Why the surprise ending in The Sixth Sense works

There are actually three climaxes in The Sixth Sense that satisfy the External and Internal goals of Cole (Haley Joel Osment) and Malcolm (Bruce Willis).

 


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  • Related: Download the Full Story Map for “The Dark Knight:” here

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Dan Calvisi
https://actfourscreenplays.com

The Secret to the ending of Raiders of the Lost Ark

I thought I knew everything about Raiders of the Lost Ark until I Story Mapped it out. There is essentially a “soft” climax — Indy and Marian are strapped to a pole and rendered inactive. The day is won, but not at the hand of Indiana Jones. Our big action-adventure hero is essentially inactive in the climax, or is he?

 

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The Sixth Sense script

Sixth Sense Script

<–Go to Part I: Story Mapping Raiders of the Lost Ark

One of the greatest tools for learning the craft of screenwriting is writing Story Maps of your favorite films. When I was working as a professional Reader back in the day I wrote coverage on the original spec script of The Sixth Sense the night before it was to sell for over $3 million in a bidding war. Although I wrote an analysis of the script, it would be years before I truly understood why the “big ending” works so well in terms of the overall narrative structure.

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Raiders of the Lost Ark Script

As any normal screenplay consultant would do, I decided to record some thoughts about the power of Story Mapping Raiders of the Lost Ark while driving on the 405 and 101 South to the first annual Inktip Pitch Summit in the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles.

Raiders of the Lost Ark Script

Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite film of all time but it took me years to understand that seemingly “soft” climax that finds Indiana Jones closing his eyes while the Ark of the Covenant does all the work for him in laying waste to the Nazis. Action heroes don’t just close their eyes and let biblical chick-demons take out the enemy, do they?

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Raiders of the Lost Ark Screenplay

Raiders of the Lost Ark Script

  • Major movie studio screenplay consultant and professional Script Doctor Dan Calvisi decided to drive and shoot at the same time on the topic of unlocking the structural secrets of the action-adventure classic Raiders of the Lost Ark

Hey guys,

I got inspired to deliver a message about the power of Story Maps while driving on the 405 and 101 South to the first annual Inktip Pitch Summit in the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles.

Raiders of the Lost Ark Script

Purchase the Story Maps E-Book series now!

I love Raiders of the Lost Ark — it’s one of my favorite movies of all time but it took me years to understand that seemingly “soft” climax that finds Indiana Jones closing his eyes while the Ark of the Covenant does all the work for him in laying waste to the Nazis. Action heroes don’t just close their eyes and let biblical chick-demons take out the enemy, do they?

Raiders of the Lost Ark Screenplay

It wasn’t until I created a Story Map for Raiders of the Lost Ark that I truly understood how the screenwriters pulled off this advanced technique. Please bear with me and don’t video and drive…

I encourage you to write Story Maps for your favorite films to unlock the structure and craftsmanship that makes them work so well.

You can learn more about my method and get my help to craft your own screenplay by purchasing my E-Book series.

Go To ——>Part Two: Why the shocking ending of The Sixth Sense really works!

Good luck and happy writing!

-Dan

Related: FREE Raiders of the Lost Ark Story Map sample download

Related: Learn more about Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay

Related: Learn more about Booster Pack #1 (which contains the Full Story Map for Raiders and 11 other hit movies)

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