Signs Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Signs Blu-ray Movie Review

M. Night Shyamalan's alien invasion masterpiece finally crops up on Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 3, 2008

Some people are probably thinking this is the end of the world.

Signs is my favorite M. Night Shyamalan film, my favorite "aliens on Earth" film, and one of my all-time favorite movies, period. Signs represents the zenith of several of my favorite genres, in fact, including alien invasion, tension-based horror (as opposed to splatter horror), lost faith renewed, and the notion that everything in life serves a purpose. The latter isn't necessarily a genre or sub-genre, but it is a device found in many movies. Sometimes the audience will be shown a glimpse of something odd and our movie radar, built on years of watching films, tells us that that snippet of information will be crucial in the end. While Signs follows this convention, it's not in-your-face obvious for the first time viewer, and despite knowing the secrets of the film, Shyamalan's eye for what I am unafraid to label as nearly perfect filmmaking makes Signs a classic in my book, and a film with nearly infinite replay value.

The lengths we'll go to to hear the out-of-town ball game.

Everything they wrote in science books is about to change.

Graham Hess (Mel Gibson, We Were Soldiers), a former reverend, lives in a farm house surrounded by corn in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. He's lost his faith due to a tragic roadside accident where his wife died when struck by a truck driven by the town's veterinarian, Ray Reddy (portrayed by director M. Night Shyamalan). Graham lives with his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix, We Own the Night), a former minor league baseball player and owner of several famous and infamous records, including longest home run (507 feet) and most strikeouts (more than double the next player), his asthmatic son Morgan (Rory Culkin, Chasing 3000), and his daughter Bo (Abigail Breslin, No Reservations) who cannot find a glass of water she's comfortable drinking. They awake one morning to find crop circles in their field, and the television news begins to run stories of other crop circles appearing all over the world, nearly simultaneously. Slowly but surely, it becomes obvious that this isn't the work of a group of 30-year old nerds with nothing better to do, but is rather the beginning of an alien invasion. As the time for the invasion draws near, Graham and his family must prepare for the inevitable, and if they are to survive the ordeal, Graham may have to turn to an old friend and regain his faith in God, and once again place his trust in the power of a higher being.

There's a monster outside my room can I have a glass of water?

Director M. Night Shyamalan, if I may be so bold, is the finest director working in Hollywood today. Perhaps he's plateaued since Signs, but other than Steven Spielberg (and perhaps Christopher Nolan, depending on how well The Dark Knight turns out), I cannot think of a living director who's had three straight brilliant films to his credit, beginning with The Sixth Sense, followed by Unbreakable, and concluding with Signs. Keep in mind he not only directed, but wrote these films (and every film he's directed, for that matter) as well. His excellent camera work is back in Signs. He places it ever-so precisely, making his shots some of the best composed I've ever seen. His camera often lingers which allows his actors to work their magic, and also lets the settings, locations, and objects in-frame tell the story as much as the characters themselves do. He is also the master of tension and suspense, and uses everyday objects and situations to elevate the level of fear in this film considerably, using something as innocuous as a baby monitor, for example, to create one of the most tense scenes in the film. Shyamalan's take on spirituality and the cosmic is simple yet superb, the entire movie framed around the old adage that says, "a place for everything and everything in its place," "signs," in other words, of the remarkable order of things, where what seems to be chaos is truly order that ultimately trumps the true chaos of the universe. Some may find the ending contrived or unsatisfying. Instead, one may look at it as a true spiritual parable about acceptance of reality for a greater purpose, a message that, for me, rings true. As Graham Hess says in the movie, "is it possible there are no coincidences?"

Excluding the possibility that a female Scandinavian olympian was running around outside our hosue last night, what else might be a possibility?

In Signs, Shyamalan has certainly surrounded himself with a fine cast, but his magic somehow manages to squeeze just a bit more realism out of each performance. Perhaps it's his fantastic writing, giving these actors some of the best material they've had to work with, but as is the case in all of his films, there is not a bad performance to be found, even from the lesser characters, including Shaymalan himself and Cherry Jones (TV's "24") as a Bucks County police officer. Indeed, Gibson and Phoenix make for a terrific brother tandem, not only based on a plausible physical resemblance but by the way they play polar opposite characters whose strengths and weaknesses once again play into the order-of-the universe theme. Speaking of themes, composer James Newton Howard's (I Am Legend) score, and especially his theme for the movie, is cinematic perfection. It's a bit reminiscent of the "X- Files" theme, but for my money surpasses it as the all-time great alien music theme. Just listening to it over the main menu brought back the sense of fear, wonderment, and awe that I felt seeing the movie theatrically for the first time, and still feel some six years later. It's in its simplicity that it succeeds, sounding a bit alien and frightening, but at the same time hypnotic and eager to lead us into the amazing experience of Signs that is about to unfold in front of us.

Signs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Disney shows us "signs" of an excellent transfer here. Presented in 1080p and framed at 1.85:1, This first-rate alien invasion movie has a unique style (thanks to the vision of its director) that doesn't lend itself to a "wow!"-style transfer, but this Blu-ray disc does a great job of recreating the look of the movie. I've seen Signs many times, once theatrically and many times on DVD, and it looks just as good here as it did that day I saw it in theaters. Although Signs is a movie with a dull, dark look overall, there are many aspects that are bright, vivid, and realistic. Among the finer looking images is that of the green cornstalks. Not only that, but we can see the changes in coloration (green to yellow) and the lines and rough edges on each one as well. The end result is that we don't see quite the fine clarity and detail we have on other recent catalogue titles such as I, Robot, but the look is a perfect one for the mood and story presented to us by the movie. Long distance shots appear a bit fuzzy, but they never take away from the look and quality of the entire movie. There are also a few nicks and white specks scattered here and there on the print. Some of the movie's darker scenes are dim and perhaps oddly lit, much like the one where Graham and Merrill discuss how to catch whomever is behind the crop circles. The scene seems lit only by moonlight and maybe some dim outside lights off to the side that we cannot see, and looks a bit washed out. Many blacks seen throughout the movie look similar, but others are dark, deep, and true. There is some film grain to be seen throughout the movie, and it picks up in density in the darker scenes. I was very pleased with this transfer on the whole. It suits the movie very well, and Disney has once again delivered a solid transfer that might not be A-list, but it is easily the best Signs has looked since opening night in 2002.

Signs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Signs invades Blu-ray with a wonderfully atmospheric PCM 5.1 uncompressed soundtrack. The movie's sound design is a character itself, and the rattling around we heard in every speaker tells part of the tale. This Blu-ray disc is sheer perfection in recreating the Signs audio experience. This soundtrack isn't a "rattle the foundation" or "burst your eardrums" style action extravaganza, but the music completes each scene. As excellent a director as Shyamalan is, and as wonderful as his actors in this film are, every scene where either the score or the sound effects are present brings the movie to a new level of excellence. The soundtrack's presence in our living rooms is undeniably pleasant and powerful at the same time. We hear just the right amount of reverberation in the opening credits' music to get the juices flowing and create a tension that instantly becomes thick and palpable. The rear channels come alive with perhaps the best atmospheric effects yet on a Blu-ray soundtrack. Both the rustling of corn and dogs barking in the background effortlessly places the viewer in the corn field, and this realistic ambience is generally sustained throughout the movie when the characters are in places and situations where such ambience would be expected in real life. Signs is a dialogue-heavy film, and this aspect of the soundtrack is wonderful as well. In chapter nine, when Graham Hess yells at the "culprits" in his corn field, his voice is heard echoing in the distance. The camera is set up at a distance above his location, and the sound is so perfectly recreated that we may as well really be standing beside that camera. The frightening sounds at the end of the movie will make you jump straight out of your seat more than once. Signs isn't the most action-packed movie available on Blu-ray, but its sustained atmosphere and fantastic reproduction of each and every nuance of its soundtrack earns this disc a perfect score.

Signs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Signs lands on Blu-ray with some nice supplements, but ultimately not as many as I would have liked. Making 'Signs' is a six-part making-of documentary. The first is entitled Looking For Signs (480p, 6:12). This feature looks at what makes an M. Night Shyamalan movie unique, and the influences of The Birds, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Night of the Living Dead on Signs. Building 'Signs' (480p, 8:02) follows with a look at one of the early meetings pertaining to the movie, the pre-production process for an M. Night movie, and building the set and choosing shots for the movie. Making 'Signs:' A Commentary By M. Night Shyamalan (480p, 22:34) examines the impact of September 11, 2001 on the film (the attack occurred the day shooting was scheduled to begin) and dealing with shooting the saddest scene of the movie at the same time. From there, the piece features interviews with Mel Gibson, Shyamalan, and other members of the cast pertaining to everything from shooting schedules, to character arcs, to time crunches on the set, and other interesting tidbits. The next segment of the documentary, The Effects of 'Signs' (480p, 8:32), examines the special effects of the movie. Shyamalan describes his first time working with CGI as "brutal." The piece also focuses on the evolution of the alien from early concepts to the final version seen in the film. Last Voices: The Music of 'Signs' (480p, 8:26) is a nice piece focusing on Howard's score for the film and Shyamalan's ideas on the place of music in movies. Finally, Full Circle (480p, 4:48) examines the business end of the movie's promotion and release.

Moving past the documentary is Storyboards: Multi-Angle Featurette. This incredible feature allows viewers to watch two select scenes either as they appear in the film or as a rough animated storyboard drawn by Shyamalan. Viewers can also watch the scenes with three audio options: the final 5.1 mix, a 5.1 score-only track, of a 5.1 effects-only track. Five deleted scenes (480p, 7:32) are also included. Finally, viewers are treated to a home movie shot by Shyamalan as a child with an introduction by the director.

Signs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

M. Night Shyamalan's Signs sets a new standard for several genres. It's definitely "Hitchcock-ian" in feel with tension and scares that generally remain off-screen and are presented to us through unsettling sounds, moods, and situations rather than straightforward, always-visible horror. With standout performances by the movie's four leads, not to mention better than first-rate direction, Signs is easily M. Night Shyamalan's most underrated film and a personal favorite of mine. Disney has delivered an excellent Blu-ray disc. With fine video quality, perfectly atmospheric audio, and a decent set of supplements, Signs is a movie that should fit in nicely with any Blu-ray collection. Highly recommended!