"Unbreakable" seems to be a movie that people either love or hate. For those of you in the 'love' camp, the double disc DVD release is a must have.
Moody blue hues and a subdued colour scheme dominate the look of the film. The transfer of these delicate shades to disc is impeccable.
Subtle atmospherics wreathe the speakers in expectant ambience throughout the movie, and the music score is powerfully enhanced with superior subwoofer track that's not over-dominant.
While not bursting with extra features, the quality of the ones you get are very good indeed. More importantly, they're actually interesting and that can be a rarity with blockbuster DVDs.
Anyone with a 5.1 set-up will appreciate the 'Train Station Scene' featurette. There are two visual angles of completed film or animated storyboards for you to look at, but it's the options for your speakers that are rather more fun.
You can either choose the final track, or music only, or effects only. All the alternatives are in 5.1 and the effect of the different layers is very interesting, each adding their own unique resonance to the scene. The finished soundtrack demonstrates what to expect from the movie on DVD, and it really is a wrap-around delight that's not shy on thundering bass.
Director M Night Shyamalan introduces seven deleted scenes, all of which are finished articles in 5.1. He explains how he was sad to pull each of them, but justifies the cuts well. Some of the scenes are actually rather good, especially where Bruce Willis discovers just how strong he is.
There's also a behind the scenes featurette, and another one on comic book heroes. Both feature interviews with cast and crew that avoid the usual cheese that we've come to expect with these big titles.
Definitely of interest to any aspiring film maker is a clip from one of Shyamalan's home made movies. It's got his first ever fight scene in it and, as he admits, "It's awful." It's also rather entertaining, especially as Shyamalan clearly has no hang-ups about letting us see it.
Region: 2
Ratio: 2.35:1 (anamorphic)
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Extra Features:
Disc one:
- Scene selection, animated menus, and English subtitles
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- Comic book featurette hosted by Samuel L Jackson
- Multi-angle, multi-sound track train station scene deconstruction
- M Night Shyamalan's first action sequence
- Seven deleted scenes, all introduced by M Night Shyamalan