Stars:
Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix
Writers:
M. Night Shyamalan
Director:
M. Night Shyamalan
Feature
length: 106 minutes
Extras:
Making Signs Documentary, Deleted Scenes, Storyboards: Multi-Angle/Audio Feature
Languages:
English and French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Subtitles:
English Captions and Closed Captions
Packaging:
Keep Case
Chapter
Stops: 21
Sound:
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Year
of Theatrical Release: 2002/DVD Release: 2002
Theatrical
Distributor: Touchstone Pictures
Home
Video Distributor: Buena Vista Home Entertainment
MPAA
Rating: PG-13
Reviewer:
Mark A. Rivera
M.
Night Shyamalan’s “Signs” is one of my favorite films from the summer of
2002 and soon the DVD will be available in stores to add to your own collection
as a part of Buena Vista Home Entertainment’s “Vista Series” of films on
DVD-Video. This third feature film to be written and directed by M. Night
Shyamalan is basically about faith. Mel Gibson is a Reverend whose wife died in
a tragic car accident and subsequently stepped he away from his church. His
brother (Joaquin Phoenix), a former minor league ball player with a record for
the most amount of strikeouts to match his successes at bat, has come to live
with him in the six months that have passed and help take care of his niece and
nephew.
One
morning a circle appears mysteriously in the cornfield followed by a foreboding
feeling of danger that Gibson’s character is in denial of in part because he
has lost his faith in any sort of higher power or reason for why things are the
way they are. Soon after there are glimpses of an intruder on the property, but
nothing that can prove to be definitive proof that there is something going on
that is above any normal rational reasoning.
When
crop circles begin to appear worldwide and lights in the sky are spotted over
various parts of the world, it soon becomes apparent for the entire family that
their lives are going to change again forever.
While
I realize that the secrets of “Signs” by now are pretty much well known, I
am not going to assume that there is not someone out there who has not seen the
film or maybe is so unfamiliar with the film that even the premise might
intrigue them. So if I am somewhat vague, it is out of respect for the viewers
and the filmmakers. Believe me when I note that I have a lot of thoughts about
this film and have found new clues within the film’s tight screenplay after
repeated viewings that support my feelings that I have had since I first saw
“Signs” last summer. About the only thing I can safely write regarding the
film’s premise is that it takes just as much faith to believe that things
happen randomly and in some sort of chaotic fashion as it is to believe that
there is a planned tapestry to the choices we are faced with in our lives.
This
is the first single-disc “Vista Series” release and thankfully instead of
attempting to make a uniform Digipack style single disc box to match the
previous multi-disc releases in the series, Buena Vista Home Entertainment is
releasing “Signs: Vista Series” in an ordinary DVD keep case, which I
personally prefer. “Signs” is presented in an anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1)
aspect ratio that is THX certified complete with the THX Optimizer® program for
picture and sound calibration. The results are a nice transfer that is free of
color bleeding and grain. Unfortunately the night scenes reveal a bit of the
MPEG-2 resolution artifacts. This is not anything obstructive to watching the
film, but it shows so I have to mention it. The English Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround Soundtrack is very clear and takes advantage of the surround channels
effectively. Unfortunately there is no DTS sound option, which I had come to
expect in “Vista Series” releases and was a bit disappointed by the lack of
that listening choice. A French Language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Soundtrack
and English Captions and Closed Captions or the hearing impaired are encoded
onto the DVD as options.
M.
Night Shyamalan confirms some of the obvious inspirations with regard to making
“Signs,” which include Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds,” George A.
Romero’s original “Night Of The Living Dead,” and the original “Invasion
Of The Body Snatchers.” I was comforted in knowing that I am not the only one
who feels “Night Of The Living Dead” owes somewhat of a debt to “The
Birds” structurally. Laurent Bouzereau delivers another terrific DVD
documentary entitled “Making Signs” (58:51), which is broken up into six
very informative featurettes that are as detailed here with an introductory
short entitled “Looking For Signs” (6:11), a look at the production with
“Building Signs” (8:02), “Making Signs: A Commentary By M. Night Shyamalan”
(22:33) that reads somewhat deceptively because it is not an audio commentary,
but a chronological guided and narrated tour complete with interview clips,
scenes from the film, and behind-the-scenes footage for the key beats that make
up the cinematic story of “Signs.” Other featurettes include a look at
Industrial Light And Magic’s “Effects For Signs” (8:31), a look at the
film’s scoring as well as a discussion on M. Night Shyamalan’s approach to
adding music to his motion pictures in “Last Voices – Music Of Signs”
(8:26), and “Full Circle” (4:48) covering the marketing, the premiere, and
success the film had upon it’s opening weekend complete with clips from the
trailers and TV spots. Sadly none of these trailers or TV spots is included on
the DVD as a separate feature and none are presented in their entirety. These
featurettes can be viewed individually or collectively as one documentary.
Five
deleted scenes are also included and are presented in a letterboxed (1.85:1)
aspect ratio with English Stereo Sound. These scenes can be viewed as one reel
(7:48) or individually and are made up of a scene between Gibson and Phoenix
entitled “Graham and Merrill” (1:05), two flashbacks that are less than a
minute long, and a shot of a “Dead Bird” (: 21) as well as a very creepy
scene from the film’s final act that I will not reveal because of possible
spoilers. That scene has a length of five minutes and seven seconds and I wish
part of it were included in the final feature film.
There
are two multi-angled and multi-audio storyboarded to completed scene comparisons
that also allow the viewer to switch between the final 5.1 mix, a 5.1 music only
mix, or a 5.1 effects track. Lastly Shyamalan shares a glimpse at another of his
early-videotaped films that he made as kid (2:19).
The
menus are well rendered with animated transitions and are easy to navigate.
There is a foldout insert with contents information and photos within the DVD
keep case.
While
not quite as a grand a “Vista Series” release as I had hoped for,
“Signs” is still a good DVD effort worth checking out when “Signs: Vista
Series” debuts on DVD-Video on Tuesday, January 7, 2003 from Buena Vista Home
Entertainment.
©
Copyright 2002 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.