailer and TV spots. If you view them, after seeing THE SIXTH SENSE for the first time, you’ll note that they give nothing away. Unfortunately, one can’t say the same for so many other films that are shanghaied before their opening weekend by a marketing machine that didn’t know when to say when.
Shyamalan’s film has garnered a handful of Academy Award nominations. Perhaps by the time you read this review, the statues will have already been presented. As I’m writing, the Oscar ceremony is less than twenty-four hours away. I’ll dare to make a prediction. THE SIXTH SENSE will take best original screenplay. Shyamalan has penned a totally engrossing piece of work. The last time I was this riveted to my theater seat was the first time I saw THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. That film, based on a novel by Thomas Harris, was a tension filled, white-knuckled chair grabber from the moment we see Lecter standing in his cell, to the shot of him walking away from us to have “a friend for lunch.” Much of the horror in that film was visual — a severed head, a bloated, gray corpse, bloodied guards and so on. It had its share of unseen horrors as well, and these were more frightening still — a hanging, gutted guard for example. Brightly backlit, we couldn’t make out the gory details, but what we could see was scary enough. And then there were the horrors only hinted at by dialogue, or sounds — for example, Hopkins slurping sound when he describes eating a census taker’s liver, the description doctor Chilton gives of Lecter’s attack on an unlucky nurse, the sounds of a billy club coming down on a guard’s head, or the trapped air escaping from a corpse’s mouth as a chrysalis is dislodged from its throat. Eeeeeeew !
For these reasons, as well as harsh language and the very nature of Buffalo Bill’s disgusting little ‘hobby,’ THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS had to receive and R rating. The very thought of gutting this feature to make it playable as a PG-13 film, or to run on public television, is ridiculous. I think the film was eventually aired by one of the networks — but, who could possibly watch it and be subject to the same horrifying experience served up in theaters? When a fine director like Jonathan Demme can include all the visuals allowed under an R rating, it’s not as difficult to shake up and disturb an audience. Certainly THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS was never intended for a younger audience, so Demme’s feathers didn’t get the least bit ruffled by an R rating.
But Shyamalan managed a PG-13 rating. His film was thus made available to a much larger audience. To make a PG-13 rated thriller these days is no simple task. It’s difficult to get the hairs on the back of viewers’ necks to go vertical. It’s tough to raise goose bumps. Younger audiences are much more difficult to frighten, and if you take away the gore — the slash and splatter permitted by the R rating, you don’t allow them that ‘jolt followed by laughter’ element either. But Shyamalan managed to pull it off with THE SIXTH SENSE.
Again, to say too much about how he does this would be unfair to first time viewers, and I’m not about to glide out onto thin ice now (I’ve done pretty well so far, wouldn’t you agree?). But I can say, to Shyamalan’s credit, he manages to do so with very traditional techniques and on a rather modest budget. There are no pricey effects in this film — no bombastic pyrotechnics or five hour make up jobs. There are no chase scenes and no frantically edited, three shots per second action sequences. Shyamalan relies more on the strength of his fine script and talented cast, and less on in your face techniques. He also uses clever sound effects editing and a get-under-your-skin score penned by James Newton Howard. With THE SIXTH SENSE, Shyamalan demonstrates that a good script can grab viewers by the wrists and pin them in their seats. He shows that a good director doesn’t need to pull buckets of blood, sailors’ profanity, TNT, and computers out of his toolbox to fashion a gripping thriller.
SYNOPSIS
Hmm! What can we say that won’t foul the viewing experience for those who’ve yet to see THE SIXTH SENSE? We’ll continue to be very careful here.
Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis) is a renown child psychologist who comes to the aid of a troubled boy named Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osmet). The lad has symptoms similar to those of a former patient who Crowe misdiagnosed with disastrous results. He hopes to acquire redemption by helping Cole. The boy is forever afraid. All he wants in the world is not to be frightened any more.
Unfortunately, Crowe’s total absorption in the case is putting a severe strain on his marriage to Anna (Olivia Williams), which as of late, has been in trouble. The two hardly speak anymore. Nevertheless, Crowe pushes on. He feels he can get Cole to confide in him — tell him his dark secret. By saving the boy he can save himself. Perhaps as a redeemed doctor, he’ll be a better human being and a better husband.
IMAGE
No disappointments here. Disney advertised that this would be an anamorphic transfer, and it is — and a darn good one at that. The image is nearly always sharp and detailed in all lighting keys. Lines are clean, with no ‘ringing’ from digital over-enhancement and no distracting halo-ing effects along edges of backlit objects. We noted no ‘grain’ or digital artifacts of any kind during the presentation. We did note a few brief shots, in Crowe’s house and basement which appear a bit softer than other scenes in the film, but these are brief, and my guess is they’ll not be as noticeable on conventional sets and smaller rear projection screens.
Colors are natural looking — very well rendered and saturated. In addition to the multiple shades of brown and gray seen all over the city of Philadelphia, the film has a handful of interiors with highlights of gold and blue. As revealed by comments from the director during some of the DVD’s special features, there’re also touches of red in a number of scenes. In all lighting keys, these hues display subtle differences in shade. We noted no ‘smearing’ or bleeding of colors between neighboring fields. The sequences shot on the leaf-covered streets of the City Of Brotherly Love look outstanding. Duller colors abound, but at no time did we note ‘grain’ — not on building faces nor in the overcast skies.
Contrast and brightness levels are very good and consistent throughout the presentation. Blacks are deep and solid and whites are bright and clean, exhibiting no blooming. Shadow delineation is also very good. Flesh tones look natural and demonstrate subtle shadings in all lighting keys. The print used by Disney to strike this impressive anamorphic transfer was nearly pristine and free of distracting nicks, scars, and scratches. High marks and much appreciation for this fine transfer from the folks at Disney.
SOUND
This is a good Dolby Digital, 5.1 mix. Those who know the film are aware that THE SIXTH SENSE is not going to rock the house. It’s purpose is to thrill and rivet, and it does this nicely without gut-rumblin’ punches via the sub-woofer or overlapping, wide-ranging sound effects scattered about the surroundstage. In fact, the film’s most powerful, gripping scenes occur as dialogue is being whispered. This is a soundtrack that impresses with subtleties. And for the most part, Disney has done well to preserve this important aspect of the film with their mix.
The forward stage is deep and wide, but this is primarily noticeable during a number of the film’s exteriors, when city traffic can be heard to the left and right of center. On occasion, there is some effective imaging in the‘phantom’ zones between the center channel and the left and right mains. Panning effects are rare — limited to three or four scenes, but when needed, they are smooth and accurate.
The surround speakers primarily provide support for James Newton Howard’s often excruciatingly intense score, but during a number of the film’s eerie scenes we hear very subtle whisper and breathing sound effects from over the shoulders. Split effects are rare during the feature, but we did note a few sounds isolated to the left or right. The only fault we can find with Disney’s track is the inadequate volume of the signal sent to the surrounds. More presence is needed during many of the film’s exteriors and interiors. Though the track isn’t quite ‘hemispheric’ in nature, more of a contribution from the surround speakers would have been welcome.
The .1 FX channel has very little to do during THE SIXTH SENSE. Save for a few low, pounding notes in the score to give a little extra punch to a visual (there are NO red herrings in this film) there’s little call for sub rumbles. Dialogue is very well recorded and nicely integrated across the forward stage. Voices sound full and natural — never distorted or compressed. Whether spoken in an even tone, or faintly whispered, each word is clear and understood. James Newton Howard’s score is well recorded and expansive. This is a good DD track from Disney, but a bit more contribution from the surrounds would’ve been nice.
FEATURES
As was the case with Disney’s release of TARZAN, this disc begins with a series of movie previews. First there’s a trailer for MISSION TO MARS, and then there’s a series of trailers for films now available on DVD, like FROM DUSK TILL DAWN 3 (Oooooh, Aaaaaaah!) and IN TOO DEEP. These previews can also be reached from the main menu.
Scene access menu with links to 19 chapters in the film
Storyboard to film comparison of one brief scene in a restaurant with commentary by Shyamalan
Comments on casting the film by Shyamalan
Comments on the film’s music and soundesign by Shyamalan and James Newton Howard
Reaching the audience, comments by Shyamalan
Rules and clues — a discussion on the rules the filmmakers had to follow to allow the script to work best
A conversation with Shyamalan about his history in the business.