M. Night Shyamalan may not be one of the most universally acclaimed directors, but he’s definitely one of the most varied. He’s made supernatural thrillers, folk horror, modern fairytales, television adaptations, and even family movies starring Rosie O’Donnell as a baseball-playing nun. Reception to these projects has been all over the place, but with his latest movie, Trap, making waves in the theaters, two of Shyamalan’s earliest and most beloved movies are getting a new release in a new format.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures announced The Sixth Sense and Signs will be released this fall in both digital and 4K UHD Blu-Ray, meaning both films will be available at a new level of quality. If you’re a physical media collector looking to get the 4K editions on your shelf, you’ll have to wait until October 22, but if you just want to see Hayley Joel Osment see dead people in ultra-high definition as soon as possible, the digital version is now available for purchase.
The Sixth Sense put Shyamalan on the map and earned him a Best Picture nomination at the Oscars. The supernatural chiller stars Toni Collette as the frazzled mother of a young boy who’s showing signs of mental distress, while his psychologist, Malcolm Crowe (Bruce Willis), is dealing with issues of his own; his wife won’t stop crying. The twist at the end is now so famous that pop culture is full of jokes about its infamy, but the movie is still worth watching.
Signs applied Shyamalan’s talents to science fiction with a classic tale of alien invasion starring Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, and the underrated Rory Culkin. The twist is almost laughably simple and, to some, laughably silly, but it still comes together as a brilliant piece about family and resilience. And also aliens.
If you’re a Shyamalan newbie or just want to binge his early filmography in 4K, there’s another way to view his early work in one place. Alongside the digital 4K editions, there’s also a three-movie digital 4K bundle that adds Unbreakable, the superhero thriller he made in between The Sixth Sense and Signs.
With newer projects like Knock at the Cabin and Trap recapturing audiences, Shyamalan has proven the days of The Last Airbender and The Happening are long gone. But even without his impressive comeback story, The Sixth Sense and Signs were enough to cement him as a genre legend, and both could look good on your shelf.
