Signs [Blu-ray]

Mel Gibson Director: M. Night Shyamalan, Sam Mercer, Frank Marshall, Night Shyamalan M. Night Shyamalan

Overview

Following the smash hit The Sixth Sense (1999) and the under-performing follow-up Unbreakable (2000), directing phenom M. Night Shyamalan returns to the summer box office landscape that served as the backdrop for his cinematic breakthrough. In Signs, another paranormal outing for the writer-director, Shyamalan explores the eerie implications of a 500-foot crop circle that mysteriously appears on the Bucks County, PA farm of reverend Graham Hess (Mel Gibson). As Hess and his family (Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin) try to take stock of what the sign means, and how its message incorporates into their faith, they start to get the feeling they are not alone in the fields behind their house. Shyamalan re-teams with producers Frank Marshall, Sam Mercer and Kathleen Kennedy, and produces the project in association with his Blinding Edge Pictures banner and Touchstone Pictures.

Product Details

Release Date:	06/03/2008
UPC:	0786936767155
Original Release:	2002
Rating:	PG-13
Source:	Touchstone / Disney
Region Code:	A
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround]
Language:	English
Time:	1:46:00
Sales rank:	390

Special Features

Deleted scenes; Making Signs: Looking for Signs, Building Signs, "Making Signs: a commentary by M. Night Shyamalan", the effects of Signs, "Last Voices: the music of Signs", Full circle; Storyboards: multi-angle features; Night's first alien movie

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mel Gibson	Graham Hess
Joaquin Phoenix	Merrill
Abigail Breslin	Bo Hess,Actor
Rory Culkin	Morgan Hess
Cherry Jones	Officer Caroline Paski
Patricia Kalember	Colleen Hess
Ted Sutton	Cunningham
Merritt Wever	Tracey
Lanny Flaherty	Mr. Nathan
Marion McCorry	Mrs. Nathan
Michael Showalter	Lionel
Kevin Pires	Brazilian Birthday Boy
Clifford David	Columbia University Professor
Rhonda Overby	Sarah Hughes
Greg Wood	TV Anchor
Ukee Washington	Off-Screen TV Anchor
Adam Way	Radio Eyewitness
Angela Eckert	Soda Commercial Girl
Jose L. Rodriguez	Radio Host
Paul Wilson	Soda Commercial Singer
Thomas Griffin	Soda Commercial Singer
M. Night Shyamalan	Ray Reddy
Brett Cullen	Actor
James Newton Howard	Composer

Technical Credits

M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan	Director,Screenwriter,Producer,Director
Frank Marshall	Producer,Director
Sam Mercer	Producer,Director,Producer
Kathleen Kennedy	Executive Producer,Producer
Douglas Aibel	Casting
Eric Brevig	Special Effects
Steve Cremin	Special Effects
Stefen Fangmeier	Special Effects
Jeff Olson	Special Effects
Jeff Habberstad	Stunts
Brian Smrz	Stunts
Tod Maitland	Sound/Sound Designer
Richard King	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

The worldwide phenomenon of "crop circles" -- supposedly engineered by visiting aliens -- provides a suitably eerie jumping-off point for the latest spine-tingling thriller directed by M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense). Signs is something of a tour de force for Mel Gibson, uncharacteristically understated in his portrayal of a recently widowed minister whose isolated farm is the scene of inexplicable events. The sudden appearance of crop circles, followed by nocturnal visits from unseen strangers, unnerves the minister, his children (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin), and his younger brother (Joaquin Phoenix). They choose to remain barricaded inside their run-down farmhouse to defend it against invasion by extraterrestrials. In both his screenwriting and his direction, Shyamalan studiously avoids the sensationalistic trappings of most alien-invasion movies; in fact, as the opening reels unspool, it's not at all clear that there are aliens in the vicinity. But as the evidence mounts, so does the tension, and the film's second half dispels any ambiguity while convincingly portraying the claustrophobic terror that grips the protagonists. Gibson is superb as the embittered preacher whose loss of faith initially leaves him ill equipped to deal with the crisis, and Phoenix is very nearly as good as the underachieving brother who rises magnificently to the occasion when his loved ones are imperiled. Shyamalan's directorial technique is refreshing in its simplicity: His camera moves aren't flashy, he doesn't rely on special effects, and his measured pacing gives viewers time to absorb each scene for maximum emotional impact. Moreover, he realizes that what you don't see is often scarier than what you do see. Such restraint, so unusual in today's genre films, is largely responsible for making Signs one of the most effective horror/sci-fi movies of recent years. Shyamalan supplies a feature-length commentary for the DVD, which also includes deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes featurettes.