M. Nightly Retrospective: 'Signs'
The aliens are coming to the tune of $227 million
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Photo: Touchstone Home Entertainment
- BOX OFFICE: $227,966,634 domestically, $408,247,917 worldwide and #61 all-time
- PRODUCTION BUDGET: $70.7 million
- Along with the release of Signs came a Newsweek article and a magazine cover that called Shyamalan "The Next Spielberg." That distinction has earned Shyamalan criticism ever since.
The article has been reprinted in its entirety in this section of the retrospective beginning on Page 3 of this article. - Even though this was Shyamalan's first work with CGI the crop circles in the film were in fact real.
- Mel Gibson received $25 million for his part in Signs. This is more than 35% of the overall budget. Joaquin Phoenix received $1 million. (source)
- Signs was Abigail Breslin's first feature film role. She was nominated for an Oscar five years later for her role in Little Miss Sunshine.
- M. Night Shyamalan's cameo in Signs is as a veterinarian that hit and killed Graham Hess's wife.
The work of a born filmmaker, able to summon apprehension out of thin air. ~ Roger Ebert, "Chicago Sun-Times"
ONE BAD:
Sitting through the last reel is significantly less charming than listening to a four-year-old with a taste for exaggeration recount his Halloween trip to the Haunted House. ~ Jessica Winter, "The Village Voice"
I also have to continue to note "New York Post" reviewer Lou Lumenick, who, as I have mentioned told us Shyamalan's "movies since Sixth Sense aren't very good." Well, just as he gave Unbreakable high marks he did the same for Signs saying:
A beautifully crafted, white-knuckle, roller-coaster ride of old-school filmmaking — the kind that believes that the less you show, the better.
Just as with his Unbreakable review it has been removed from the "New York Post" website, but his quote remains on MetaCritic.
I always felt it was nothing more than a War of the Worlds knock-off. The difference being that this is actually more of a story of one man's dealings with his religious beliefs than it is an alien story. I didn't mind the quick glimpses of the alien figures and I think the film would have actually been more powerful had Shyamalan kept them hidden altogether rather than the final act reveal.
Outside of that this is pretty much War of the Worlds and instead of the aliens catching a cold they are affected by water, another piece of the plot that just didn't work for me.
Click on "Next Page" to check out nine more screen grabs from Signs.
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I really thouroughly enjoyed "Signs." It's my dad's favorite M. Night film – he's always talking about it and comparing all M. Night films to it and says he could watch it a million times. I really like it, but not as much as my dad. I'm going to sound really dumb saying this, but I totally did NOT get the "twist" at the end when it was revealed. I actually had to rewind the DVD to catch it. It just didn't register with me the first time. But once I actually got it…well, I thought this was another brilliant M. Night film. After repeated viewings, I still like it, and I think I appreciate it more. Yah, just something about it is absolutely brilliant and terrifying at the same time.
The way he focused on just one family instead of the world wide battle like you're used to with sci-fi (Independence Day for example) like this was absolutely fantastic. It gives the film the opportunity to detail the experience of a few with all their thoughts and fears.
The film War of the Worlds (wich was a catastrophic fuck-up if you've ever read the book) tried it a little bit but stil wanted to be big action-thriller as wel.
Yeah the water thing seems a bit silly but as Brad points points out it's just like the bacteria surprise in war of the worlds. Which is actually more a realistic possibility than you think (yes I watch too much Discovery, I can explain if requested).
The water thing is not that silly either when you realise how complicated and diverse the universe is.
Writing this I realise Signs IS a lot like War of the Worlds (not the film) but thats not a bad thing. They have some of the same good ideas and concepts and both are told in an captivating way.
The faith thing didn't appeal to me but it didn't put me of and I clearly remember the excitment with the first glimpse of an alien which got me speculating even more about all of the unknowns.
It captivated me with the misterious thrills and humor and it'll stay high on my list of favs.
M. Night has either pigeon holed himself into this genre or been pigeon holed into this genre of suspense/thriller. That said I love most of his films. Either way, people in general have come to expect a certain emotional reponse from his films, mostly shock and suspense. This film does deliver that in some instances. The hand scene made me jump and I usually don't and there was an eerie feeling to this film throughout. I think it did a good job also dealing with the idea of what those crop circles are that we see popping up on the news from time to time. That hit home with a few people. Which made the film creepier. My main response is to the idea that The Village ranks higher for Brad. How?? The Village was marketed to us all as a thriller and was a complete let down, at least for me. After the story was found out that it was a bunch of people living on a nature preserve I wanted to throw the DVD out the window. In all of M. Nights films people are waiting for the revelation, whatever it is, where you can say to yourself, "I never saw that coming." In this film I wish that wasn't what was coming. It just took the wind out of my sails as to the hope I had for something interesting to happen. Sixth Sense, ability to see ghosts. Unbreakable, superhero discovered. Signs, aliens attacking. Lady in the Water, mythical being. The Village, mom and dad running around in bathrobes with branches hanging out prretending to be the boogeyman. Not quite as interesting to me. Anyway, just my opinion. Can't wait to read the actual review of The Village.