4K Blu-Ray: The Sixth Sense

The Film

In 1999, you couldn't escape The Sixth Sense. It was like The Matrix, in that it was a cultural product at a time just before the internet, where the secrets and twists of the film could only spread through water cooler conversations. For the longest time, it was taboo to reveal anything about the film, and it branded writer/director M. Night Shyamalan as a filmmaker who only made twist-laden movies.

25 years later, The Sixth Sense retains its power not because of the plot, but because Shyamalan's gorgeously inventive and emotionally powerful exploration of loss and grief is one of the greatest ghost stories ever told.

Set in Philadelphia, Shyamalan's hometown, the story picks up after Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), is attacked in his home by a former patient. A year later, his marriage is on the rocks, and he's more troubled by the incident than he lets on. Crowe sees a new patient, the young Cole (Haley Joel Osment), who is doing poorly in school and suffers from debilitating panic attacks of unknown origin. Slowly, the two bond, only for Crowe to realize that something far more troubling is the source of Cole's issues.

The story unfolds slowly and deliberately, with Shyamalan moving his chess pieces meticulously around the board. In later viewings, it's as pleasurable to watch how things fall into place as it is to be surprised by it. More than that, it's the first showcase for his strengths as a director. Alongside 12 Monkeys, this was the first time a director got an incredible performance out of Bruce Willis, who delivers a powerfully subtle and internal feat of acting in the lead.

This is a gorgeous, heartbreaking movie that is surprising profound, even after all these years. Shyamalan's Catholic upbringing allows him to explore his personal journey with faith on the big screen, and like Kevin Smith's Dogma, The Sixth Sense is a superlative presentation of American worship and spirituality.

In it's own way, The Sixth Sense is a comforting and kind film. It allows us to confront our fears of passing away and leaving the world a lesser place in our wake. By the end, it showcases every element that would become staples of Shyamalan's grand career: his humanity and gentleness above all. But also his ability to hit us with subtle and hard revelations that often fly over our heads. Only to reveal themselves decades later as having always been there.

That may be his greatest trick yet.

Technical Specs & Presentation

The Sixth Sense arrives in the Nordics with a sadly pared down and lesser version than other countries. Elsewhere, the film comes on 2 discs, one with extras, and a digital code for download. Here, we get just the film on a 4K UHD disc and that's it. None of the extras are ported over. Even worse, the Nordic copy costs just as much as the one in other regions.

The covers are typical to modern day releases: meaning they're ungodly Photoshop monstrosities. The original cover with its minimalist styling hasn't been licensed for another round, so an intern probably whipped this up at the last minute.

The packaging is like the extras and is bare and nothing to write home about. This is as minimal as a release gets, and what a shame that is for a classic such as this.

Video

The 4K release is certainly an update from the 20 year old Blu-Ray release, but only just. It makes odd changes to the color tone in places, and it's hard to say if this is Shyamalan's intention or just something that happened in the post-processing.

Whatever the reason, the results are mixed, with some skin tones and close ups looking absolutely jaw-droppingly beautiful, while others look off in a way that's hard to put a finger on. Look, for example, at the scene where Coel reveals his gift for the first time. The image is truly beautiful and haunting, perfect for the film that follows. Then compare it to the scene where Donnie Wahlberg's troubled patient is in the bathroom. It's oddly yellow in tint and there's a weird sickly color to the image that isn't there for the rest of the film.

That said, the 4K replicates the film stock quite well, and it's nice to see that despite my initial fears of AI use, the grain is still there and I couldn't spot any waxy faces throughout my viewing. It's still a gorgeous film, one of Shyamalan's best during his incredible run in the early 2000s. The 4K is a good, if not great, update from the Blu-Ray. Maybe it's a sign that we're due for a more Director Approved version later.

Audio

The audio track, too, is fine, if not great. This is a subtle movie with very little in terms of big, bombastic stuff in the audio. But that usually means the mix has to work harder to be good. It can't just be loud, it needs to be accurate to boot.

Happily, The Sixth Sense is precisely that, with all the creaks of wooden floors, haunting wind in the streets, and empty chapels all coming through with amazing clarity. Dialog is clear of any defects, and even the whispered, fearful tones are easy to pick out even on lower volumes.

This might not be a demo disc, but it is the kind of classy, handsomely produced audio that 4K is excellent for.

Extras

Sadly, this is where the Nordic release completely drops the ball. None of the extras from the other regions have made it here, and the disc is completely bereft of even a trailer or commentary track. It's just a mess. Granted, the extras on the North American and UK versions are all ported from the old Blu-Ray, but it still feels like a cheap move to remove them entirely from just the Nordic release.

Overall

The Sixth Sense is a classic and one of Shyamalan's best films. It has aged remarkably well, even if the plot has been recycled and parodied to hell and back in the past 25 years.

Yet nothing beats the original, and without the weight of expectations, The Sixth Sense reveals there's so much more to it than just the twists and turns. It is a remarkably subtle and mature drama about grief and loss that deserves to be adored for another quarter century.