 Tagline: Discover the secret of 'The Sixth Sense'! Hollywood superstar Bruce Willis (Armageddon, The Siege) brings a powerful presence to an edge-of-your-seat supernatural thriller that critics are calling one of the year's best movies! When Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Willis), a distinguished child psychologist, meets Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment - Forrest Gump)...a frightened, confused eight-year-old, Dr. Crowe is completely unprepared to learn the truth of what haunts young Cole. With a riveting intensity you'll find thoroughly chilling and utterly unforgettable, the discovery of Cole's sixth sense leads them both to mysterious and unforeseeable consequences! Storyline: Malcom Crowe is a child psychologist who receives an award on the same night that he is visited by a very unhappy ex-patient. After this encounter, Crowe takes on the task of curing a young boy with the same ills as the ex-patient. This boy "sees dead people". Crowe spends a lot of time with the boy (Cole) much to the dismay of his wife. Cole's mom is at her wit's end with what to do about her son's increasing problems. Crowe is the boy's only hope. Written by Jeff Mellinger Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman on October 16, 2008 -- Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord. There's the quotable one liner ("Don't disturb my friend, he's dead tired") and then there are those lines that become a part of the lexicon. Few films in the storied history of cinema can boast one single line of dialogue that has become completely ingrained into culture, where the mere mention of the line recalls not just an actor, a director, a scene, or even a film, but conjures up a philosophy or a way of life, or lends itself to many pertinent issues and discussions across a broad range of topics. Among the most well-known are, "There's no place like home," as delivered by Dorothy in 1939's The Wizard of Oz; "Here's lookin' at you, kid," from the 1942 treasure Casablanca; "Show me the money!" from 1996's Jerry Maguire; Jack Nicholson's famed, "You can't handle the truth!" from 1992's A Few Good Men; and perhaps the most recognized and utilized line in all of cinema history from a 1994 film, a short, sweet, and simple philosophy that would make the ancient Greeks proud, Forrest Gump's "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Director M. Night Shyamalan's (Signs) debut film, The Sixth Sense, itself offers a simple sentence that has come to embody the film, a director, a style, and a means of communicating about the unknown, the frightening, the unusual. "I see dead people," delivered powerfully by young actor Haley Joel Osment (Artificial Intelligence: AI), is the film's trademark line, a powerful announcement that eloquently yet simply embraces a concept and tells a complete story, and is one that has become a part of the everyday lexicon of film lovers and casual viewers alike. While "I see dead people" is the literal theme of the picture, it may also be seen as a metaphor for many individuals in the film and in the audience, speaking for those who are figuratively dead, such as the patient Dr. Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis, Unbreakable) encounters at the beginning of the film, or for anyone who may relate to the story of lost and not-fully-realized love, which is a running theme throughout the picture. Dr. Malcolm Crowe is a renowned child therapist who is confronted and shot by one of his former patients, Vincent Grey (Donnie Whalberg, Saw IV). The following fall, seemingly recovered from his wounds, Crowe begins working with a disturbed young boy by the name of Cole Sear (Osment) who is ostracized at school, comes from a broken family, and suffers from acute anxiety. As their relationship grows, Cole reveals to Dr. Crowe his lifelong secret -- he sees dead people. They are everywhere, he explains, seeing only what they choose to see, and they certainly do not see one another. It is these visions, the maddening, horrifying images that plague Cole's world, that are the root cause of his problems. Meanwhile, Malcolm must deal with an ever-growing chasm between himself and his wife Anna (Olivia Williams, To Kill A King). Watched in proper context, The Sixth Sense is an emotionally draining film. It's the story of love lost and may be viewed as a metaphor for the importance of embracing life, the ones you love, and the power of the spirit both in life and in death. The story arc between Malcolm and Anna plays out as a secondary one in the context of the screen time offered to the story, but their relationship is the driving force behind the plot. Malcolm's interaction with Cole allows him not to see what Cole himself sees, but to see what Cole sees in Malcolm, as he slowly comes to realize his fate and correct the errors of his past. The story, for all its twists and turns, ends in a shocking realization, but the realization allows for both Malcolm and Anna to move on in peace and love as the events depicted throughout the film are finalized and accepted by both individuals. The sadness of the film, of the love lost between the characters, is obvious throughout, and brilliantly connected to the primary story of the film and tied in with the revelation that comes at film's end. Anna's sadness is well-conveyed in every shot in which she appears. Each frame offers a subtle hint to the film's climax, and, as such, each hint is so well-integrated into the frame that the first-time viewer will likely gloss over them, assigning to them only tertiary importance as extraneous objects. It seems to be these objects -- several used tissues, for example -- that truly tell the tale and reveal as much to the audience about the story and its arc as does the final, blunt revelation. It is the way that director M. Night Shyamalan effortlessly unravels a complex plot through subtle touches to every frame that is the true revelation in the film. He expertly reveals two major plot devices that come as surprises to first time viewers, doing so in his own time, never forcing the pace, but allowing the film's nuanced approach do the storytelling instead. The first secret is revealed only halfway through the film, and the other not until the final moments of the picture. Despite no real focus over the course of the first half of the film, only that of the set-up and development of a doctor and a patient, the film never feels dull or slow, and certainly never meanders despite its exceptionally long establishing exposition. The film remains focused on the prize, reveling in its cleverness, slowly unraveling context clues from character names (Cole's last name, Sear, is a homonym for "seer," a person with exceptional insight into future or otherworldly events) to the cold temperatures signifying the presence of something out of the ordinary. It is through these subtle suggestions scattered throughout the film that make it infinitely re-watchable and also what make the film one of the most expertly crafted films to date. The Sixth Sense is a product of reserved filmmaking in every facet. Its story is slowly but surely unraveled with nearly unprecedented attention to every small detail to ensure faithfulness to the film's climactic and disturbing reveal in the final frames. Its imagery is generally dull and uninteresting, and its sound design somewhat pedestrian. Nevertheless, it all comes together to weave a tale of many underlying themes that are supported by a primary story that is poignant and timeless, a tale of love and the importance of life and the spirit both now and forevermore. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, whose next two films are as equally engaging, and arguably more so, The Sixth Sense is the work of a master filmmaker and one of the finest storytellers of this generation. Disney presents The Sixth Sense on Blu-ray in a solid package. Featuring faithful-to-the-source audio and video and providing an excellent selection of bonus materials, this package is a worthy addition to any film library. Highly recommended. Trivia:
[CSW] -4.0- You have to have this one in your collection. This is one of those movies like The Sting that throws you off from the start and then hits you like a racing freight train at the end. Every person I ask who have seen this movie, I ask the question "when," and they all say right when the movie maker wanted us to know. That is good, no great, movie making. Bruce's performance was as great but Haley's was outstanding, and please don't follow the same path as some other cute kid actors have done. Savor this one. It does what a movie is supposed to do. It has some fantastically scary moments and an amazingly well done double-twist ending. It's hard to top the horror of Sixth Sense... regardless of your feeling for M. Night Shyamalan. Though many dislike his movies, this one is masterfully plotted, suspenseful and emotionally powerful. Perhaps most impressive about this 1990s horror classic is it's thought provoking take on the afterlife, a realistic depth not typically seen in the genre. Well-acted and intellectually scary, this is one horror film that will probably be considered a classic. [Show Spoiler] Cast Notes: Bruce Willis (Dr. Malcolm Crowe), Haley Joel Osment (Cole Sear), Toni Collette (Lynn Sear), Olivia Williams (Anna Crowe), Trevor Morgan (Tommy Tammisimo), Donnie Wahlberg (Vincent Grey), Peter Anthony Tambakis (Darren), Jeffry Zubernis (Bobby), Bruce Norris (Stanley Cunningham, Cole's Teacher), Glenn Fitzgerald (Sean), Greg Wood (Mr. Collins, Kyra's Father), Mischa Barton (Kyra Collins), Angelica Torn (Mrs. Collins, Kyra's Mother), Lisa Summerour (Bridesmaid), Firdous Bamji (Young Man Buying Ring). IMDb Rating (07/25/14): 8.2/10 from 538,913 users Top 250: #160 IMDb Rating (10/15/07): 8.1/10 from 156,409 users Top 250: #124 IMDb Rating (09/23/06): 8.4/10 from 3,2291 users Top 250: #39
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
