Guillermo Del Toro Collection (Pan's Labyrinth, Cronos, The Devil's Backbone) [2006]

Amazon.co.uk Review

If you're after something a bit more magical than the current crop of gory, torturous horror movies, this Guillermo del Toro Collection might be just what you're looking for. Del Toro weaves together dark fairy tales with bleak reality in each of these three movies, creating films which are clever, beautiful and incredibly haunting. Although del Toro has made more high profile movies--Hellboy and Blade 2, specifically--his Spanish language movies are clearly his real passion. More personal than his superhero movies, each of these films has something to say.

The earliest of the movies is Cronos. Released in 1993, it's a story of family loyalties as well as alchemy and vampirism. 2001's The Devil's Backbone sees a group of orphans battling for survival in a world populated by bullies and ghosts, with war torn Spain providing a stunning background; while Pan's Labyrinth, released in 2006 to critical acclaim, mingles real life politics and social drama with fantasy and magic to create a masterpiece. Pan's Labyrinth won three Oscars, though it also deserved the other three it was also nominated for.

With each successive film, Del Toro's filmmaking has grown ever more mature and powerful, and this boxset perfectly showcases an incredible talent.--Sarah Dobbs

Customer Reviews:

An interesting, artistic dark film ... I just expected something different and struggled with its utter bleakness.......2008-03-10

I understand why many people have given this film excellent reviews and as an artistic film it deserves more than my 2 stars, but that's just my personal score given the extent to which I enjoyed and appreciated it.

I bought this film because I knew particularly about the fantasy elements within it and had seen clips of the fantasy creatures involved. On watching the film it became apparent that the main thrust of the story was behind the story of a violent captain of the Spanish Army intent on crushing the insurgent rebels from the Spanish civil war and how he interacts with the main character Ofelia and her mother. The fantasy elements are definitely secondary to this main thread and there are only a few different fantasy characters that the girl Ofelia comes across. Neither are really any of the fantasy creatures likeable including the one that comes alongside Ofelia the most, and while it is perfectly legitimate that Pan's Labyrinth explores a different path for these characters and thus parallels the real world that Ophelia is encountering, I just found it slightly awkward that I couldn't put my trust in any of the creatures and this hindered my enjoyment of the film.

It is a very dark and very sad story, as well as being fairly violent, and I was unable to find any hope from it even at the end - perhaps not every film needs to offer hope but can merely portray the horrors of reality that have existed particularly at certain points in history, but I didn't feel like I had got anything back from the film. A counter-example of a film that I enjoyed and really appreciated despite it being probably more graphically violent and also having some horrific stories in it was City of God. Perhaps this is just because the atmosphere of that film was not so dark and bleak and there were characters that you could better identify with and trust.

This would have been an interesting film to have seen once but I am now slightly disappointed that I bought it because I can't see myself just sitting back to watch it again. Some of you will clearly love this film and appreciate it, but if you were hoping for the fantasy elements of the story to be the major thread of this film, or if you require there be at least some glimmer of hope in a film's outlook then you should probably avoid buying this film, even if at some point you watch it in some other way out of curiosity or interest.

One of the best films ever........2008-03-03

This film is an amazing combination of beauty and evil. It is well written and filmed. Even though it is in Spanish you quickly forget you are reading subtitles. If you have a passion for good films then add this to your collection.

Stunning.......2008-03-03

Pan's Labyrinth is absolutely stunning - the script is great, the film is brilliantly shot, the actor's are very good and the after effects are fantastic.
Overall, a masterpiece...what more can I say?

dark & beautiful.......2008-02-29

pans labyrinth is one of the greatest, non english european films of the last few yrs. In a way similarly engrossing and unforgetable as "la vita e' bella" but darker, with a frightening element -having a fantasy/fairy tale sub story - and with obviously total luck of humour that was present in benini's film.
brutal at times yes but at the same time beautiful. haunting but also magical.
some reviewers here talk about how depressing it is but they miss the point... its a film about escapism in the harrowness of a post civil war spain, and the end is actually sad but uplifting at the same time.
del toro has created a masterpiece, that has depth, is visually stunning and has some great acting... if u love cinema dont miss it

spectacular, one of the greatest fantasy films ever made.......2008-02-26

Very few films feel this dreamy and deserve the highest possible praises. It goes without saying that Guillermo del Toro has unique visions when it comes to filmmaking, steering clear of any traditional styles. In "Pan's Labyrinth" he gives us a good twist on fairy tales straight out of a Grimm Brothers fable, and he masterfully adds proper nightmarish dimensions to a harsh military atmosphere to keep the film grounded in reality.

With an outstanding visual imagination, Del Toro draws an excellent reality/fantasy boundary for the viewer where it's hard to tell if the magical realm is real or just in the mind of a 10-year old girl. The film centers on the story of Ofelia who retreats into a world of imagination when life becomes increasingly intolerable. Everything starts here, and from that point the film works on so many levels and plays with our minds.

The dreamy and magical state permeates the film, for sure. But it also works on another level reflecting on the politics of Franco's Spain a few years after the Spanish civil war. In real world, unhappiness, brutality, pain, and death stalk everywhere. Yet, dream world is not safe at all, it has pitfalls, terrors and monsters just like the real world does. But, Capitán Vidal is the most vicious, callous monster in both worlds and he is the arch-enemy of all humanity. What's happening in real world and fantasy world beautifully reinforce each other, but the film eventually refuses to tell that what really exists and what does not.

With its original storyline and striking visuals, "Pan's Labyrinth" made me feel that a delicately illustrated children's storybook had come to life. It's that great. "Pale Man" is the most awesome creature I've seen in a long time. Definitely, one of the greatest fantasy pictures ever made.

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