The Sixth Sense

"Not every gift is a blessing."

1999 1h 47m EN

🙌

8.0

BANGER

🍅

86%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

8.2

IMDB

★8.0TMDB · 13,399🍅86%Rotten Tomatoes●64Metacritic★8.2IMDB · 1,136,530

MysteryThrillerDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret.

“Not every gift is a blessing.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Bruce Willis
Malcolm Crowe
Haley Joel Osment
Cole Sear
Toni Collette
Lynn Sear
Olivia Williams
Anna Crowe
Trevor Morgan
Tommy Tammisimo
Donnie Wahlberg
Vincent Gray
Peter Anthony Tambakis
Darren
Jeffrey Zubernis
Bobby

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Writers: M. Night Shyamalan, Brick Mason
Languages: English, Latin, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $673M — a 16.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

27 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Latin, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Andrew Mondshein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Not every gift is a blessing.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

M. Night Shyamalan directs. Tak Fujimoto behind the camera. James Newton Howard scores. Andrew Mondshein cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, Latin, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Grossed $673M — a 16.8× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
227 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, Latin, Spanish.
4Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by James Newton Howard. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Andrew Mondshein shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Not every gift is a blessing.".
9IMDB entry: tt0167404 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
1013,399 TMDB user ratings logged — serious cultural footprint.
11Classified under 27 themes, including "dying and death", "child abuse", "philadelphia, pennsylvania", "sense of guilt".
12Released under 24 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Original score: James Newton Howard
Editing: Andrew Mondshein
Production design: Larry Fulton
Costume design: Joanna Johnston
Makeup / hair: Michal Bigger
Sound: Michael Kirchberger
Stunt coordinator: Jeff Habberstad
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $672,800,000
Return: 1682% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Sixth Sense (1999)
Rotten Tomatoes: 86% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 64/100
IMDB rating: 8.2/10 · 1,136,530 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

Nominated for 6 Oscars. 37 wins & 56 nominations total

Also by

M. Night Shyamalan

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-10-18
★ 10/10
The Sixth Sense phenomenon. Child psychiatrist Malcolm Crowe takes on the case of a deeply troubled boy named Cole Sear. At first Cole is reluctant to be helped, but as Malcolm gets closer to the boy, Malcolm learns the root of Cole's fears, he claims he sees ghosts. The Sixth Sense was a monster hit back in 1999, a deftly crafted ghost story with a kicker that was talked about by all and sundry, the box office bulged and the critics did rave. Nowadays you will find hundreds of people proclaiming that the film is boringly formulaic, that they worked out the film's premise easily in the first quarter of the film, or that the film is a mere cliché, funny how I don't remember it like that back in 1999! The box office bulged because many went to see the film more than once, they went (myself included) back to see just how director M. Night Shyamalan (Academy Award Nominated Best Director) managed to bluff us and pull the rug from under our feet. I remember vividly both times I saw it in the cinema, the crucial turning point of the piece bringing a collective audible gasp from the viewers sunken in their respective seats, that's the sort of impact that carries a film's reputation far and wide, and that's the reason why I will never rate the film lower than 10/10. Repeat viewings of The Sixth Sense obviously dim its star appeal because we know the tricks of the directors trade, but the film still ranks to me as one of the best of its type for so many other reasons rarely mentioned. The writing from Shyamalan (Academy Award Nominated Best Screenplay) is surprisingly complex, the piece masquerading as a horror picture is emotionally charged, linking children with the paranormal through loss and a need for understanding, the need for closure of unresolved differences, but chiefly and crucial to the film's heart is the message of connection before it's too late. The performances are incredible, Bruce Willis as Malcolm Crowe is perfectly understated, all the pointers for the denouement are there for us to see, but such is the actors performance, and we now know he is cutely having to play his cards close to his chest, are hidden from us until the revisit of the picture reveals it all. Hayley Joel Osment (Academy Award Nominated Best Supporting Actor) is wonderful, for a child performance in a film of this type to not be over sentimental, is quite an achievement. Sympathetic Cole may be, but Osment never lets it become less than the accepted level of child vulnerability. Rounding out the great trio of leads is Toni Collette (Academy Award Nominated Best Supporting Actress) as Cole's mother, Lynn, fabulous in portraying the love and confusion in Cole's troubled world, this story arc between the two is expertly realised. The direction from Shyamalan is very restrained, forgoing out and out shock value for periods of disquiet, he uses sounds to make the audience sense the unease unfolding in this creepy tale, while his camera work, full of draw ins and pull outs-and subtle side shifts, is adroitly in tone with the narrative. The score from James Newton Howard flits beautifully between the uneasy periods and the sustained moments of query, while Tak Fujimoto's cinematography puts a gorgeous funereal texture over this part of Philadelphia. If you haven't seen it then don't believe the naysayers, because The Sixth Sense deserved every penny/cent it made, its a wonderful, creepy, and yes, at times, a beautiful picture. A film that still ranks as one of the best ghost stories ever crafted. 10/10
Wuchak2020-12-05
★ 7/10
Bruce Willis stars in Shyamalan’s supernatural drama/mystery A child psychologist (Bruce Willis) tries to help a boy (Haley Joel Osment) who has a unique problem (or gift) and is called a “freak” by his peers. Olivia Williams plays the wife of the therapist and Toni Collette the mother of the boy. Written & directed by M. Night Shyamalan, "The Sixth Sense" (1999) was his breakout film. It’s a slow-burn drama with paranormal elements. When my wife & I first saw it we didn’t know anything about the story except everyone was raving about it; and the ending really does elicit a ‘Wow’ response. Seeing it again, I was wondering if the movie works if you know the big reveal and it does. While the drama’s a little tedious, it’s refreshing compared to modern blockbusters with their idiotic explosions every five minutes. Furthermore, the film is aesthetically pleasing, which is helped by the unique locations (Philadelphia & areas nearby). Lastly, it is interesting to view the flick to see how Shyamalan was able to successfully hide the twist. The movie runs 1 hour, 47 minutes. GRADE: B
AstroNoud2022-02-26
★ 9/10
It is the final and greatest plottwist that puts a smile on your face, as all the puzzle pieces fit at last. 9/10