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A period spooker about a rural community hemmed in by forest-dwelling beasties marked writer/director M Night Shyamalan's latest attempt to out-twist The Sixth Sense. But The Village, starring Bryce Dallas Howard, met with some hostility from critics and moviegoers over its "gleefully manipulative" climax. That, however, did not stop worldwide audiences flocking to see it.
The Village People
"It was set in the 1800s because I wanted to write about innocence," remarks Shyamalan - without a trace of irony - in Shooting The Village. This featurette gives a rare glimpse into the pre-production phase as Shyamalan cements his ideas in the storyboard format. When the cameras finally roll, there's a palpable sense of camaraderie, not just between the actors, but between the actors and their director. In fact it's all very cosy until a freak blizzard threatens to shut down production.
A look at Casting picks up on what Shyamalan has already said about the notion of innocence, embodied by fresh-faced novice Bryce Dallas Howard. Other than that, there's the usual backslapping and shameless gushing that occurs when actors and filmmakers are required to talk about each other. However, Boot Camp is where the actors get real, preparing for the rigours of 19th-century life in this interesting but very short featurette. Particularly fascinating is Sigourney Weaver's excitement at learning how to "crotch a sheep". We're not quite sure what that means, but we know it's dirty and wrong.
Sound effects were vital in conveying the plight of Howard's character (who is blind), hence an entire featurette dedicated to post-production. But again this doesn't go into too much depth at only 3½ minutes. An inside look at the scoring of the film is similarly brief, but notable for showcasing the prodigious talents of 24-year-old violinist Hilary Hahn. And try not to laugh at Those We Do Not Speak Of, which throws the spotlight on "the things" that live in the woods. Shyamalan admits the towering bigfoots "looked silly" at first, but apparently, throwing red capes over their backs made all the difference...
A Babe In The Woods
Shyamalan provides introductions for five deleted scenes, which don't add very much to what we already know. A sequence titled The Drill is especially pointless; as the villagers huddle in pitch-black darkness, fumbling and coughing, it's like going to the cinema and watching the audience instead of the film. To make up for it, Shyamalan treats us to a home movie from a selection of shorts he made as a teenager. Think of it as The Blair Witch Project meets Indiana Jones. (Actually it's better than The Blair Witch Project.)
Finally Bryce Dallas Howard adds a novel touch to this DVD by reading excerpts from a journal she kept during the shoot. It mightn't be as witty as Bridget Jones's Diary and there's a fair bit of flowery actor's angst ("Who is this girl, Ivy? I. V. Ivy, Ivy, Ivy, Eye-veeey!") but it's mostly very endearing eg she confesses: "When I first met Adrien Brody, I went totally red!"
Disappointingly Shyamalan doesn't offer an audio commentary to accompany the feature, which, along with the brevity of featurettes, makes The Village rather lightweight on DVD. Still fans of the movie will appreciate this DVD for its quirk appeal - oh, and sheep crotchers should get something out of it too.
EXTRA FEATURES
