A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 16 nominations total
Robin Wright
- Audrey Dunn
- (as Robin Wright Penn)
Davis Duffield
- David Dunn Age 20
- (as David Duffield)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
This is a much better film than I ever thought it would be, and intrigues me every time I watch it. Samuel L. Jackson's role is what mainly inspires me to watch this multiple times. His character is amazing and just leaves me shaking my head.
This is a pretty low-key movie with the other star, Bruce Willis, playing an extremely subdued role for him, almost too subdued. There are times in here when you keep waiting for him to say something, and he says nothing. Half the time he's barely audible.
But he and Jackson play off each other well, and this is very suspenseful film, even if a lot doesn't happen. To explain the story would almost ruin it, because it's preposterous. I'll just call an interesting fantasy-horror film with a little family story tied in with Willis' wife (Robin Wright) and young boy (Spencer Treat Clark).
"Unbreakable" is beautifully filmed, has very little profanity in it, and a strange, strange story with a great twist at the end....one of the best I've ever seen in a movie. This movie is done by the same man who did "The Sixth Sense," M. Night Shyamalan, so if you enjoyed that you probably would like this, too.....although it's so different I wouldn't want to predict who would like this film and who wouldn't. If you're open to try something different, give it a look.
This is a pretty low-key movie with the other star, Bruce Willis, playing an extremely subdued role for him, almost too subdued. There are times in here when you keep waiting for him to say something, and he says nothing. Half the time he's barely audible.
But he and Jackson play off each other well, and this is very suspenseful film, even if a lot doesn't happen. To explain the story would almost ruin it, because it's preposterous. I'll just call an interesting fantasy-horror film with a little family story tied in with Willis' wife (Robin Wright) and young boy (Spencer Treat Clark).
"Unbreakable" is beautifully filmed, has very little profanity in it, and a strange, strange story with a great twist at the end....one of the best I've ever seen in a movie. This movie is done by the same man who did "The Sixth Sense," M. Night Shyamalan, so if you enjoyed that you probably would like this, too.....although it's so different I wouldn't want to predict who would like this film and who wouldn't. If you're open to try something different, give it a look.
For me, The Sixth Sense is M Night Shyamalan's best film, but Unbreakable comes very, very close. Maybe it is not a movie for everybody, due to some parts dragging and rambling on just a tad, but it is a thoughtful, moving and compelling film.
It is a very well made film with beautiful, brooding cinematography and striking scenery. Unbreakable also features my personal favourite James Newton Howard score for any of his collaborations with Shyamalan, it is so gorgeous and subtle. Even with the odd draggy moment, Unbreakable does have a very enthralling story that resonated with me a lot. Like The Sixth Sense, it deals with the supernatural genre but takes it to a thought-provoking and surreal level.
The pace is measured, and for the most part it works. The script is thoughtfully written as well, the characters are interesting(I don't think Willis has had a more involving character than the one he has here) and Shyamalan's confidence and assurance further adds to the many impressive things about Unbreakable. Bruce Willis and Samuel L.Jackson are both fantastic, and one wonders why they didn't do more together.
Some have been dismissive of the ending, I actually thought it was fine, though I was underwhelmed by it on my first viewing a few years back. I did say before that The Sixth Sense's ending was the only one of a Shyamalan film that worked, after re-watching Unbreakable I take that back. I still think though the others were either needlessly melodramatic(Signs), laughable(The Village) or both(The Happening). All in all, a great film and one of Shyamalan's better ones. 9/10 Bethany Cox
It is a very well made film with beautiful, brooding cinematography and striking scenery. Unbreakable also features my personal favourite James Newton Howard score for any of his collaborations with Shyamalan, it is so gorgeous and subtle. Even with the odd draggy moment, Unbreakable does have a very enthralling story that resonated with me a lot. Like The Sixth Sense, it deals with the supernatural genre but takes it to a thought-provoking and surreal level.
The pace is measured, and for the most part it works. The script is thoughtfully written as well, the characters are interesting(I don't think Willis has had a more involving character than the one he has here) and Shyamalan's confidence and assurance further adds to the many impressive things about Unbreakable. Bruce Willis and Samuel L.Jackson are both fantastic, and one wonders why they didn't do more together.
Some have been dismissive of the ending, I actually thought it was fine, though I was underwhelmed by it on my first viewing a few years back. I did say before that The Sixth Sense's ending was the only one of a Shyamalan film that worked, after re-watching Unbreakable I take that back. I still think though the others were either needlessly melodramatic(Signs), laughable(The Village) or both(The Happening). All in all, a great film and one of Shyamalan's better ones. 9/10 Bethany Cox
M. Night Shyamalan seems to be proving himself quite the auteur. Unbreakable was the cinematic experience I had hoped it would be, especially after The Sixth Sense. A quiet sense of wonder permeated each and every scene, accomplished with some of the finest cinematography I've seen in the last couple of years. Director of Photography Eduardo Serra's execution is subtle, understated and absolutely beautiful.
Cinematography legend Greg Toland of Citizen Kane and The Grapes of Wrath fame would be proud of what this film accomplished artistically. I also couldn't help but notice all the long camera takes this film had, reminding me of a few Woody Allen films that let the actors act without the intrusion of the film making process, i.e.; getting a scene covered from multiple and sometimes meaningless camera angles just so the director and editor have something to work with in post production. The characters seem at times to be acting for the benefit of the others on screen rather than "us", the audience, lending a quality of voyeurism to quite a few scenes. The directors intent is quite clear to anyone wishing to delve a little bit deeper into the story and characters while appreciating how such a vision came to breath on film.
With regards to the story, Mr. Shyamalan and his crew have constructed something so rich in visual texture while managing to keep the story subdued and character development full of deep-seated anticipation. Every plot point came perfectly without any extra connotations that usually creep into a story such as this (super heroes?). Without any melodrama both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson give very authentic performances that help the film keep its "Any Town USA" and "Average Joe Six-pack" feel very much alive.
By virtue of ingenuity and most likely a meticulous preproduction period, Unbreakable manages to be a consummate clinic in directing, writing, acting, and cinematography. One of the best movies in the past decade.
Cinematography legend Greg Toland of Citizen Kane and The Grapes of Wrath fame would be proud of what this film accomplished artistically. I also couldn't help but notice all the long camera takes this film had, reminding me of a few Woody Allen films that let the actors act without the intrusion of the film making process, i.e.; getting a scene covered from multiple and sometimes meaningless camera angles just so the director and editor have something to work with in post production. The characters seem at times to be acting for the benefit of the others on screen rather than "us", the audience, lending a quality of voyeurism to quite a few scenes. The directors intent is quite clear to anyone wishing to delve a little bit deeper into the story and characters while appreciating how such a vision came to breath on film.
With regards to the story, Mr. Shyamalan and his crew have constructed something so rich in visual texture while managing to keep the story subdued and character development full of deep-seated anticipation. Every plot point came perfectly without any extra connotations that usually creep into a story such as this (super heroes?). Without any melodrama both Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson give very authentic performances that help the film keep its "Any Town USA" and "Average Joe Six-pack" feel very much alive.
By virtue of ingenuity and most likely a meticulous preproduction period, Unbreakable manages to be a consummate clinic in directing, writing, acting, and cinematography. One of the best movies in the past decade.
Interesting film and one of the greatest successes of the magnificent filmmaker Night Shyamalan . This intriguing picture with twist ending revolves around a security guard named David Dunn (Bruce Willis) who miraculously survives a catastrophic train crash outside Philadelphia . His marriage to Audrey (Robin Wright) is crumbling , and he's thinking of moving to New York . David learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident . He formerly had a car accident that was a pivotal point in David and Audrey's relationship. He meets a strange man (Samuel L Jackson) with Osteogenesis Imperfecta , a real but rare disease . At the end takes place a confrontation against a violent delinquent , some camera shots show David in a hooded raincoat , which may be to imply that he's some sort of a caped crusader.
A suspense thriller with supernatural overtone full of intrigue , emotion , surprise and plot twists . Shyamalan came up with the idea for the film while filming ¨The Sixth Sense¨ ; of all the films he's made , this is Shyamalan's personal favorite and of course is set in Philadelphia , like most of his films . He is an avid comic book fan, which was made apparent in this film . As in comic books, the main characters have their identified color schemes , David's is green and Elijah's is purple , they show up in their clothes, the wallpaper and bed sheets in their houses, Elijah's note to David, and various personal items, among others. Several camera angles were chosen to simulate the comic book device of a frame around each scene . Excellent performances from the two main characters , M. Night Shyamalan always had Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in mind to play the roles of David Dunn and Elijah Price. Enjoyable support cast as Robin Wright , Spencer Clark , Eamonn Walker , Leslie Stefanson and Charlayne Woodard, who plays the mother to Samuel L. Jackson's character, is actually almost a full 5 years younger than her on screen son . And as usual director M. Night Shyamalan makes cameo appearances in his own movies, like Alfred Hitchcock, one of his favorite directors , this time as a Stadium drug dealer . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Eduardo Serra . Marvelous and thrilling musical score by James Newton Howard who always works with the director . Well produced and directed by Night Shyamalam , many of his films have car crashes playing pivotal roles and involve two ordinary individuals with extraordinary abilities or events happening to them , one of the people either has connections to a child or is a child, and the one connected to the child is always having marital difficulties . Night Shyalaman is an expert on fantastic films plenty of intelligence and thought-provoking issues as proved in ¨Sings¨, ¨The village¨ , ¨Lady in the water¨ , ¨¨The incident¨ with exception to flop titled ¨Airbender¨ . Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching .
A suspense thriller with supernatural overtone full of intrigue , emotion , surprise and plot twists . Shyamalan came up with the idea for the film while filming ¨The Sixth Sense¨ ; of all the films he's made , this is Shyamalan's personal favorite and of course is set in Philadelphia , like most of his films . He is an avid comic book fan, which was made apparent in this film . As in comic books, the main characters have their identified color schemes , David's is green and Elijah's is purple , they show up in their clothes, the wallpaper and bed sheets in their houses, Elijah's note to David, and various personal items, among others. Several camera angles were chosen to simulate the comic book device of a frame around each scene . Excellent performances from the two main characters , M. Night Shyamalan always had Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in mind to play the roles of David Dunn and Elijah Price. Enjoyable support cast as Robin Wright , Spencer Clark , Eamonn Walker , Leslie Stefanson and Charlayne Woodard, who plays the mother to Samuel L. Jackson's character, is actually almost a full 5 years younger than her on screen son . And as usual director M. Night Shyamalan makes cameo appearances in his own movies, like Alfred Hitchcock, one of his favorite directors , this time as a Stadium drug dealer . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Eduardo Serra . Marvelous and thrilling musical score by James Newton Howard who always works with the director . Well produced and directed by Night Shyamalam , many of his films have car crashes playing pivotal roles and involve two ordinary individuals with extraordinary abilities or events happening to them , one of the people either has connections to a child or is a child, and the one connected to the child is always having marital difficulties . Night Shyalaman is an expert on fantastic films plenty of intelligence and thought-provoking issues as proved in ¨Sings¨, ¨The village¨ , ¨Lady in the water¨ , ¨¨The incident¨ with exception to flop titled ¨Airbender¨ . Rating : Better than average , worthwhile watching .
A massive train crash outside Philadelphia kills 132 passengers and leaves only one survivor. The survivor, security guard David Dunn walks away completely unhurt from the accident. Some time later he is contacted by comic book collector Elijah Price who believes that comic books are merely exaggerated versions of truth and that some people are created weak like him while some are created strong in order to protect the weak. David develops his talents with the support of Price and his son Joseph and, despite his cynicism, starts to try to use his powers to help people on need.
The 6th sense was always going to be a hard show to follow up but Shyamalan has managed to make a film that is almost as clever, emotive, thoughtful and slow. It even manages to end with a twist that is almost as good as sixth sense's was. The story moves quite slowly, almost painfully at times, however I found this succeeded in making the film feel more thoughtful and less glamorous. The director even shots the train crash in a very low key manner, as if to make the point that the film isn't about cheap spectacle or visual thrills. Instead we follow David as he finds his abilities and gradually accepts them, all this side is fascinating although some of the side stories are a little dragged out. The twist is only the icing on the cake and if you're into the characters the way I was then it is really impacting. One bit of advice - don't think about it or try to work it out. Thinking about the twist will stop you enjoying the main story and will spoil the film for yourself.
Willis is excellent - he doesn't set the world on fire, but he does a very low-key performance as a common man confronted with so much potential responsibility. He doesn't ham it up but you know that there's things going on inside his head that reflect on his face. Jackson is also really good - he maybe plays it a little too weird and should have been a bit more of a geek rather than an uptight art dealer sort. Willis and Jackson should keep making films together from now on, cause even there worst collaboration so far has still been good - Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, Die Hard With a Vengeance - it seems to be a winning partnership (Loaded Weapon 1 doesn't count as Willis is only in it for 5 seconds!). A surprise addition to the cast is Eamonn Walker as Dr Mathison, it's a small role but he is a fine actor and deserves to be seen in big films (check him out in HBO's Oz for a real show of his abilities).
Overall it's very slow and may frustrate some people, but if you got the 6th sense then you'll probably get this. The story is moving and thoughtful and the final scene is merely the icing on a very fine cake.
The 6th sense was always going to be a hard show to follow up but Shyamalan has managed to make a film that is almost as clever, emotive, thoughtful and slow. It even manages to end with a twist that is almost as good as sixth sense's was. The story moves quite slowly, almost painfully at times, however I found this succeeded in making the film feel more thoughtful and less glamorous. The director even shots the train crash in a very low key manner, as if to make the point that the film isn't about cheap spectacle or visual thrills. Instead we follow David as he finds his abilities and gradually accepts them, all this side is fascinating although some of the side stories are a little dragged out. The twist is only the icing on the cake and if you're into the characters the way I was then it is really impacting. One bit of advice - don't think about it or try to work it out. Thinking about the twist will stop you enjoying the main story and will spoil the film for yourself.
Willis is excellent - he doesn't set the world on fire, but he does a very low-key performance as a common man confronted with so much potential responsibility. He doesn't ham it up but you know that there's things going on inside his head that reflect on his face. Jackson is also really good - he maybe plays it a little too weird and should have been a bit more of a geek rather than an uptight art dealer sort. Willis and Jackson should keep making films together from now on, cause even there worst collaboration so far has still been good - Pulp Fiction, Unbreakable, Die Hard With a Vengeance - it seems to be a winning partnership (Loaded Weapon 1 doesn't count as Willis is only in it for 5 seconds!). A surprise addition to the cast is Eamonn Walker as Dr Mathison, it's a small role but he is a fine actor and deserves to be seen in big films (check him out in HBO's Oz for a real show of his abilities).
Overall it's very slow and may frustrate some people, but if you got the 6th sense then you'll probably get this. The story is moving and thoughtful and the final scene is merely the icing on a very fine cake.
The 'Glass' Connections Even the Cast Didn't Know
The 'Glass' Connections Even the Cast Didn't Know
Glass connects the worlds of Unbreakable and Split, but creator M. Night Shyamalan and stars Samuel L. Jackson and James McAvoy also have some surprising connections ...
Did you know
- TriviaWriter/director M. Night Shyamalan always had Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson in mind to play the roles of David Dunn and Elijah Price.
- GoofsAt the end of the movie, after it's revealed who Elijah is, the camera pans across his desk showing his research. One of the large newspaper headlines reads "Mudslide in Mexico: Kills All 'Expect' Newborn", but it should read "Kills All 'Except' Newborn".
- Quotes
Elijah Price: Do you know what the scariest thing is? To not know your place in this world, to not know why you're here. That's - that's just an awful feeling.
- Crazy creditsAs the DVD starts, the FBI warning shatters like a window breaking.
- Alternate versionsEarly previews of the movie didn't have the superimposed text in the ending, leaving the film more open-ended. The version with text was released in France in theaters, and the text was next included on home video and television airings of the movie.
- SoundtracksJust Out of Reach (Of My Two Open Arms)
(1951)
Written by Virgil F. Stewart (as V.F. ("Pappy") Stewart)
Performed by Solomon Burke
Courtesy of Rhino Entertainment Company
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $75,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $95,011,339
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $30,330,771
- Nov 26, 2000
- Gross worldwide
- $248,118,121
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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