Unbreakable (DVD)

...very good film and because Unbreakable starred Bruce Willis and was directed by Shyamalan, many had thought that it would be the natural sequel. When I watched Unbreakable at the cinema, I left feeling a little disappointed, not because the film was sub-standard, but because I was looking for another Sixth Sense-esque movie – I suspect this was the same for many. However, after seeing it again (x2), I realised that my original judgement was a little ...
...have probably gathered by now, Unbreakable sees Bruce Willis in a starring role again as he tries desperately to break the mould of his stereotypical, vest-wearing action hero. He plays David Dunn who, at the start of the film, is involved in a train crash which kills all crew and passengers except for him. In fact, he manages to escape without a scratch. This miraculous feat brings him to the attention of Elijah Price, played brilliantly by Samuel ... more

Unbreakable, written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan was released in 2000 with a lot of media hype surrounding it. Many regarded it as a sequel to Shyamalan’s hugely popular “The Sixth Sense” and I, along with the masses, trotted off to the cinema to see it. At the time, I have to admit that I left feeling a little disappointed and cheated. Yes, it was an entertaining film, yes it starred Bruce Willis but...
...it was nothing like The Sixth Sense.

However I did get the chance to see it again on Sky about a year later and found that it wasn’t as poor as I had originally thought. Then a few days ago, I couldn’t believe my luck as I spotted the 2 disc collectors edition lying on the shelf of my local Woolies and, even though I could barely afford the £7.99 that they wanted for it, I bought it under the guise of a birthday pressie for a mate (The RRP is about £19.99 so I figured he’d think I’d spent a fortune on him )

Of course, always aware that “sometimes DVDs don’t work” (y’all did know that, didn’t you?) I just *had* to try it out (ahem!). So I dusted off the old DVD player, put the DVD in to ‘test’ and...
...ended up watching the whole thing again along with all the extras too.

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The Collector’s edition is actually a two-disc set. The first disc just contains the film but the second disc has all the extras on it – you also get two postcard prints in the set which are (quote from back of the box) “Collectable Alex Ross Illustrations”. Before I tell you about the second disc, I suppose I’d better talk a little bit about the film itself and the reason why I’ve suddenly decided that I like it after all.

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I have figured out that why I perhaps didn’t enjoy it the first time round was because it had almost been billed as the sequel to “The Sixth Sense”, the first of M. Night Shyamalan’s blockbuster films. Those of you who have seen The Sixth Sense will know that it is a very good film and because Unbreakable starred Bruce Willis and was directed by Shyamalan, many had thought that it would be the natural sequel. When I watched Unbreakable at the cinema, I left feeling a little disappointed, not because the film was sub-standard, but because I was looking for another Sixth Sense-esque movie – I suspect this was the same for many. However, after seeing it again (x2), I realised that my original judgement was a little too harsh as this is definitely a film worth watching.

As you have probably gathered by now, Unbreakable sees Bruce Willis in a starring role again as he tries desperately to break the mould of his stereotypical, vest-wearing action hero. He plays David Dunn who, at the start of the film, is involved in a train crash which kills all crew and passengers except for him. In fact, he manages to escape without a scratch. This miraculous feat brings him to the attention of Elijah Price, played brilliantly by Samuel L. Jackson.

Price is a comic book dealer with a very rare brittle bone disease which causes his limbs to break very easily with the slightest knock or fall. He earned the nickname “Mr. Glass” at school due to his condition and, after seeing the news reports of the train crash, believes that Dunn is the opposite of him – his bones are unbreakable. Of course, Dunn thinks that he is crazy and talking a load of nonsense and the film then focuses on Price’s belief that David Dunn is some sort of unbreakable comic-book superhero. To say any more would spoil the rest of the storyline as there is a slight twist at the end of the tale that could very easily be ruined if I explain anything else in too much detail.

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Character wise, Willis and Jackson suit their roles perfectly. I am not the biggest fan of Bruce Willis but I have to admit that he carried off the role of David Dunn very well and seems to be making the transition from action films to those with a little more substance. Samuel L. Jackson too was also very good and very believable as Elijah Price as his appearance alone conveyed the eccentricity of the character very well.

Although I have heard the film described as a thriller, it isn’t your typical edge-of-the-seat one. In fact, I found that the storyline actually moved at quite a slow, steady pace. Some may argue that it was perhaps too slow but this could be due to the emphasis in character development of both Dunn and Price.

However, the ending actually seems to sneak up on you and, in my opinion, was somewhat abrupt. At the time of its release in the cinema, this came under a lot of criticism as many were left feeling a little disappointed. I have to admit that the preceding 10-15 minutes were quite fast paced (a stark contrast to the rest of the film) and perhaps seemed a little rushed as if the director suddenly realised that there was a time limit or deadline that he had to meet.

In saying that, though, Shyamalan’s direction was certainly innovative and clever throughout. One of the obvious themes throughout the film was in relation to Elijah Price who, as I’ve mentioned before, was called Mr. Glass at school due to his brittle bone condition. His early life, birth and childhood are told by the use of flashbacks which are shown solely as reflections in glass objects; namely a television set, mirror and a framed picture. Reflections seems to be an ongoing theme in the film and the use of mirrors and glass objects are very prominent.

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Although I am not very appreciative or very good at explaining technical aspects of films (I admit to purely watch them for the story), I found the camera work to be very original. One scene in particular which sticks in my head was when Price tumbled down a flight of stairs. Again, I’m not very good at describing this type of thing but it was a very memorable scene in the film and the use of sound was also used to great effect. Other aspects of originality which I picked up on was during the opening scenes which took place in a train. A conversation between Dunn and a female passenger was shown from the perspective of the eyes of a child peering between the seats in front of them. There are other aspects and scenes which I’m sure many of you will pick up on, but I won’t try to explain them as it’s not my strong point

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Overall, Unbreakable is a good, entertaining film which, in my opinion, does not deserve the criticism and comparisons to The Sixth Sense that it gets. I suppose you can view it on two levels – the basic storyline telling of the interaction between the two main characters; and the underlying themes running throughout.

If you haven’t seen The Sixth Sense then you will probably find that you will enjoy Unbreakable more than those who have. This is purely because you will not have any preconceptions or expectations before viewing it. I also wonder, just how the critics would have perceived it if this film had been released before The Sixth Sense as then there would not have been anything to compare it to.

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And so to the second disc and the extras – the main reason why you buy the DVD rather than the (usually) cheaper video. Well, to start with you get the Theatrical Trailer which is standard to most DVDs and pretty much is…
…the trailer from the cinema (well, I did say I’d mention ALL of the features ).

The first proper feature is a multi-angle one showing the Train Station Sequence. I don’t know very much about DVD players (can’t ya tell!?) so I’m not sure if all players will be able to do the multi-angle thingy. Basically it shows the Train Station Sequence (I won’t explain exactly what this is as it gives away the plot) and the second angle shows the original storyboard. You can choose to view the filmed scene or the storyboard and switch between the two using the camera angle function. You can also choose what audio to play with the scene – the final mix, the score alone or the effects alone. To be honest, I wasn’t too impressed with this feature (I would have preferred the storyboard and final scene to be shown in a split screen to make a comparison) but I’m sure many of you will like it.

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Then we have a Behind The Scenes featurette whereby Shyamalan, Willis, and various people involved with the film (sound producer, costume design, director of photography, etc) air their thoughts on what the film meant to them. It also explores the detail that went into the production of the movie and the director’s aspirations and what he set out to achieve. The significance of costume is also explored and Samuel L. Jackson discusses his contribution to the Elijah Price character. There were other aspects to this (don’t want to completely spoil it for you) and I found this to be a very interesting featurette and at 15mins was a substantial enough length to reveal quite a lot about the whole ‘making-of’ experience.

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The next part of the disc is probably my favourite – the Deleted Scenes which, for some reason, I always watch first before viewing any other DVD extras (well it’s usually the outtakes but there weren’t any included). In this, Shyamalan introduces each scene (seven in total) and gives a bit of background as to why they were filmed in the first place and reasons why they ended up on the cutting room floor. This I found to be very good and I found Shyamalan’s commentary added to the understanding of each one.

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Next up is “Comic Books and Superheros” which is a 20 minute mini-documentary about Comic Books. This too I found quite interesting but I suspect if I was a die-hard comic book fan then it would be a lot more enjoyable. It features interviews and commentary from various comic book authors and artists and Samuel L. Jackson has a lot of input into this one.

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And so to the last extra on the disc and what a gem it is. This is an excerpt from one of Shyamalan’s early productions – it is actually his very first fight/action sequence. He starts off by telling us that he had been looking for something extra special to put on this DVD and thought that the fans would enjoy this purely because it is so bad. Actually, I found it so bad that it was very funny – but this is exactly how Shyamalan wanted everyone to perceive it. It has absolutely nothing to do with Unbreakable except to show everyone just how much Shyamalan has improved over the years

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Technical specs:

Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 English/French/Italian
Subtitles: English, English for the hearing impaired, French, Italian,
Running Time: 102 minutes (disc 1 – film only)
Rating: 12

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So there you have it – the Unbreakable 2-disc Collector’s edition. The film itself is a good one (albeit I had to see it a few times before I realised it) and the extras are also very entertaining. If you are looking to purchase Unbreakable, then I would definitely recommend going for this DVD over the Video. With many places selling it for around half-price (even high street stores like HMV around sale time) then it is a good buy.

As for my mate’s birthday? Well, as it’s not for a few months yet – I might just have enough time to find something else for him.

In fact, I quite fancy testing out the Back To The Future Trilogy... ;0)
 

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