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The Rewatchables ·

The Sixth Sense

year 1999decade 90sdirector M. Night Shyamalangenre Thriller
host Sean Fennesseyhost Chris Ryanhost Jason Concepcionproducer Craig Horlbeck format Archive rereleaseformat The Rewatchables 1999
All 16 categories

Most Rewatchable Scene · 23:32

Mother-son traffic-jam conversation (unanimous)

Sean Fennessey: Vincent Gray’s confrontation and shooting of Malcolm create immediate tension.

Sean Fennessey: The anniversary dinner carefully avoids Anna making eye contact with Malcolm.

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie · 1:09:55

I see dead people

Sean Fennessey: The car conversation demonstrates revealing screenwriting rather than isolated catchphrases.

The film

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan · Thriller

107 minutes

IMDb Letterboxd Find on JustWatch Rotten Tomatoes
Cast

Selected cast credits ·

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

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

12:13

Half-Assed Internet Research

Budget and grosses; Oscars; casting preparation; career correction; Disney deal; audition; rentals; drafts; costumes;...

Budget and grosses; Oscars; casting preparation; career correction; Disney deal; audition; rentals; drafts; costumes; color; reported inspiration; soundtrack spoiler

In the discussion (18)
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:13Read transcript
  • The film reportedly cost 40 million dollars and earned 672.8 million worldwide. — Sean Fennessey
  • Six Oscar nominations covered picture, director, screenplay, supporting actor, supporting actress and editing. — Sean Fennessey
  • Frank Marshall reportedly wanted the revealing cut toward Willis removed after Cole says he sees dead people. — Sean Fennessey
  • Wahlberg reportedly lost 40 pounds and shaved his eyebrows for his brief appearance. — Sean Fennessey
  • The claim that this was Shyamalan’s second film is explicitly corrected: Praying with Anger preceded Wide Awake, making it his third. — Sean Fennessey
  • Shyamalan also reportedly rewrote She’s All That without credit and held a Stuart Little writing credit. — Sean Fennessey
  • David Vogel reportedly paid 3 million for the script and Shyamalan’s directing guarantee without corporate approval, then lost his Disney position. — Sean Fennessey
  • Disney reportedly sold production rights to Spyglass while retaining distribution and 12.5 percent of receipts. — Sean Fennessey
  • Osment impressed Shyamalan by reading the entire script three times rather than only his part. — Sean Fennessey
  • The movie reportedly had 80 million rentals in 2000 and was omitted from Entertainment Weekly’s 1999 summer preview. — Sean Fennessey
  • Early drafts made Malcolm a crime-scene photographer, potentially explaining the wardrobe. — Sean Fennessey
  • Willis reportedly owed Disney films after Broadway Brawler collapsed and accepted 10 million dollars, half his usual fee. — Sean Fennessey
  • A claim that the kitchen glass originated as Philadelphia-only sour-cream packaging is explicitly doubted. — Sean Fennessey
  • Red marks contact with the other world or heightened emotion, including the church, birthday, tent, recorder, basement doorknob, restaurant, wake and Anna’s shawl. — Sean Fennessey
  • Young Sherlock Holmes’s novelization reportedly uses the phrase Sixth Sense; shared filmmakers and Osment’s later AI role are noted. — Sean Fennessey
  • Malcolm’s clothes are reportedly pieces worn or touched on the night of his death. — Sean Fennessey
  • A reported Are You Afraid of the Dark? inspiration involves a boy who discovers he is dead because only his sister can see him. — Sean Fennessey
  • The soundtrack reportedly spoils the ending with a final track titled Malcolm Is Dead. — Sean Fennessey
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23:32

Most Rewatchable Scene

Mother-son traffic-jam conversation (unanimous)

Mother-son traffic-jam conversation (unanimous)

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:32Read transcript
  • Vincent Gray’s confrontation and shooting of Malcolm create immediate tension. — Sean Fennessey
  • The anniversary dinner carefully avoids Anna making eye contact with Malcolm. — Sean Fennessey
  • Malcolm and Lynn sitting silently before Cole arrives conceal their lack of interaction. — Sean Fennessey
  • The I See Dead People revelation is nominated. — Sean Fennessey
  • The locked attic or crawl-space episode is nominated. — Sean Fennessey
  • The suicidal woman’s complaint to Lenny recalls The Shining. — Sean Fennessey
  • The hanged figures at school pay off the Stuttering Stanley exposition. — Sean Fennessey
  • Kyra’s vomiting entrance introduces the mother-induced illness revelation, unfamiliar on first viewing. — Sean Fennessey
  • Cole explaining his connection to the dead during the traffic jam is the unanimous final choice.
  • The opened kitchen drawers and Pop-Tarts exchange suggest unsettling powers or evil. — Chris Ryan
  • Lynn pushing Cole in the shopping cart establishes their love and makes later emotional scenes land.
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28:35

The most GIFable moment

Cole in the shopping cart

Cole in the shopping cart

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:35Read transcript
  • Cole’s delighted shopping-cart expression should be a frequently shared GIF. — Sean Fennessey
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28:35

What’s Aged the Best?

Patient tone and pacing; twist endings; Osment; Collette; Philadelphia history

Patient tone and pacing; twist endings; Osment; Collette; Philadelphia history

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 00:28:35Read transcript
  • The patient tone and pacing remain unusual for a summer blockbuster. — Sean Fennessey
  • Late 1990 s revelation endings hold up and are missed. — Sean Fennessey
  • Osment belongs among great child performers, alongside Paquin, Garland, Temple and Billingsley.
  • Osment’s arrival-home expression must register both fear of a ghost and reluctance to see another psychiatrist; the film depends on this ambiguity.
  • Collette remains a powerful, Oscar-nominated performer. — Sean Fennessey
  • Philadelphia’s plaques and layered history make the city feel simultaneously living and dead. — Chris Ryan
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34:11

What’s Aged the Worst?

Shyamalan’s twist formula; self-casting; Collette’s accent; Malcolm as psychologist

Shyamalan’s twist formula; self-casting; Collette’s accent; Malcolm as psychologist

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:34:11Read transcript
  • Collette’s accent sounds closer to Brooklyn than Philadelphia, though the film’s slightly unusual manner makes it workable. — Chris Ryan
  • Shyamalan’s twist factory and stilted dialogue work especially well here but become liabilities with other actors and stories. — Chris Ryan
  • Lady in the Water’s monster killing a film critic is criticized. — Sean Fennessey
  • Shyamalan casting himself as the doctor is an early display of the self-confidence that later enabled his comeback.
  • Willis is not fully convincing as a child psychologist, and the treatment of childhood mental health is questioned. — Sean Fennessey
  • The mayor’s award is suspect given Malcolm’s neglectful conduct on the Vincent therapy recording.
  • Shyamalan is the category’s final choice for the material his later career provides.
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45:07

The most 1999 thing

VHS; landlines; interiors; lack of mobile technology

VHS; landlines; interiors; lack of mobile technology

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:07Read transcript
  • VHS tapes are a 1999 marker. — Sean Fennessey
  • Landlines and a lack of cellular gadgetry mark the period; nobody searches for Malcolm online. — Sean Fennessey
  • Dingy East Coast interiors, glassware and tables predate an IKEA-dominated look. — Sean Fennessey
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47:40

Casting What-Ifs

Marisa Tomei considered; Collette preferred

Marisa Tomei considered; Collette preferred

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:40Read transcript
  • Marisa Tomei was reportedly considered for Lynn; a more convincing local accent would not necessarily preserve Collette’s car-scene power. — Chris Ryan
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48:51

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Donnie Wahlberg

Donnie Wahlberg

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:51Read transcript
  • Wahlberg, Barton and Shyamalan are candidates; casting himself is itself a heat check. — Sean Fennessey
  • Trevor Morgan is raised but assigned to the overacting category.
  • Wahlberg wins for his extreme transformation in a tiny role; the weight-loss figure is corrected from 40 to 43 pounds. — Chris Ryan
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1:00:43

Apex Mountain

M. Night Shyamalan; Haley Joel Osment

M. Night Shyamalan; Haley Joel Osment

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:43Read transcript
  • Shyamalan is emphatically affirmed: this defines his career template and transforms his prospects. — Sean Fennessey
  • Willis is rejected in favor of Die Hard despite considering a smaller late 1990 s peak.
  • Osment is affirmed.
  • Collette is rejected. — Sean Fennessey
  • Fujimoto is raised without a settled affirmative choice. — Sean Fennessey
  • Trevor Morgan is raised without a settled affirmative choice. — Sean Fennessey
  • Wahlberg is assigned to Band of Brothers instead. — Sean Fennessey
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1:03:13

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Bruce Norris

Bruce Norris

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:13Read transcript
  • Glenn Fitzgerald, playing Anna’s possible romantic interest Sean, is nominated. — Sean Fennessey
  • Bruce Norris as Stuttering Stanley is the final choice. — Sean Fennessey
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1:03:58

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Trevor Morgan

Trevor Morgan

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:58Read transcript
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1:07:16

Picking Nits

Funeral logistics and police response; disappearing tear; minor continuity

Funeral logistics and police response; disappearing tear; minor continuity

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:16Read transcript
  • Continuity slips with clothing, hair and blankets are acknowledged but not pursued. — Sean Fennessey
  • The funeral accepts an unattended child searching the bedroom, handing over a videotape and exposing the mother implausibly easily. — Chris Ryan
  • The lack of a police interview about Cole finding murder evidence at an unfamiliar child’s funeral strains belief.
  • A tear disappears between shots during the dead-people revelation. — Sean Fennessey
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1:09:55

The Neil McCauley “A Book about Metals” Award for Best Line from the Movie

I see dead people

I see dead people

In the discussion (6)
Approx. transcript time · 01:09:55Read transcript
  • The car conversation demonstrates revealing screenwriting rather than isolated catchphrases. — Sean Fennessey
  • The prickling-neck explanation and tiny hairs standing up are admired. — Sean Fennessey
  • I want to tell you my secret now and I don’t want to be scared anymore are effective Cole lines. — Sean Fennessey
  • The bumblebee-pendant apology is recalled. — Sean Fennessey
  • Keep moving, cheese dick prompts a joke about whether it is a local expression.
  • I see dead people is the clear final choice and became an early meme. — Chris Ryan
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1:11:16

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

No ten-episode Netflix version; five episodes briefly suggested

No ten-episode Netflix version; five episodes briefly suggested

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:16Read transcript
  • A ten-episode Netflix adaptation is rejected; five episodes are briefly suggested. — Chris Ryan
  • Extra runtime would expose Malcolm’s lack of interaction and invite immediate online spoilers; the existing length is right. — Chris Ryan
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1:11:59

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Philadelphia classic; rewatch value after knowing the twist, with dissent

Philadelphia classic; rewatch value after knowing the twist, with dissent

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:11:59Read transcript
  • The film is affirmed as a Philadelphia classic worthy of its local Mount Rushmore. — Chris Ryan
  • Knowing the ending still permits entertainment and admiration of the mechanics, but one response feels less emotionally involved. — Chris Ryan
  • A contrary response finds both clue analysis and the mother-son car scene strongly rewarding on rewatch.
  • An initially spoiled viewing was anticlimactic, though admiration has grown over time. — Sean Fennessey
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1:14:35

Who Won the Movie?

M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:35Read transcript
  • Shyamalan is chosen with explicit agreement; Osment receives an alternative case rather than a final vote. — Sean Fennessey
  • Shyamalan became a filmmaking industry, and his renewed success reinforces the choice. — Sean Fennessey
Podcast choices
Speaker not identified
M. Night Shyamalan
Speaker not identified
M. Night Shyamalan
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More from the conversation

The 2024 introduction identifies this as the final rereleased episode from the 2019 Rewatchables 1999 Luminary series.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:22Read transcript
Knowing the twist complicates rewatching; the introductory perspective remains annoyed at missing it originally.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:23Read transcript
Willis’s run from Moonlighting and Die Hard through setbacks and Pulp Fiction’s recovery makes this an important entry in his 1990 s portfolio.
Approx. transcript time · 00:03:48Read transcript
A first viewing while employed at a theater seemed to climax with Cole and his mother in traffic; the subsequent revelation was overwhelming.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:09Read transcript
Collette’s crying makes the mother-son scene intensely moving.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:57Read transcript
The 1999 theater experience and respectful word of mouth protected surprises in this, Blair Witch, The Matrix and Fight Club.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:28Read transcript
Philadelphia locations give the film character and continue a local cinematic resurgence after Philadelphia and 12 Monkeys.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:29Read transcript
Willis acting opposite a child seemed unexpected; Shyamalan was greeted as a possible new Spielberg.
Approx. transcript time · 00:08:54Read transcript
Missing the theatrical release for basketball camp led to the ending being spoiled by Frank DiGiacomo on The Daily Show.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:11Read transcript
A Bikini magazine review attributed to Dave Navarro and his brother spoiled The Usual Suspects, prompting jokes about exiling spoiler writers.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:53Read transcript
Osment’s fourth billing is surprising given his central role and breakthrough performance.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:17Read transcript
The film follows a magic trick’s pledge, turn and prestige, even explicitly discussing magic tricks.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:00Read transcript
Unlike effects-heavy or mythology-heavy horror, the film needs only its central trick and contextually appropriate ghosts.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:52Read transcript
The Usual Suspects, Seven, Fight Club, Scream, Memento and The Others form a related twist lineage; The Crying Game is an earlier, more prestigious comparison.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:42Read transcript
Modern spoiler restrictions can reshape interviews, unlike the less connected 1999 environment in which accidental disclosure felt exceptional.
Approx. transcript time · 00:15:23Read transcript
Willis’s heroic star image makes it harder to believe he dies immediately, enabling the trick.
Approx. transcript time · 00:16:49Read transcript
Repeat theatrical viewings let audiences solve clues and share the surprise before online explainers replaced some of that incentive.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:58Read transcript
Taking podcast notes while watching missed visual clues, prompting a restart without multitasking.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:19Read transcript
Cole is initially framed as potentially evil or telekinetic through drawers, violent writing, the teacher confrontation and attic incident.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:25Read transcript
A conventional synopsis disguises the real patient: the dead therapist needs resolution as much as the boy.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:00Read transcript
Studio-wide marketing misdirection contrasts with contemporary reassurance campaigns and the failed denial about Khan in Star Trek.
Approx. transcript time · 00:22:43Read transcript
Osment already had experience in Forrest Gump and Bogus; his emotional maturity avoids merely precocious dialogue.
Approx. transcript time · 00:31:07Read transcript
Cole’s memorized military details feel like a solitary child’s obsessions; childhood expertise in Arthurian legend or Custer coexists with weak arithmetic.
Approx. transcript time · 00:32:12Read transcript
Hereditary continues Collette’s tormented-mother work; her Australian identity is easy to forget.
Approx. transcript time · 00:33:26Read transcript
Unbreakable is admired; The Village loses appeal once its Twilight Zone-like conceit becomes clear and feels too long.
Approx. transcript time · 00:36:50Read transcript
The Last Airbender is disliked despite using someone else’s intellectual property.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:33Read transcript
Secretly reconnecting earlier films through Split is praised as an extraordinary career comeback.
Approx. transcript time · 00:37:56Read transcript
Shyamalan eventually embraced twist thrillers as his identity instead of struggling against them.
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:45Read transcript
A recognizable directorial brand has value independent of any individual film’s quality, as with Ford, Hitchcock and Tarantino.
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:16Read transcript
The Visit and Blumhouse’s limited-budget model supplied the right scale for the comeback.
Approx. transcript time · 00:39:48Read transcript
Shyamalan’s strengths suit contained stories rather than Spielberg-scale epics, though his setups can produce convincing wonder.
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:18Read transcript
The Happening starts promisingly but dialogue and the tree premise undermine it; imagining the studio pitch highlights the risk of his inventiveness.
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:00Read transcript
His comeback includes original films, personal financial risk and remaining based near Philadelphia rather than Hollywood.
Approx. transcript time · 00:41:56Read transcript
Mayor duties can include minor ceremonial awards, partly defending Malcolm’s plaque.
Approx. transcript time · 00:43:49Read transcript
Philadelphia’s changing housing costs make the earlier row-house setting feel like a period piece.
Approx. transcript time · 00:45:54Read transcript
A modern remake might conceal Malcolm’s isolation more easily because phones reduce face-to-face interaction.
Approx. transcript time · 00:46:48Read transcript
Willis’s rumpled brown detective-like wardrobe remains appealing rather than dated; red is a significant visual motif.
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:22Read transcript
Tomei’s 1990 s filmography illustrates an uneven period after her Oscar.
Approx. transcript time · 00:48:03Read transcript
Wahlberg’s extreme preparation prompts jokes about refusing further physical transformations and eating Wahlburgers.
Approx. transcript time · 00:49:30Read transcript
Wahlberg’s early films and later television work show an unusual transition from pop music to serious acting; Band of Brothers is especially admired.
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:22Read transcript
Band of Brothers is proposed as unusually widely approved across generations of men; Boomtown receives a recommendation.
Approx. transcript time · 00:51:17Read transcript
The authority behind Vogel’s unauthorized purchase is questioned; the directing guarantee or an agent’s pressure are hypotheses, with Michael Ovitz explicitly a hypothetical example.
Approx. transcript time · 00:52:27Read transcript
Willis’s difficult working reputation leads to recommending Kevin Smith’s lengthy account of Live Free or Die Hard and Timothy Olyphant.
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:49Read transcript
Olyphant’s explanation that a house purchase drove film choices illustrates practical financial motives.
Approx. transcript time · 00:56:34Read transcript
A childhood game of pretending another child was absent prompts jokes about convincing children they are dead.
Approx. transcript time · 00:59:17Read transcript
Get Out is compared with The Sixth Sense for launching a filmmaker through a strong idea, awards and profitability.
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:54Read transcript
Willis’s late 1990 s run includes the unusual combination of Mercury Rising, Armageddon and The Siege.
Approx. transcript time · 01:01:40Read transcript
Bruce Norris’s acclaimed playwriting and Steppenwolf background are noted.
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:26Read transcript
Tommy’s extensive backstory, commercial, bullying and school-play humiliation effectively form the movie’s comic subplot.
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:21Read transcript
The obnoxious child-actor character may comment on child performers and contrast with Osment’s excellence.
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:56Read transcript
Morgan’s later Offspring video and Patriot role prompt a joking career-profile proposal.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:36Read transcript
Shyamalan and Tarantino made filmmaking success feel attainable to a younger generation despite their very different work.
Approx. transcript time · 01:13:46Read transcript
Shyamalan’s limited budgets and ability to make releases feel like events support continued success.
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:55Read transcript
A long theatrical run like this film’s seems harder now; television such as Stranger Things or The Society may better sustain word-of-mouth sleeper hits.
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:14Read transcript
Run Lola Run was an exceptional theater-employee viewing: its pace and branching time felt disorienting afterward.
Approx. transcript time · 01:16:25Read transcript
The unpredictability of 1999 films differs from familiar franchise expectations and evokes nostalgia for how culture was experienced.
Approx. transcript time · 01:17:32Read transcript