An ordinary man makes an extraordinary discovery when a train accident leaves his fellow passengers dead — and him unscathed. The answer to this mystery could lie with the mysterious Elijah Price, a man who suffers from a disease that renders his bones as fragile as glass.
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Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film Cast:
- David Dunn: Bruce Willis
- Elijah Price: Samuel L. Jackson
- Audrey Dunn: Robin Wright
- Joseph Dunn: Spencer Treat Clark
- Mrs. Price: Charlayne Woodard
- Dr. Mathison: Eamonn Walker
- David Dunn, Age 20: Davis Duffield
- Elijah Prince: Johnny Hiram Jamison
- Audrey Dunn: Laura Regan
- Dr. Dubin: Michael Kelly
- Kelly: Leslie Stefanson
- Babysitter: Michaelia Carroll
- Physical Therapist: Whitney Sugarman
- Comic Book Clerk: Bostin Christopher
- Hostage Boy: John Patrick Amedori
- School Nurse: Elizabeth Lawrence
- Orange Suit Man: Chance Kelly
- Jai: M. Night Shyamalan
- Kevin Wendell Crumb: Joey Hazinsky
- Mrs. Crumb: Dianne Cotten Murphy
- Saleswoman: Johanna Day
- Businessman: Firdous Bamji
- Priest: James Handy
- Ancient Personnel Secretary: Sally Parrish
- Noel: Richard Council
- Green Army Jacketed Man: Damian Young
- Physician: Sherman Roberts
- Thermometer Boy: Sasha Joseph Neulinger
- Truck Driver: Jose L. Rodriguez
- Radio Announcer: Ukee Washington
- Shoplifter: Susan Wilder
- Slick Haired Man: Greg Horos
- Frat Party Boy: Todd Berry
- Frat Party Girl: Angela Eckert
- Hostage Father: Anthony Lawton
- Hostage Girl: Julia Yorks
- Security Dispatcher: John Rusk
- Bar Patron: Bill Rowe
- EastRail Engineer: Marc H. Glick
- Hospital Administrator: Andrea Havens
- Hostage Woman: Kim Simms Thomas
- Jenkins: Joey Perillo
Film Crew:
- Producer: Sam Mercer
- Costume Design: Joanna Johnston
- Orchestrator: James Newton Howard
- Editor: Dylan Tichenor
- Set Decoration: Gretchen Rau
- Executive Producer: Roger Birnbaum
- Executive Producer: Gary Barber
- Producer: Barry Mendel
- Casting: Douglas Aibel
- Stunts: Deborah Habberstad
- Stunt Coordinator: Jeff Habberstad
- Writer: M. Night Shyamalan
- Production Design: Larry Fulton
- Art Direction: Steve Arnold
- Stunts: Brian Smrz
- Extras Casting: Diane Heery
- Director of Photography: Eduardo Serra
- Key Grip: Billy Miller
- Key Hair Stylist: Francesca Paris
- In Memory Of: Elizabeth Lawrence
- Makeup Effects: Gregory Nicotero
- Makeup Effects: Howard Berger
- Steadicam Operator: Kyle Rudolph
- Casting Associate: Cindy Tolan
- ADR Supervisor: Michael Haight
- Stunts: Dean Raphael Ferrandini
- Key Makeup Artist: Bernadette Mazur
- Stunts: Don Picard
- Graphic Novel Illustrator: Derek Thompson
- Stunts: James C. Lewis
- Location Casting: Mike Lemon
- Script Supervisor: Dianne Dreyer
- First Assistant Director: John Rusk
- Stunt Double: Terry Jackson
- Dialogue Editor: Hugo Weng
- Foley: Gary A. Hecker
- Dialogue Editor: James Matheny
- Special Effects Supervisor: Steve Cremin
- Costume Supervisor: Pamela Wise
- Stunt Double: Kiante Elam
- Property Master: Kevin Ladson
- Sound Designer: Richard King
- Foley: Patricio A. Libenson
- Leadman: James V. Kent
- Still Photographer: Frank Masi
- Construction Coordinator: Paul Williams
- Location Manager: Andrew L. Ullman
- Visual Effects Editor: Thomas R. Bryant
- Chief Lighting Technician: Steven Litecky
- Underwater Director of Photography: Mike Thomas
- Sound Effects Editor: Randle Akerson
- Camera Operator: Gordon Hayman
- Stunts: Gregg Smrz
- Stunts: David Rowden
- Orchestrator: Brad Dechter
- Visual Effects Supervisor: Richard R. Hoover
- Music Editor: Thomas S. Drescher
- Construction Foreman: Paul Maiello
- Foley Editor: Christopher Flick
- Boom Operator: Linda Murphy
- Production Coordinator: Thomas ‘Doc’ Boguski
- Visual Effects Art Director: Mike Meaker
- Stunt Double: Dane Farwell
- Greensman: James Breen
- Tailor: Kara Morasco
- First Assistant Editor: Ladd Lanford
- Stunts: Carol Neilson
- Visual Effects Coordinator: Jodi Birdsong
- Tailor: Althea A. Unrath
- Tailor: Maria Vaughan
- 3D Artist: Charles Anderson
- 3D Artist: Louis Flores
- Visual Effects Producer: Diane Fazio
- Stunts: Shirley Smrz
- Stunts: Jim Stephan
- Stunts: Diane Reneé
- Stunts: Phoenix Nugent
- Stunts: Jon W. Kishi
- Dolly Grip: William Jones
- Stunts: Patricia Moyer
- Stunts: Chandra De Alessandro
Movie Reviews:
- John Chard: Soon found out had a heart of glass.
It often gets forgotten just what an exciting talent M. Night Shyamalan was during the early part of his film making career. True that Unbreakable, with its deliberate slow pacing and left-field narrative, would (and has) proved to be not everyone’s cup-o-tea, but there’s a film making craft here, and a genius idea brought to vivid life, that makes a spectrum of film lovers lament how his career nose dived, how his ideas quickly got as stupid as his acting…
Unbreakable challenges the thought process, spinning a story that’s of a adult comic book heart, but also of a clinical human examination. The narrative is consistently ambiguous, holding the patient viewers in enthral as the cosmic conundrums come tumbling off of the screen. It’s refreshing to find a story like this that is so devoid of cliché, where the wonderfully reflective Bruce Willis and the brilliantly fascinating Samuel L. Jackson feed off each other, their character’s destinies superbly steered by cast and director. Unbreakable is a complex movie, but not needlessly so, its strengths are numerous for those of a keen eye and ear. It represents Shyamalan’s most clever cinematic offering, to which the sad realisation comes to pass that he would never, as yet, be this smart and vibrant again. 10/10
- Gimly: Not The Shamhammer’s best, but certainly of the era when he was still making “good”.
Final rating:★★★ – I personally recommend you give it a go.
- MSB: If you enjoy reading my Spoiler-Free reviews, please follow my blog 🙂
What a movie! This is one of the most underrated films out there, and it was unfairly compared to The Sixth Sense at the time the former was released. These are two very different movies, but both of them have a lot of twists, which was what brought fame to Shyamalan’s films, especially The Sixth Sense.
Unbreakable follows that same methodology. It has a lot of twists throughout the runtime, and they are quite diverse: some are very technical twists, related to our point of view of a particular scene that, as it progresses, we always find ourselves tricked (these ones, most people either don’t catch them or just don’t care … For me, it’s proof of brilliant writing); the others are the prominent plot twists, where something unpredictable happens to the overall story.
This movie has all of that and much more. The story itself is incredibly captivating since the main plot holds a lot of mystery and suspense, but these only work as well as they did thanks to Shyamalan, both director and screenwriter. His very unconventional way of storytelling and the anxiety that he’s able to convey to some fantastic scenes, elevate the film while delivering a perfect narrative. It’s even more mind-blowing the fact that this movie still makes so much sense and it didn’t lose its replay value after 17 years!
In fact, I bet it would be a striking success nowadays, where the superhero genre is over-saturated. Each year, we get more and more movies following the excessively used genre’s formula that makes almost every blockbuster an instant box office hit. Unbreakable is nowhere near that formula, and I genuinely think that any fan of comic-book films must watch this one so everyone can understand what a “grounded superhero movie” actually means. M. Night Shyamalan wrote a story that everyone can appreciate, without all of those big CGI fights and overwhelming visual effects. Comic-book fan or not, Unbreakable is the closest to what reality would be if superheroes really existed.
Regarding the cast, Bruce Willis probably has his career-best dramatic performance in this film. He’s terrific as David and I can feel all of the emotions which he wants to transmit to the screen. Samuel L. Jackson brilliantly plays Elijah, who has a real-life disease which SLJ portrayed beautifully and respectfully. The supporting cast is also worth praising since both Robin Wright (Audrey Dunn) and Spencer Treat Clark (Joseph Dunn) play magnificent roles as the wife and son of David, respectively.
Everyone helped Shyamalan direct exquisite dialogue sequences that extended for minutes without end. The editing and production of this movie are unbelievable … and it was filmed in 2000! There are so many long, one-take scenes that explain in just a few minutes, everything you need to know about a character or a specific place or event … Even a full action sequence is filmed in just one-take (the stunt work is also pretty efficient)! The soundtrack is so important, especially in the last act where everything comes to a conclusion. It’s inspirational and even epic, I dare calling it. It’s just perfect! Throughout the runtime, you can barely notice it due to how subtle it is. However, when it is needed to deliver a new layer of feelings, it always raises the moment.
As discussed above, this is a M. Night Shyamalan film, so a very powerful twist right at the end needs to happen … and it does. It gives the audience an unpredictable perspective about the whole story. I risk myself in saying that it isn’t exactly necessary, but the truth is that it makes sense and it does bring the movie to a whole other level, so very, very well done! Finally, I just wish that this film had been released now. It is so much different than what we are used to watching and experiencing, that I dare to say it is one of the best movies inside this genre.
Once again, Shyamalan shows the audience why was he becoming one of the most popular directors/screenwriters and proves that his rather unconventional storytelling, unpredictable twists and excellent direction are skills to praise more often. Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson have great chemistry, but the former has his career-best dramatic performance. The editing, production, soundtrack and even the pacing of this film are entirely flawless, as well as the ending twist that leaves us with our jaws dropped. Unbreakable is one of the most underrated superhero movies ever, but it sits way on top as one of my favorites.
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