_Unbreakable_ DVD: Am I missing something? (1 Viewer)

[Jack Briggs]

Based on word-of-mouth and on some reviews (one magazine writer called it the "best DVD of the year"), I purchased the Unbreakable DVD last week. Screened it over the weekend.
Other than the superb transfer and good sound, I was largely underwhelmed. The story was, well, just not there for me. I was too apathetic to bother spinning the second disc.
I didn't like The Sixth Sense, either--if that's of any consequence.
Why was the above-mentioned reviewer--I forget whom, and for which magazine (Sound & Vision?)--compelled to call it the year's best DVD?
Clue me in. I'm open.
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[Michael Reuben]

Jack --
I stopped reading Sight and Sound, but if he was reviewing it as a DVD, it sounds like you're not that far from agreeing with him ("superb transfer and good sound").
If his judgment was also one on the film itself, then the two of you simply reflect the split of opinion that this film has engendered almost since it was first released. My wife and I saw it in the theater, and she pretty much shared your reaction. I, OTOH, was entranced by the languorous sense of foreboding that Shyamalan manages to create from the long early scene in the train and sustains through most of the film. I haven't seen anything like it since the early DePalma films.
Why do I somehow suspect that this thread will be moved to Movies?
M.

 

[Kenneth English]

I'm inclined to agree with you on this one. While certainly far from being a bad movie, UNBREAKABLE is (for me at least) one of those one-viewing-is-plenty situations. I liked THE SIXTH SENSE but this one just left me cold. The DVD seems like a nice package, though (I don't own it).

 

[Michael Reuben]

Dupe post. Lots of forum glitches today.
[Edited last by Michael Reuben on September 05, 2001 at 03:22 PM]

 

[Matt_Stevens]

Why buy it sight unseen?

Especially since you didn't care for TSS? Can't you rent? Heck, even Blockbuster stocks multiple copies of DVDs now.
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[Gary Tooze]

Guess it's a personal thing Jack... I loved it... but I do now that the film has had a lot of love/hate comments associated with it... Gave the comic book story from a completely new angle... and to show I'm not a M. Night Shyamalan groupie, I too was not crazy about The Sixth Sense... I did like many of the camera techniques in Unbreakable... just off the top of my head: the conversation between the bus seats at the beginning... BUT after saying that I do feel he was slightly overdoing his abiliies with the camera... just slightly... not as subtle as perhaps he could have been... pretty good performances too...
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[Keith_R]

The DVD was nice but I really didn't like the movie either. The film just didn't cut it for me.
-Keith-

 

[Tino]

Jack
I'm with you on this one. I too was very underwhelmed by Unbreakable. IMO, it was a tedious mess. I actually rented it recently to see if it still was as disappointing as I first thought.
It was.

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[Joe_Mur]

Why do people consistantly buy DVD's without seeing the film? I do not buy special features, I buy the film. I read this board everyday and everyday there is someone bitching about lack of special features or DTS.
Just be glad the film is out on DVD!!! That is the important thing. IF it is a film you haven't seen, rent it first. Don't buy it and then complain that you didn't like the movie.
Here is another tip: Stop listening to reviews, if you love the film buy it.
I get tired of reading this over and over again. My other complaint: People who post when there DVD doesn't play. It happens, exchange it and try again. No need to post a message on the board.
Regarding this particular film. I love the Sixth Sense but could never watch it again. Thought this film was incredibly boring. I could of done without Bruce Willis asking everyone in his life if he was ever sick. I got it Bruce, you were never sick. That would have shed off about 20 minutes and made the film move better. It also had the worst ending I have ever seen. What a letdown. I had high hopes for it.
I saw it in the theater, I didn't like and I didn't buy the DVD based on it's technical merits and don't have any interest in watching this film ever again.

 

[Mick Wright]

My other complaint: People who post when there DVD doesn't play. It happens, exchange it and try again. No need to post a message on the board.

To each his own, but if there are bad pressings of a title out on the market I want to know about it.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I must say that I am one who definitely enjoyed this film. I enjoyed the story, but more than that, I enjoyed the WAY the story was told!
Shyalayan's compositions throughout this movie were outstanding. It was very refreshing to see a movie where a director actually took care to carefully compose every shot. We just don't seem to see many movies like that these days. I thought the compositions were always relevant to the story and never distracting.
The shots from the beginning, including the use of the mirror when Mr. Glass was born, the shots panning between the train seats, the reflection off the old television set at Mr. Glass' moms house, are just a few examples of the great compositions throughout this movie.
Jack, as an obvious big fan of Kubrick, I thought that you might enjoy the photography in this movie. Kubrick is known for his compositions in his movies. Did you not enjoy the way Unbreakable was shot?
I also thought the movie was evenly paced, and I did find the characters to be interesting. Obviously not everyone did, but its just a matter of taste.
[Edited last by Rob Tomlin on September 05, 2001 at 04:40 PM]

 

[Matt Wooten]

i've been on this forum talkin about this dvd before.. so i'll get to the point and give my thoughts and get out. i really did like this movie.. i bought it first day. thing is as much as i liked this movie i was kinda dissappointed in the fact that it didn't have a single trailer for the movie. in that fact i can't agree with this being the best dvd of the year but the picture quality and sound were all top-notch.
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[Simon Massey]

I think the film is great, but the DVD sorely lacked a commentary
Listening to the director introducing the deleted scenes, it appeared to me that he would have plenty to say about this film, and given that this was trumpeted by Buena Vista as their "Vista Series", this was a big letdown.
No doubt they will eventually release "ultimate editions" of the Sixth Sense and Unbreakable, with commentaries, but they should have done it first time.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Just to balance out the bad reactions to this film: I liked it! I just watched it 2 nights ago with a life-long comic fan (who had not seen it yet, and didn't know much about it at all - thank goodness!), and he truly never saw the end coming because he was truly entranced by the deliberation given to the development of the protagonist who *might* just have abilities far beyond those of mortal men, and the treatment of grounding such a story in as much realism/reality as possible without undermining the fantastical nature of the story.
It's a story of myth building without much of the artifacts/constraints of the comic book artform.
I found the performances by Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn and Spencer Treat Clark to be right on the money. There are quite a number of shots that are homages of pivotal scenes in comics that illustrate the nature of the battle between good and evil.
I knew the buildup of Samuel L. Jackson's character, Elijah, has been achieved when he chases the man into the subway station and slips on the steps and when his body hits the steps, with brittle bones crumbling under the force of each and every impact with the steps just shook the hell out of the audience. That is when the director has sold us on the character. The same holds for Bruce Willis's character as he struggles with the possibilities that Elijah just might be right about him as more and more evidence mounts to support his theories.
While I can't speak for those who disliked this film, but perhaps it was because of grounding the story in "our" universe and making it just plain unbelievable to suspend their disbelief. Or they just didn't care for the deliberate style (but if you saw TSS, you knew it was going to be a slowly paced film).
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[Aaron Croft]

Just thought I'd add my opinion of the movie/DVD...
I found this film VERY boring story wise. You basically know everyhting that is going to happen within the first few minutes of the film. As soon as Samuel LJ's character tells Brucie what's up, you know he'll end up being right... then you spend the next hour or so waiting for Bruce to figure it out... then the surprise ending!!! Neat... I waited through the entire proedictable first 2 hours to see the last few minutes of the film that had a really cool surprise.
I did like the cinemetography, but it did not carry the movie for me, it takes more than that to make a good movie for me... The DVD had an excelent vid/sound transfer as well.
So to those who enjoyed the film... did you not find the movie COMPLETELY predictable???? (except for the ending.) Everyone has different tastes, I understand this, but I for one was just plain bored by the story.
Aaron Croft

 

[Patrick Sun]

Sure, a movie like this has a certain amount of "baggage" that needs to be addressed, but for those who found it "predictable", others might have found it entrancing because it takes its time to develop the plight of the characters, rather than just given some MTV editing which condense the origin story into a 2-minute video. For some, the story plodded, for others, the story breathed life into the super-hero origin story while not shortchanging the audience in the progression from doubter to believer by the protagonist.
When I saw this film near Thanksgiving, I could not get the conclusion of the film out of my head for a week or so. Not many films do that to me. For others, it may be utterly forgettable and didn't stay with them at all. No movie is for everyone.
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[Jimmy Gonzalez]

I definitely enjoyed this film. The way the story was told was like a breath of fresh air. It was a classic tale of a Super Hero and a Super Villain.
Usually in a movie like this it would take one or two scenes to tell you who these two men are, why they have these powers, and why they are arch enemies. What the director chose to do here was tell that story in one 2 hour movie which is why a lot of people did not like it. I for one loved it. The movie had me wondering "is he or is he not a super hero?" till almost the end. I also like how he based everything in a real setting.
To be honest I did not think I was going to like the movie but since I am a big Samuel L. Jackson fan I decided to pick up the dvd and I am glade that I did.
Can't knock the people who gave it a good review, we all know this already but I will say it again. Reviews are nothing but a big opinion and everyone has there own.
JG

 

[Wes]

I know I kindof dozed off during the movie but went back later to hear the train crash in DTS but there was none. This could have been the most incredible sounding crash ever but nothing, nothing at all. Big disappointment!!!!!
Wes

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

So to those who enjoyed the film... did you not find the movie COMPLETELY predictable????

Why must every movie be cause => effect, cause => effect? I knew he was Unbreakable as soon as I heard "You're the sole survivor of this train wreck, and you haven't a scratch on you." This is a movie which is effect => cause. You know the effect from the get go, but the movie is about the journey. And unlike T6S ending, which I figured out as soon as "cheesedick" was introduced, this film had me so wrapped up in the journey that the ending blindsided me.
That said, I can see why Jack wouldn't like it. The whole of 2001 is centered on slowly piecing together an idea. In this movie, the idea was given from the getgo, and the reaction to the idea is the story.
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[Edwin Pereyra]

Based on word-of-mouth and on some reviews (one magazine writer called it the "best DVD of the year"), I purchased the Unbreakable DVD last week.

Sure, Jack, you'd take the word of some writer on some magazine and purchase a DVD right out but we here at HTF could not convince you to see A.I. at all. Now I see where your priorities are.

Well, as far as Unbreakable, I for one, did not care for it.
~Edwin
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