6. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Buena Vista PicturesThe Sixth Sense was a turn of the century horror masterpiece in taking the mantle of The Spoiler of the millenium. As we all now know, Bruce Willis has had an unfortunate accident and it turns out that he is alive and well (wink wink, nudge nudge). Due to his current state of health in the film, Willis has the ability to perceive objects of importance in their true colour. It is that, that separates the rather drab overall colour palette of this film and allows it to excel in terms of colour and semiotics. Far beyond being only a celebration of bright colours and gaudy baubles, this entry shows that a well constructed colour palette and clever use of colour as a storytelling tool can set a film apart. Overall, The Sixth Sense doesn't use colour as a mainstream tool. It is the very selective and specialised choices to use colour by Director M. Night Shyamalan. If you haven't seen The Sixth Sense by now, what are you doing? And if you have, it is definitely worth rewatching, just to spot all the clever uses of colour in the film.