Guillermo Del Toro Blu-Ray Boxset Review

• 27th Oct 2010

There are probably many reasons why these three films have been placed together in this boxset. The first and obvious reason is that they all have the same creative force of Del Toro behind them. They are all horror/fantasies set in the real world and they are also in a Spanish dialect – separating them from his Hollywood career.

Despite this and the mythic qualities involved, Del Toro also states that really the two that are companion pieces are the second two films. But we won’t argue that Cronos is here. It was the film that kicked off his career and became an instant cult film.

The three films of course look the part in Blu-Ray thanks to there being a visionary director at the helm. Each also comes packed with a wealth of supplementary material. They are also tied together beautifully with very similar scrolled navigational menus.

CRONOS
All the Del Toro elements are here. Fantasy, odd lighting choices, bizarre characters, bugs and some neat black humour at play. It is also the first film he worked with Ron Perlman (with who went on to star for him in the Hellboy series) here playing a crazed wealthy son who becomes as obsessed with immortality as the protagonist.

Cronos tells a tale of alchemy and vampirism. It is perhaps a little rough around the edges to watch now, but no less worthy a film from the Del Toro stable of film making.

EXTRAS
The ‘making of’ is a bit misleading as it is only about five minutes of conversation with the main actor. What makes up for this, is the two hour long interviews with the director. One conducted in Spanish, the other more recent one in English.

There are some other treats in store here.
There is also a short film, Geometria, plenty of gallery visuals and notes. Oh and let us not forget the directors commentary. Del Toro is quite the enthusiast and never really lets the chat track get dull.

THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE
This film was made well into Del Toro’s career and is often highlighted as his scariest film. It takes place in a Spanish orphanage set during the final days of the Spanish Civil War. It is essentially a ghost story picture, as the children here are pitted against the spirit world. Of course all is not what it seems.

Like Pan’s Labyrinth you can look at the fantastical elements of this story as a blanket for a tale in history and the atrocities that were committed at the time. None more present than in the form of the antagonist Jacinto.

Del Toro has found a way of making history interesting by wrapping the real world in a shroud of heightened horror and fantasy.

Extras
There are plenty of featurettes, introductions, storyboards, trailers and documentaries to get just about every ounce of information you may need on the film here, of course the commentary is present.

PAN’S LABYRINTH
Shocking and darkly telling, Pan’s Labyrinth perhaps misled a few people into thinking that this was a tale of a girl who enters a fantasy land and, whilst she creates herself a little adventure the extent that she carries over to the fantastical is seldom and the plot itself is not merely a girl looking for a bit of escapism to shut out the real world.

The real world is war-time era (again the Spanish Civil War), and the harsh brutality of this is not shied away as young girl Ofelia and her mother go to join a vicious commander (her new stepfather) at his military post in the woods. From here she explores her surroundings and opens up a world of fantasy around her.

The film may be sold on the fantasy elements, and the creations – be they practical or digital – are often impressive to look at – but it shouldn’t be understated the power of the real world drama that is taking place.

The ending can be viewed either as a real downer or a sense of relief depending on how much you invest in the fantasy. Either way it leaves quite the impression.

EXTRAS
They just keep getting better. There is a motion comic, a prologue, many interviews, commentary, sketches, storyboards, directors notebook and oh so much more to marvel at.

So quite the package you get here then! All coming together in a pretty box set offering you these film in the (we can’t say it enough) amazing high definition of Blu-Ray.

Steven Hurst