I was unable to catch "The Village" in theatres, and the twist got ruined for me. As in, someone told it to me. So my first viewing of "The Village" was already ruined when I saw it. The twist just seemed so…obvious. But, like I said, it had already been told to me.
Nevertheless, something about "The Village" is very watchable. Maybe its the score and amazing photography and great acting like you mentioned. But I find myself completely engrossed in the film every time I pop it into the DVD player. Yes, its true that "The Village" is not M. Night's best film, but it's right up there in watchability factor. Not that I have any clue why. There goes M. Night's brilliance yet again…

watching all of night's movies, and know he wrote all of them, do you really think the dialogue was bad? it's funny that you mentioned "forced" because that's exactly what it's supposed to be. after understanding the twist and my thoughts about the movie after the fact, the dialogue itself was one of those brilliant clues night had slapping us in the face the whole time. of course it's forced. they are pretending. they are trying to live in this world that doesn't really exist. william hurt is a great actor playing a bad one. this realization really made the movie come together for me.

swimfan said: watching all of night's movies, and know he wrote all of them, do you really think the dialogue was bad? it's funny that you mentioned "forced" because that's exactly what it's supposed to be.

You know, that's a good way to look at it, but they have lived in that village for so long that they have sons and daughters in their 20s. I mean, if they haven't grasped the language by that point they must really be struggling.

I think you bring up a good perspective, but I have to disagree. So yes, I think the dialogue was bad.

I love this movie. Here is my M. Night list in order: (Bear in mind that I like all of his films)
5-Lady in The Water= Liked it, found it very creative and thought the performances were great (it seems he is blessed as all his films contain great acting).
4-The Village=Well acted and I do kind of buy into the point that the dialogue would be forced even though it was a little goofy sometimes. ("Don't jostle about so").
3-Unbreakable=Once again great acting and an awesome story.
2-The Sixth Sense=I would say this is his best film without a doubt and Bruce Willis is just incredible as is, of course, young Mr. Osment. It is the quintessential ghost story and it would make Hitchcock proud.
1-Signs=LOVED this movie. I saw it twice in theatres and have watched it countless times on dvd. I was on the edge of my seat throught the entire film. Being a Christian I am bias toward the fact that Graham regained his faith at the end so that helped me like this film. I just loved the story, I thought it was visually stunning in a simple way, and the acting (Mel Gibson is amazing in this movie) is top notch once again. Sixth Sense is a better film I think, but this is the one I enjoy watching most.

DarkKnightFAN12 said: Being a Christian I am bias toward the fact that Graham regained his faith at the end so that helped me like this film

I can see how being a devote Christian would certainly make someone love Signs more than I did. I thought that part of the story was very well done. Overall, that film just didn't really do it for me. However, it is nice to see one more person liked Lady in the Water, I actually think that may be my favorite Night film.