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For those of
you who have no idea who M. Night Shyamalan
is, well… you obviously don’t
get out to the movies much. Shyamalan is
the write/director behind the films “The
Sixth Sense”, Unbreakable”,
“Signs” and the more recent
“The Village.” Since the release
and popularity of “The Sixth Sense”,
Shyamalan has developed a reputation for
delivering films that end with highly unexpected
twists. In my own personal opinion, Shyamalan
is enormously talented and I have yet to
be let down by any of his work.
However, I do have one small problem with
the reputation that follows his career and
that is one of limitations. Watching his
films, it is obvious that he has a terrific
eye for the way a movie should look. Every
shot is so beautifully composed that even
if the work has a few slow spots, the visual
alone is enough to sustain an audience’s
attention. Unfortunately, this reputation
has limited the type of work that he has
done and in some ways made the follow up
films to “The Sixth Sense” a
bit weaker in their delivery of the now
expected ’twist.’
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I would have rather seen Shyamalan direct a couple
of different style films in between his signature
works. This would have allowed him to prove himself
as the great filmmaker he undeniably is, and made
the endings in his subsequent films a little less
expected in their ‘unexpectedness.’
In other words, the surprises might have been
a little more surprising is filmgoers didn’t
know something was coming.
This is why I had extremely mixed feelings about
the filming of “The Buried of M. Night Shyamalan”,
both when it originally aired on the Sci-Fi Channel
last year and upon its DVD release this week.
The ‘documentary’ proposes to give
viewers a look into the life of Shyamalan, and
in doing so uncover secret experiences that led
to the movies he’s written and directed.
It paints a picture of a mysterious, and perhaps
troubled, artist whose work is a reflection of
his dark past. The problem is… its all fake.
Much like the fake ‘documentary’ that
was filmed and released prior to the release of
“The Blair Witch Project”, “The
Buried of M. Night Shyamalan” was meant
as a marketing tool to sell Shyamalan’s
new film, “The Village.” Viewers were
meant to believe the hype that was built around
this ‘documentary’ and in doing so,
make them all the more interested in seeing the
film. I’m not sure whose idea this was,
and I’d love to know Shyamalan’s take
on it, because in the end it backfired. The truth
came out prior to it’s being aired and as
opposed to everyone ‘getting the joke’,
people were enraged. So much so, that the Sci-Fi
Channel issued an apology.
That said, if you watch “The Buried of M.
Night Shyamalan” with the knowledge that
it is a total fake, it’s actually an entertaining,
and somewhat funny piece of work. It’s extremely
well-made, and you can see why some people might
buy into it if they are not already armed with
the knowledge that it’s a fake. It is full
of interviews with the stars of “The Village”,
and even features one with actor Johnny Depp,
who supposedly refuses to work with Shyamalan
because he is such a controlling director. What’s
interesting is to listen closely to the answers
being given by the interviewees and how scripted
they sound. Occasionally you can even catch the
exact same use of phrases in some of the answers,
coming from two different sources. The mystery
of the ‘documentary’ is later enhanced
when it appears there is trouble on the set of
“The Village”, and the film crew is
suddenly denied entry and Shyamalan acts as though
he wants the documentary’s production shut
down.
So going back to my mixed feelings bout “The
Buried of M. Night Shyamalan”, they stem
from the simple fact that it should have been
originally promoted as a fake as opposed to a
‘real and in-depth’ look at Shyamalan.
The reality of the matter is that Shyamalan, for
all intents and purposes, is a really nice and
unassuming guy who just really loves making movies.
He is not some mysterious figure hovering outside
the fringes of Hollywood, and to paint him as
such cheapens his talent as a filmmaker. The documentary
is very funny and definitely worth a watch, but
shouldn’t be sold as something it is not.
As for the DVD release (timed to coincide with
the release of “The Village”), the
same complaint still remains in effect. Nowhere
on the disc does it say that it is a fake. The
studio is still trying to sell it as a real documentary,
and unfortunately people are going to fall for
it.
Director: Nathaniel Kahn
Specifications: Widescreen (1.78:1) Enhanced for
16x9 Televisions, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Studio: Buena Vista
Release Date: 1/11/2005
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
Website
We'll give The Buried Secret of M Night Shyamalan
a C.
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