FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: The Happening [DVD] [2008]

The Happening [DVD] [2008]
enlarge	Director: M. Night Shyamalan Actors: Mark Wahlberg, Zooey Deschanel, John Leguizamo, Betty Buckley, Ashlyn Sanchez Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £2.45 as of 21/11/2009 23:55 GMT details You Save: £17.54 (88%) New (26) Used (29) from £1.95 Seller: si_wadd Rating: 68 reviews Sales Rank: 7282 Format: PAL, Widescreen, Dolby, Digital Sound Language: English (Original Language) Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 86 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5039036038706 ASIN: B001CV18SY Theatrical Release Date: 2008 Release Date: November 3, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


Similar Items: The Mist [DVD] [2007] Lady In The Water [DVD] [2006] The Strangers [DVD] [2008] The Abandoned [DVD] [2007] Wind Chill [DVD] [2007]


Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review You'd expect the end of the world to be no day in the park, but in M. Night Shyamalan's iThe Happening/i, a day in the park is where the end begins. One otherwise peaceful summer morning, New Yorkers strolling in Central Park come to a halt in unison, then begin killing themselves by any means at hand. At a high-rise construction site a few blocks over, it's raining bodies as workers step off girders into space. And all the while, the city is so quiet you can hear the gentle breeze in the trees. That breeze carries a neurotoxin, and what or who put it there (terrorists?) is a question raised periodically as the film unfolds. But the question that really matters is how and whether anybody in the Middle Atlantic states is going to stay alive.p/p iThe Happening/i is Shyamalan's best film since iThe Sixth Sense/i, partly because he avoids the kind of egregious misjudgment that derailed iThe Village/i and iLady in the Water/i, but mostly because the whole thing has been structured and imagined to keep faith with the point of view of regular, unheroic folks confronted with a mammoth crisis. Focal characters are a Philadelphia high-school science teacher (Mark Wahlberg, excellent), his wife (Zooey Deschanel) and math-teacher colleague (John Leguizamo), and the latter's little girl (Ashlyn Sanchez). Instinct says get out of the cities and move west; most of the film takes place in the delicately picturesque Pennsylvania countryside, with menace hovering somewhere in the haze. There are no special effects (apart from a wind machine and some breakaway glass), but the movie manages to be deeply unsettling in the matter-of-factness of its storytelling. Especially effective is its feel for what we might call the surrealism of banality. One warning sign that someone has been infected by the neurotoxin is irrational or erratic speech and behavior, yet Shyamalan has a genius for dialogue that sounds normal and everyday as it's spoken, yet flies apart grenade-like a second later as its logic (or illogic) sinks in. Then there's Deschanel's eye-rolling dodginess about the messages some guy has been leaving on her cellphone. Or the fellow (Frank Collis) who addresses his greenhouse plants as though they were his children--has a stray toxic zephyr wafted his way, or is this just his idea of normal? i--Richard T. Jameson, Amazon.com/i

Customer Reviews: Showing reviews 1-5 of 68 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...14 Next » Chilling and unusually effective... September 18, 2008 D. Jackson (UK) 29 out of 43 found this review helpful Just a little something before you read on: Remember this review is from the perspective of a committed Shyamalan fan! br / br /M. Night Shyamalan is the kind of film director you really have to have patience with. As proved with nearly all of his previous films, he manages to produce the most terrifying of shocks from the most simple of situations. What is good about The Happening however, is that Shyamalan finally reveals his 'dark side'; it nearly came out in his 1999 chiller The Sixth Sense, but in this film, we're properly introduced to the bigger and better scares! br / br /The Happening is a very worthy mix of creepy, unnerving and terrifying horror, with added environmental disaster blockbuster, and a little sprinkle of love story! br / br /Strangely, the plot is quite simple: An evil gas is progressing over the globe, causing people to 'completely loose any sense of self preservation' and murder themselves. Multiple suicides in and around New York City make way for some effective shocks -only a director like Shyamalan can make people dropping like rain off of skyscrapers strangely beautiful- then about 20 minutes in, we join a number of different surviving groups being mysteriously thrown off a train into 'the middle of nowhere'. To mention any more of the plot would totally spoil it for you. br / br /Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel play the main couple as they pursue across the eerie countryside with Shyamalan's usual cast of unusual characters. The Happening relies a surprising amount on its characters to make its scares effective: There's a fantastic appearance from Betty Buckley playing a brilliantly creepy old Hichcockian crazy lady, who takes care of the best scare in the whole film. (The lady I was sat next to in the cinema sprayed half her bucket of popcorn over me when she jumped!) br / br /Other than straight-forward scares to keep his audience glued, Shyamalan -as always- concentrates heavily on creating an extremely creepy atmosphere. The scenes in a totally motionless New York are pretty frightening, but when the cast have fled to the hills, the eeriness of all that wide-open, abandoned space makes you feel weirdly vulnerable and edgy. (Even though it's hard not to laugh at Mark Wahlberg having a conversation with a plastic plant!) br / br /Unfortunately, though -ignoring the good stuff for a moment- M. Night has attached The Happening to a cheesy and sometimes even slightly off-putting script- I lost count on how many times things like, "I can't believe this is happening!" were said! Also, having written The Happening too, Shyamalan's story doesn't flow like some of his previous films did (The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, The Village, Lady In The Water etc), it seems to plod along at a rather uneven pace. And finally -which is what most other reviewers have picked up on- there's Mark Wahlberg's acting. I've never really been a fan of his, and as Shyamalan's scripts are normally extremely character-driven, Whalberg just hasn't quite got the acting abilities to carry the film and pull it off, the way in which Bruce Willis / Bryce Dallas Howard have done in Shyamalan's previous films. br / br /Anyway, Fans of M. Night Shyamalan's previous works are most likely to admire The Happening and see the obvious similarities to The Sixth Sense and The Village. However, the members of the audience who've not been treated beforehand are likely to be left scratching their heads, wondering whether they liked The Happening or they hated it! In my opinion though, this is fantastic stuff. Can't wait for the DVD! br / Best Shyamalan film since Unbreakable October 14, 2008 Mark Bonatti (Scotland) 3 out of 4 found this review helpful I thought this film was great! Yes the acting is pretty damn poor and the plot paper thin, but it is definitely more than the sum of its parts. What got me is that this film is, intentionally,very funny. A light hearted look at an ever inevitable apocalypse. People are dying in the most horrendous fashions all around (the "ripped apart by lions" taking the gold here, closely followed by the lawnmower incident) and yet the acting manages to maintain a hammy, tongue in cheek demenour which keeps you smiling. I thought Wahlberg was great, not sure if his acting was particularly bad or if Shyamalan purposfully wanted it that way but either or it still works a treat. Zooey Deschanel found the perfect vehicle to display her complete lack of talent and works well with Wahlberg. br /I realise this review sounds rather sarcastic but I assure you it's not! The lack of acting is what I liked most about the film. Coupled with the nice effects, interesting concept and abundance of violent deaths, Shyamalan has managed to create his usual perplexing oddity without the need for his usual tool of choice - the inevitable plot twist. br /Bemusing, funny, horrendous and original. Well worth a look. An interesting concept October 10, 2008 T. V. Coceal (UK) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful I liked it! Basically you have to accept that this was Shamalan's way of looking at climate change and turning it into a horror story. I thought it was pretty good and would recommend it. Of course you have to treat it as purely entertainment rather than infotainment when you watch it. But I think he has done it well. I an looking forward to seeing the extended cut. A shockingly great film October 17, 2008 Mr. Neil Mitchell (Birmingham, UK) 2 out of 3 found this review helpful Well I have seen the comments of others on the site and agree with a lot I have read. I have just got off of a flight where I watched this and was totally enthralled by the whole film... Yes, Mark Wahlberg is a bit wooden but that does not take away from the great set pieces in this film. br / br /My wife and I have discussed it a lot since we have seen it and have both been moved by different elements of the film. I think this film is different from anything I have seen before and am very pleased to have seen it. Will also purchase when released on DVD. br / br /Give it a go... Edge of your seat! March 28, 2009 Jenifer Jones (Wales) 2 out of 4 found this review helpful Love this man's films - this is no exception, we were hooked within 5 mins!!! Showing reviews 1-5 of 68 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...14 Next »

CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON EU S.à.r.l. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED ‘AS IS’ AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.