A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 34 nominations
- Mexico City Reporter
- (voice)
- (as Paul Nolan)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaJoaquin Phoenix replaced Mark Ruffalo, who had to pull out of the film due to a brain tumor. It was later found to be benign.
- GoofsThey nail boards on the outside of inward-opening doors. Obviously this isn't going to prevent the doors from being opened, but anything is better than nothing and they're panicking anyway. Moreover, when Merrill asks Graham how they will know if boarding the windows will work, Graham replies, "Because they seem to have trouble with pantry doors". Graham is implying that if the aliens have trouble with pantry doors, boarding them can only help. Doing so also may give everyone, especially the children, a sense of hope and/or security.
- Quotes
Graham Hess: People break down into two groups. When they experience something lucky, group number one sees it as more than luck, more than coincidence. They see it as a sign, evidence, that there is someone up there, watching out for them. Group number two sees it as just pure luck. Just a happy turn of chance. I'm sure the people in group number two are looking at those fourteen lights in a very suspicious way. For them, the situation is a fifty-fifty. Could be bad, could be good. But deep down, they feel that whatever happens, they're on their own. And that fills them with fear. Yeah, there are those people. But there's a whole lot of people in group number one. When they see those fourteen lights, they're looking at a miracle. And deep down, they feel that whatever's going to happen, there will be someone there to help them. And that fills them with hope. See what you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, that sees miracles? Or do you believe that people just get lucky? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?
- Crazy creditsThe end credits are black text that rolls over a black screen with a illuminated blue circle in the middle, instead of the traditional white text on a flat black background.
- Alternate versionsThere is actually an alternative version of this movie, which had different noises for the aliens, prior to release. The noises did not make into the final product. The aliens sounded more demonic than the mostly (although equally scary) alien noises they ended up having. It alone could have gotten the movie an R on the basis of "terror" alone. It was mostly edited out to keep the movie from being too dark, although some of the things about the aliens were demonic, and kept in the movie. "Signs" got away with a lot for a PG-13 movie. To find them, via the comments, go to the Youtube video to the "Signs" trailer, courtesy of user Rob Jackson (the Rotten Videos group's copy of the video; just type "Signs 2002 trailer Rotten Videos," and look for Rob Jackson's comments, they have the links to some of the clips from that version; courtesy of user Kaylin Starlight).
- ConnectionsEdited into Signs: Deleted Scenes (2003)
The story is an unusual mix of meditative religious and classic sci-fi elements blended together by Shyamalan's remarkable sense of visual style. Mel Gibson is a minister who has lost his faith in the wake of his wife's tragic accidental death and who now rejects the concept of unseen powers entirely--so he is nonplussed when his children discover a crop circle in his own cornfield. He remains skeptical even as television news coverage reports alien crafts hovering over major cities. But his denial is exploded when he and his family have a close encounter of the extremely nasty kind.
The small cast is extremely, extremely good. I generally dislike Mel Gibson as an actor, but he has grown a bit since his macho-bravado BRAVEHEART days, and while he might seem an unlikely choice for the part of a failed minister he carries it extremely well. Joaquin Phoenix is perfectly cast as Gibson's younger brother, and the children--Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin--are flawless.
What isn't flawless is the story. The blend of religious and sci-fi motifs is an interesting idea, but director Shyamalan (who also wrote the script) doesn't quite manage to hold them in balance, and ultimately winds up beating you over the head with the film's religious elements while giving the sci-fi elements the short end of the stick. I did appreciate the fact that the film builds suspense more by what it does not show than what it does, and I have no qualm with that--it's a welcome choice after such special effects overkill as INDEPENDENCE DAY and the like--but several of his plot devices smack of stereotype, and the film's conclusion is such a deus ex machina that it is not to be believed. There is indeed a great deal to admire about the film, but when all is said and done it somehow lacks sincerity and falls just short of the mark. Entertaining nonetheless.
Gary F. Taylor, aka GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Señales
- Filming locations
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- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $72,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $227,966,634
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $60,117,080
- Aug 4, 2002
- Gross worldwide
- $408,247,917
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1