Unbreakable (2000)

A man learns something extraordinary about himself after a devastating accident.

Director:

M. Night Shyamalan

Writer:

M. Night Shyamalan

Stars:

Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright

2 wins & 13 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Willis	...	David Dunn
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Elijah Price
Robin Wright	...	Audrey Dunn (as Robin Wright Penn)
Spencer Treat Clark	...	Joseph Dunn
Charlayne Woodard	...	Elijah's Mother
Eamonn Walker	...	Dr. Mathison
Leslie Stefanson	...	Kelly
Johnny Hiram Jamison	...	Elijah Age 13
Michaelia Carroll	...	Babysitter
Bostin Christopher	...	Comic Book Clerk
Elizabeth Lawrence	...	School Nurse
Davis Duffield	...	David Dunn Age 20 (as David Duffield)
Laura Regan	...	Audrey Inverso Age 20
Chance Kelly	...	Orange Suit Man
Michael Kelly	...	ER Doctor

Storyline

Actor Bruce Willis and writer/director M. Night Shyamalan reunite after the surprise success of The Sixth Sense for this supernatural thriller. David Dunn (Willis) is taking a train from New York City back home to Philadelphia after a job interview that didn't go well when his car jumps the tracks and collides with an oncoming engine, with David the only survivor among the 131 passengers on board. Astoundingly, David is not only alive, he hardly seems to have been touched. As David wonders what has happened to him and why he was able to walk away, he encounters a mysterious stranger, Elijah Prince (Samuel L. Jackson), who explains to David that there are a certain number of people who are "unbreakable" -- they have remarkable endurance and courage, a predisposition toward dangerous behavior, and feel invincible but also have strange premonitions of terrible events. Is David "unbreakable"? And if he is, what are the physical and psychological ramifications of this knowledge?

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Plot Keywords:

train crash | supernatural power | invulnerability | train station | first part | 

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Taglines:

Shattering cinemas soon.

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements including some disturbing violent content, and for a crude sexual reference

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 November 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

No Ordinary Man

Filming Locations:

Ontario Street Comic Book Shop, 2235 E. Ontario St., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$75,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$30,330,771, 26 November 2000, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$95,011,339

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$154,500,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Touchstone Pictures, Blinding Edge Pictures, Barry Mendel Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first comic that Elijah receives is an issue of "Active Comics". The logo is deliberately reminiscent of the original logo of "Action Comics", the series that introduced Superman.

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Goofs

At several points they show comic book images which are supposed to be from the "silver age", the 1950s-1960s. However, the art displayed in them is not accurate for the period and is closer to the style predominant in the industry in the 1990s.

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Quotes

Elijah Price: It's alright to be afraid, David, because this part won't be like a comic book. Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it.

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Crazy Credits

The producers wish to thank: Miramax Films

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Alternate Versions

Several deleted scenes are included in the DVD: They include:

• Audrey and Joseph sitting in the hospital waiting room, awaiting information about if David survived. She tries to cheer him up by buying him all the sugary foods and drink he usually can't have.
• A scene showing TV footage of the wreck, while through the cracked open door we see someone in the shower. The scene cuts into the shower and we see David crying.
• Elijah at age 7 goes to the fair and gets on a spinning teacup ride. He uses two stuffed animals to hold himself in place, and wraps his jacket along the lap bar. Eventully, the animals and jacket fall off the ride as his mother watches in horror. He then goes swinging from side to side breaking his bones.
• After the wake, David sees a priest about his survival. The priest sets his priesthood aside to tell David that it was nothing but luck, and how he had a nephew on that train that died. He also tells of other tragedies he had, and that if David was looking for some kind of miracle answer, he won't find it from him.
• Audrey calls David pretending it's their first meeting and asks him to dinner. They go out and talk, when one of Audrey's friends comes in and says how David is cute and what kind of lawyer he is. The friend realizes that shouldn't have been said, and leaves while David becomes a bit upset.
• David checking on Joseph to make sure he is sleeping okay.
• Elijah is taken away by doctors after talking to Audrey.
• David goes to the locker room at the stadium to lift more weights and lifts around 500 pounds. When he gets up, he sees the entire football team watching in awe.

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Connections

Referenced in Kanye West: College Dropout - Video Anthology (2005)

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Soundtracks

I've Been Tired
(1987)
Written by Frank Black (as Black Francis)
Performed by Pixies (as The Pixies)
Courtesy of Elektra Entertainment Group/4AD
By Arrangement with Warner Special Products

User Reviews

Slow, thoughtful and clever -but the lack of traditional action or thrills may frustrate some

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.