The Sixth Sense

• Cert:
• Cat.no: D 034646
• Running time: 103 minutes
• Year: 1999
• Pressing: 2000
• Region(s): 2, PAL
• Chapters: 19 plus extras
• Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Languages: English, Italian
• Subtitles: English, Italian, French
• Widescreen: 1.85:1
• 16:9-Enhanced: Yes
• Macrovision: Yes
• Disc Format: DVD 9
• Price: £19.99
• Extras : Scene index, Storyboard to film comparison, The Cast, Musicand Sound Design, Reaching the Audience, Rules and Clues, Deleted Scenes,A Conversation with M. Night Shyamalan, Publicity, Filmmaker/Cast Biogs

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

(The Sixth Sense)

Producers:

Screenplay:

Music:

Cast:

Malcolm Crowe: Bruce Willis (Armageddon, Billy Bathgate, Blind Date, Bonfire of the Vanities, Color Of Night, Death Becomes Her, Die Hard 1-3, The Fifth Element, Hudson Hawk, In Country, The Jackal, Last Boy Scout,Last Man Standing, Look Who’s Talking 1 & 2, Mercury Rising, Pulp Fiction, The Siege, The Sixth Sense, Striking Distance, Sunset, Twelve Monkeys)
Cole Sear: Haley Joel Osment (Bogus, The Sixth Sense)
Lynn Sear: Toni Collette (The Boys, Clockwatchers, Emma, Muriel’s Wedding, The Pallbearer, The Sixth Sense, Velvet Goldmine)
Anna Crowe: Olivia Williams (The Postman, Rushmore, The Sixth Sense)

The Sixth Senseis an eerie thriller about child psychologist Malcolm Crowe, (Bruce Willis), who tries to help ayoung boy named Cole (Haley Joel Osment) who has been diagnosed as suffering from”possible mood disorder” since the break-up of his parents’ marriage. When Crowe first meetsCole, the boy utters a Latin phrase which gives Crowe something to think about when hehas it translated.

I don’t want to say too much about the plot because it’s there for you to discover, butsuffice to say that everything good you’ve heard about this film is true. Bruce Willisadds another string to his bow as a first-rate actor and newcomer Haley Joel Osment iscertainly set to become a big star following this film and is in the running as the leadrole in the Harry Potter movie when they get round to making it.

I’m just not a fan of Toni Collette – as Cole’s mother – and wish she’d been replaced,but as least she doesn’t spend her time getting on your nerves like she did inMuriel’s Wedding.

The film is presented in the original 1.85:1 cinematic ratio and is anamorphic. With noartifacts, the image is crystal clear and has realistic flesh-tones. The average bitrateis 6.34Mb/s, occasionally peaking over 8Mb/s.

When it comes to the sound, it’s not about what you can hear in the main, but what youcan just about hear. The film is full of genuinely-spooky moments, all reproducedfaithfully in Dolby Digital 5.1.

There are 4 Deleted Scenes including an extended ending, a Publicity sectionthat contains the trailer and two TV spots and finally the extensive Filmmaker/Cast Biogs,even though they didn’t seem to work on my DVD-ROM player.

Menu :Static and silent with a shot of a light bulb and the standard options.

Overall, this is a very well-written and well-crafted film. It also has a memorable beginning,but, like the majority of the plot, it contains a surprise that you should only know of whenyou’re watching it. Sadly, I knew of the film’s ending before I watched this DVD, partly thanksto a newsgroup article that didn’t have Spoiler noted (bugger!) and then I had itconfirmed by an idiot on the otherwise-excellent Baddiel and Skinner Unplanned showon ITV.

I can see why The Daily Telegraph called it a ‘must-see twice’ film, but since Ialready knew the ending, I tried to look upon each scene from both perspectives. While thedisc has many extras, is it a film you can watch over and over again? Probably not and forthat the film loses a point.

FILM CONTENT
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS


OVERALL