• BOX OFFICE: $95,011,339 domestically, $248,118,121 worldwide and #405 all-time
• PRODUCTION BUDGET: $73.2 million
• The disease Elijah Price, a.k.a. Mr. Glass, (Samuel L. Jackson) is infected with, Osteogenesis Imperfecta, is a real disease.
• Half of the film’s production budget went to the director and actors with Bruce Willis receiving $20 million, $10 million to Shyamalan ($10 million), Jackson received $7 million and Robin Wright Penn earned $2.5 million for her role. (source)
• On top of the $20 million Willis earned he was also given a $1.5 million perk package, which included, among other things, a personal assistant, masseuse, mobile gym, trainer, bodyguard, and other “personal perks,” including a $500,000 allowance for private jet charters. (source)
• M. Night Shyamalan’s cameo in Unbreakable is as a suspected drug dealer

An exquisitely crafted film filled with little shocks and deep echoes of humanity. It’ll stick with you. ~ Shawn Levy, “Portland Oregonian”

ONE BAD:

Even the surprise ending arrives with a thud and makes us wonder why Shyamalan didn’t try something new instead of recycling his “Sixth Sense” recipe. ~ Edward Guthmann, “San Francisco Chronicle”

One final note is that “New York Post” critic Lou Lumenick, who recently told us in the comments on my piece calling him out last week, “his movies since Sixth Sense aren’t very good,” gave Unbreakable a positive review and also gave Shyamalan rather high marks:

“The Sixth Sense” was no fluke. Unbreakable, writer-director M. Night Shyamalan’s dazzling reunion with Bruce Willis confirms he’s one of the most brilliant filmmakers working today.

Unfortunately his review has been removed from the “New York Post” website, but he still has the highest rated review of the movie on MetaCritic. I am all for a critic changing his mind, but as I will show you tomorrow, Lou’s new opinion of Night seems to be personal and not critical.

I can’t say I am a converted fan of the film, but I did find the comparisons between the story Night crafted and the comics Elijah Price describes throughout the film to be an interesting parallel. I love the idea that comics are not exactly superhero stories as much as they are simple exaggerations of reality. Looking at the film in those terms opened my eyes and allowed me to look at it from a different perspective. The film is a little slow at times and I didn’t connect to the characters on an emotional level, at least not as much as I do with all of the other Shyamalan films I will cover in this six day retrospective.

He continued to use plenty of bird’s-eye view shots and certainly played up the reflection shots considering his antagonist is a man named Mr. Glass. The most prominent use of mirrors and reflection comes at the beginning of the film in a one shot look at the birth of Elijah Price (Mr. Glass) told using a giant mirrored wall in a department store dressing room. You can watch the scene just below.