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Info Wanted: Did M. Night Shyamalan make changes to his movies when they hit DVD?

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My wife and I both think that there have been changes made to the DVD versions of Unbreakable and Signs. In Unbreakable, I swear that the original ending had no subtitles. I was recently watching my Vista Series Unbreakable DVD and was shocked to see this. The way I remember it, the scene plays out the same way as on the DVD, but without the messages regarding the Bruce Willis and Sam Jackson characters. The shock and devastation felt by David Dunn can be felt much better by the audience without the quick and dirty explanation of what happens to Elijah. I swear I have seen it without the ending text, but the problem is I can’t remember where. I don’t think that I saw the movie in the theater, so maybe what I saw was a VHS? I’m hoping somebody here can help me out.

The other change we noticed was in Signs. When Mel Gibson’s character is in that guy’s kitchen and the alien’s hand comes out from under the door we remember it differently. In the theater, the hand comes out very briefly and is a greenish color. On the DVD, the hand is shown for what seems like several seconds more and is very reddish in color. The Unbreakable change is something that only I noticed, but this one in Signs is something we both agree on.

Has anyone else noticed this about these movies or anything else about M. Night Shyamalan’s films? It looks to me like he is pulling a George Lucas and I really would like to know that I am not going crazy here.

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IMDb on Unbreakable
Early previews of the movie didn't have the superimposed text ending, leaving a more open ending.

Don't know where you woulda seen that version. Bootleg, mayhaps?

Can't help you out on Signs. I remember jumping at the first sight of the hand, but I can't remember if it lingered or not.

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In response to Unbreakable, the film could have been poorly framed by the projectionist. I don't recall seeing any Elvin subtitles in The Fellowship of the Ring (I remember this quite well as I was very confused during some scenes). That could be it. The subtitles in Unbreakable were definetely there in theaters, I can tell you that.

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The titles at the end of Unbreakable also go a long way toward singlehandedly ruining a good film.
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"The titles at the end of Unbreakable also go a long way toward singlehandedly ruining a good film."


I agree with you one hundred percent. That is why I was shocked when I saw them.


"Don't know where you woulda seen that version. Bootleg, mayhaps?"


I don't think that I saw Unbreakable in the theater. I probably rented it as I know I've never seen a bootleg of the movie.

It could have been something else now that I think of it. Although it is not advertised, I believe that Giant Eagle's Iggle Video edits some of their movies. I had caught Disturbing Behavior on TV one night and started to watch from about midway through. There was a scene where James Marsden and Katie Holmes hook-up before going back into town to save his little sister. I wanted to see the whole movie so I went out one night and rented it from Giant Eagle. I brought it home and after watching it was quite surprised to find that the scene where they got it on was missing. They went right from scene previous to driving back to town. I was once again beside myself trying to figure out if I imagined the whole thing. At some point later I got to see it again and the scene was intact. Does this mean that Giant Eagle edits their movies for sexual content? I don't know for sure. At the time most of my rentals came from there and so I don't have a point of reference. It probably would have been while I still going there that I would have rented Unbreakable. It is possible that the version I remember came from there. I don't live near a Giant Eagle anymore so I can't test my theory.

I know this sounds a little far fetched, but I am not making any of this up. Just wish I had some proof of what I'm talking about.