| Reviews & Columns |
|
Reviews DVD TV on DVD Blu-ray 4K UHD International DVDs In Theaters Reviews by Studio Video Games Features Collector Series DVDs Easter Egg Database Interviews DVD Talk Radio Feature Articles Columns Anime Talk DVD Savant Horror DVDs The M.O.D. Squad Art House HD Talk Silent DVD
|
 DVD Talk Forum |
|
|
| Resources |
|
DVD Price Search Customer Service #'s RCE Info Links |
|
Columns
  
 
|
|
|
Signs: Vista Series
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment // PG-13 // January 7, 2003
List Price: $29.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
"Signs" is the fourth of director M. Night Shyamalan's pictures, and the third of the director's popular thrillers. While "Signs" was a late Summer hit for the director and was met with a very positive response, I offer an alternate viewpoint: I still feel "Signs" is the least interesting of the director's three thrillers and not a particularly effective film overall.
The film stars Mel Gibson as Graham Hess, a former preacher who is the father of two young children (Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin). Also helping out on Graham's farm is Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), his younger brother who was a former baseball prodigy that never made it to the big leagues. One morning, all wake up to find that the Hess corn field has been partially trampled, forming an enormous crop circle. Although the local police officer (Cherry Jones) suspects locals, when crop circles start popping up all over the world, everyone is finally convinced that it's not merely locals with nothing better to do.
"Signs" is not "Independence Day"; the director has decided to focus upon the family more than the chaos of a potential alien invasion. This character-driven format would be perfectly fine, if two things had happened; the characters were interesting and the director had not continued to operate with one tone: somber. "Signs" continues to show the director's ability to construct a somber, moody atmosphere - only this time, this isn't particularly the right picture for it. We're left with what has to be the calmest characters in cinema history ever to face an alien invasion, which doesn't make for very tense viewing. There's too much restraint here - although it's nice to have a film where the scares aren't shown, this takes that too far and, as a result, the first act is too slow and the little build in the second half is too little at too late a point in the picture.
The film's lack of suspension is hurt further by a few scenes - most noticably: a scene captured on home video in a birthday party in Brazil, where an alien passes by. The alien looks so incredibly ridiculous (and seems to be casually strolling by - maybe he was looking for a bite to eat?) that the scene would be more at home in an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Similarly absurd is a secne where a character calmly states, "Don't open my pantry, Father. Found one of 'em in there. Locked 'em in." Gee whiz. The film's intentional humor (a terrible scene early on where Gibson's character debates whether or not to curse) doesn't work as much as the unintentionally hilarious moments.
In an attempt to not spoil the film further, I won't go into what I think didn't work about the ending, but in an attempt to focus on these characters instead of a larger picture, Shyamalan seemingly didn't know how to wrap things up particularly well, with a pretty predictable last scene. Scary? I didn't find anything particularly scary here, aside from the decent fright of one of the early cornfield scenes (which would likely have been even more effective had it not been shown in almost every one of the film's trailers).
I do have some positive things to say about "Signs", though. Mel Gibson continues to prove himself an excellent actor and often rises above the often-corny material. Joaquin Phoenix is also pretty solid in a supporting role, as are the two kids. James Newton Howard's score seems to be for a better movie, providing tension and suspense that the film itself sorely lacks. I also liked Tak Fujimoto's subtle photography and the interesting compositions that appear throughout the picture.
"Signs" seems to have a large fan base and that's fine. Personally, I think Shyamalan chose an interesting approach to the genre and did not succeed in getting the right tone (there's nothing wrong with a little intensity), bringing the suspense or wrapping up the film successfully. In terms of recent films in the genre, I'll take "The Others", instead. As for "Signs", maybe it would have made for a better "X-Files" episode.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Signs" is presented in 1.85:1 THX-Approved anamorphic widescreen by Buena Vista Home Video. Surprisingly, this is a somewhat below-average transfer, considering this is a recent release and a fairly major title. I liked Tak Fujimoto ("That Thing You Do!")'s cinematography, but it hasn't translated well to this presentation. Sharpness and detail are standard at best, with the brighter outdoor sequences offering respectable detail, but some of the darker interiors looking soft and lacking much in the way of definition. These sequences were dark and fairly soft when I saw the film theatrically, but they seemed a bit moreso here.
Problems are apparent throughout, most notably some edge enhancement, which is slight at times and downright irritating at others. Noticable pixelation is also seen, as is some mild shimmering. On a positive note, the print looked crisp and clean, with no apparent marks, scratches or other faults. The grain that was visible theatrically is present once again here.
The film's low-key color palette was well-rendered here, with everything appearing natural and not at all smeared or problematic. This certainly isn't a terrible presentation, but I expected something a bit smoother and more consistent.
SOUND: "Signs" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1-EX. Of the director's pictures, this is certainly the finest sound experience. Although probably not demo material, many scenes in the movie offer surround use that is impressive, yet subtle. The scenes out in the cornfields (chapter 9) are particularly superb, with realistic, convincing ambience coming from the surrounds - including the rear surround. The result is a very nice, very enveloping soundtrack in many scenes. While the sound largely folds up to the front during the interior scenes for the majority of the film, that's understandable. However, it would have been nice if James Newton Howard's tense score sound have gotten some additional reinforcement from the rear speakers. Audio quality is fine, as the score remained rich and warm, while dialogue sounded crisp and natural. Some instances of solid bass, too, but only on a few occasions.
EXTRAS:
Making Signs: This is a nearly sixty minute documentary that, at its best, presents a fascinating look at the entire production process of the film. At its worst, this documentary focuses too much on how wonderful Shyamalan is (yes, I do think he is an excellent director, but to hear about it in basic terms isn't interesting). This entire piece is split into a few sections (Looking for Signs, Building Signs, Making Signs: a commentary by M. Night Shyamalan, the Effects of Signs, Last Voices: the Music of Signs and Full Circle). These sections can either be viewed separately or "play all" can be selected.
Deleted Scenes: 5 deleted scenes (including another alien bit) are included, but no audio commentary is available.
Also: Multi-angle/audio scenes (Graham, Knife and Pantry; Graham and Merill chase the unknown trespasser) that offer either the final scene or animated storyboards, as well as the option of the 5.1 final mix, 5.1 effects only or 5.1 score only. In addition, we're offered the director's first short "alien film". Oddly enough, no trailers are available.
Final Thoughts: Even after going through it once again, I still find "Signs" to be a fairly dull picture livened by some fine acting. Buena Vista's DVD offers fair picture quality, very good audio and a set of decent supplements. Recommended for fans, but others should try a rental first.
"Signs" is the fourth of director M. Night Shyamalan's pictures, and the third of the director's popular thrillers. While "Signs" was a late Summer hit for the director and was met with a very positive response, I offer an alternate viewpoint: I still feel "Signs" is the least interesting of the director's three thrillers and not a particularly effective film overall.
The film stars Mel Gibson as Graham Hess, a former preacher who is the father of two young children (Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin). Also helping out on Graham's farm is Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix), his younger brother who was a former baseball prodigy that never made it to the big leagues. One morning, all wake up to find that the Hess corn field has been partially trampled, forming an enormous crop circle. Although the local police officer (Cherry Jones) suspects locals, when crop circles start popping up all over the world, everyone is finally convinced that it's not merely locals with nothing better to do.
"Signs" is not "Independence Day"; the director has decided to focus upon the family more than the chaos of a potential alien invasion. This character-driven format would be perfectly fine, if two things had happened; the characters were interesting and the director had not continued to operate with one tone: somber. "Signs" continues to show the director's ability to construct a somber, moody atmosphere - only this time, this isn't particularly the right picture for it. We're left with what has to be the calmest characters in cinema history ever to face an alien invasion, which doesn't make for very tense viewing. There's too much restraint here - although it's nice to have a film where the scares aren't shown, this takes that too far and, as a result, the first act is too slow and the little build in the second half is too little at too late a point in the picture.
The film's lack of suspension is hurt further by a few scenes - most noticably: a scene captured on home video in a birthday party in Brazil, where an alien passes by. The alien looks so incredibly ridiculous (and seems to be casually strolling by - maybe he was looking for a bite to eat?) that the scene would be more at home in an episode of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". Similarly absurd is a secne where a character calmly states, "Don't open my pantry, Father. Found one of 'em in there. Locked 'em in." Gee whiz. The film's intentional humor (a terrible scene early on where Gibson's character debates whether or not to curse) doesn't work as much as the unintentionally hilarious moments.
In an attempt to not spoil the film further, I won't go into what I think didn't work about the ending, but in an attempt to focus on these characters instead of a larger picture, Shyamalan seemingly didn't know how to wrap things up particularly well, with a pretty predictable last scene. Scary? I didn't find anything particularly scary here, aside from the decent fright of one of the early cornfield scenes (which would likely have been even more effective had it not been shown in almost every one of the film's trailers).
I do have some positive things to say about "Signs", though. Mel Gibson continues to prove himself an excellent actor and often rises above the often-corny material. Joaquin Phoenix is also pretty solid in a supporting role, as are the two kids. James Newton Howard's score seems to be for a better movie, providing tension and suspense that the film itself sorely lacks. I also liked Tak Fujimoto's subtle photography and the interesting compositions that appear throughout the picture.
"Signs" seems to have a large fan base and that's fine. Personally, I think Shyamalan chose an interesting approach to the genre and did not succeed in getting the right tone (there's nothing wrong with a little intensity), bringing the suspense or wrapping up the film successfully. In terms of recent films in the genre, I'll take "The Others", instead. As for "Signs", maybe it would have made for a better "X-Files" episode.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Signs" is presented in 1.85:1 THX-Approved anamorphic widescreen by Buena Vista Home Video. Surprisingly, this is a somewhat below-average transfer, considering this is a recent release and a fairly major title. I liked Tak Fujimoto ("That Thing You Do!")'s cinematography, but it hasn't translated well to this presentation. Sharpness and detail are standard at best, with the brighter outdoor sequences offering respectable detail, but some of the darker interiors looking soft and lacking much in the way of definition. These sequences were dark and fairly soft when I saw the film theatrically, but they seemed a bit moreso here.
Problems are apparent throughout, most notably some edge enhancement, which is slight at times and downright irritating at others. Noticable pixelation is also seen, as is some mild shimmering. On a positive note, the print looked crisp and clean, with no apparent marks, scratches or other faults. The grain that was visible theatrically is present once again here.
The film's low-key color palette was well-rendered here, with everything appearing natural and not at all smeared or problematic. This certainly isn't a terrible presentation, but I expected something a bit smoother and more consistent.
SOUND: "Signs" is presented in Dolby Digital 5.1-EX. Of the director's pictures, this is certainly the finest sound experience. Although probably not demo material, many scenes in the movie offer surround use that is impressive, yet subtle. The scenes out in the cornfields (chapter 9) are particularly superb, with realistic, convincing ambience coming from the surrounds - including the rear surround. The result is a very nice, very enveloping soundtrack in many scenes. While the sound largely folds up to the front during the interior scenes for the majority of the film, that's understandable. However, it would have been nice if James Newton Howard's tense score sound have gotten some additional reinforcement from the rear speakers. Audio quality is fine, as the score remained rich and warm, while dialogue sounded crisp and natural. Some instances of solid bass, too, but only on a few occasions.
EXTRAS:
Making Signs: This is a nearly sixty minute documentary that, at its best, presents a fascinating look at the entire production process of the film. At its worst, this documentary focuses too much on how wonderful Shyamalan is (yes, I do think he is an excellent director, but to hear about it in basic terms isn't interesting). This entire piece is split into a few sections (Looking for Signs, Building Signs, Making Signs: a commentary by M. Night Shyamalan, the Effects of Signs, Last Voices: the Music of Signs and Full Circle). These sections can either be viewed separately or "play all" can be selected.
Deleted Scenes: 5 deleted scenes (including another alien bit) are included, but no audio commentary is available.
Also: Multi-angle/audio scenes (Graham, Knife and Pantry; Graham and Merill chase the unknown trespasser) that offer either the final scene or animated storyboards, as well as the option of the 5.1 final mix, 5.1 effects only or 5.1 score only. In addition, we're offered the director's first short "alien film". Oddly enough, no trailers are available.
Final Thoughts: Even after going through it once again, I still find "Signs" to be a fairly dull picture livened by some fine acting. Buena Vista's DVD offers fair picture quality, very good audio and a set of decent supplements. Recommended for fans, but others should try a rental first.
|
| Popular Reviews |
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Sponsored Links |
|
|
| Release List | Reviews | Shop | Newsletter | Forum | DVD Giveaways | Blu-Ray | Advertise |
|
Copyright 2024 DVDTalk.com All Rights Reserved. Legal Info, Privacy Policy, Terms of Use,
Manage Preferences,
Your Privacy Choices 
| |||||||