Signs 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Signs 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 24, 2024

Signs might be thought of as the third entry in what was M. Night Shyamalan's hat trick of stupendously successful films, following The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Signs is in some ways the most thoughtful of the three, less dependent upon tricks and/or twists for its meaning, but perhaps too reliant on what has often been Shyamalan's screenwriting stock in trade, namely the "convenient coincidence" or at least seemingly improbable alignment of events which in and of itself attempts to convey meaning (as in this film's late revelation that a supposed "handicap" may actually be a "saving grace"). As I mentioned in The Sixth Sense 4K Blu-ray review, some may jokingly accuse Disney / Buena Vista of following in the footsteps of Lionsgate in terms of providing a "new, improved" 4K UHD release that also includes a recycled (and now quite old) 1080 disc, though kind of interestingly based solely on screenshot comparisons, it looks to me that the 1080 disc in this package is somewhat darker looking than the older release.

Signs had a very early 1080 Blu-ray release from Disney / Buena Vista, and Martin Liebman's Signs Blu-ray review of that now "ancient" outing provides an apt plot summary as well as Marty's assessments of the technical merits and supplements. As I tend to repeatedly mention, different reviewers means different opinions, and while Marty mentions Signs is his favorite Shymalan film, for me personally it's a bit further down the list and our overall scores reflect that difference.

Signs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Signs is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Disney / Buena Vista with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 1.85:1. I think I actually preferred this 4K presentation to the simultaneously released The Sixth Sense 4K, though there are some of the same pretty wide variances in grain structure that I note in my review of the earlier film. That said, this presentation arguably has a much more robust overall palette courtesy of the glut of outdoor material (even when skies are cloudy and/or gray rather than bright blue). The family farm scenes, not necessarily relegated to the haunted (?) cornfield, really pop extremely well and feature superb suffusion and an accurate looking palette. HDR adds some significant highlights in several of the blue tinged scenes, and there's at least marginal improvement in shadow definition in any number of dark scenes, including some of the late cellar material. Fine detail is typically excellent throughout. Some of the minimal CGI may frankly not be particularly aided and abetted by the increased resolution of this format, but those moments are short lived.

Signs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with Disney / Buena Vista's 4K release of The Sixth Sense, the 4K UHD disc in this package has replaced the 1080 disc's LPCM 5.1 track with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 option, though as I mentioned in the review of the 4K version of The Sixth Sense, I think you'd be pretty hard pressed to cite any major differences between them. The sound design of Signs is considerably more labyrinthine, maybe even Byzantine, than The Sixth Sense, and as such surround activity is much more prevalent and noticeable than in the earlier film. This is a story that kind of weirdly ping pongs between the great (if threatening) outdoors and claustrophobic interiors, and the track does an admirable job of engaging the surround channels no matter what the setting. Another really effective score from James Newton Howard is also spaciously presented. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English, French and Spanish subtitles are available.

Signs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The 4K UHD disc has no on disc supplements. The 1080 disc in this package repeats the supplements Marty covers in some detail in his review (I'm including the total time for Making 'Signs', while Marty's review breaks it down into its constituent parts). To make things convenient, I've listed the supplements on the 1080 disc here, though I advise those interested in any or all of these to read Marty's more in depth coverage. I experienced something akin to the completely bizarre anomaly I encountered and mentioned in my The Sixth Sense 4K Blu-ray review where when I attempted to access the supplements by playing the disc in my PC disc drive, I got an inexplicable "superimposition" of two different menu pages. Everything worked fine in my standalone players, but I'm mentioning the oddity here in case anyone else experiences it. The supplements on the 1080 disc are as follows:

• Deleted Scenes (SD; 7:32)


• Making Signs (SD; 58:37)


• Storyboards: Multi-Angle Features


• Night's First Alien Movie (SD; 2:17)

Additionally, a digital copy is included and packaging features a slipcover.

Signs 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Signs is often a surprisingly thoughtful entry from Shyamalan, a filmmaker who is often either rightly or wrongly accused of relying on subterfuge and trickery to obtain his desired goals. Technical merits are solid on this 4K UHD presentation. Recommended.