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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“The Devil’s
Backbone”
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Thriller
|
| Video: |
1.85:1 Widescreen
anamorphic high definition transfer |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
Surround 5.1 |
| Languages |
Spanish |
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
106 minutes
|
| Rating |
R |
| Release Date |
7/27/04 |
| Studio |
Columbia
Tristar Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
Director
Guillermo Del Toro |
| Documentaries:
|
“The Making
of The Devil’s Backbone” |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Previews |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
Deleted scenes
with optional commentary |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
Storyboard
to film comparisons, Director’s thumbnail sketches, conceptual
art gallery, thumbnail sketches, excerpts from Del Toro’s Director’s
Notebook |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Eduardo Noriega,
Marisa Paredes, Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve, Inigo Garces,
Irene Visedo, Jose Manuel Lorenzo, Francisco Maestre, Junio
Valverde |
| Written
By: |
Guillermo
Del Toro, Antonio Trashorras, David Munoz |
| Produced
By: |
Guillermo
Del Toro, Pedro Almodovar, Rosa Bosch |
| Directed
By: |
Guillermo
Del Toro |
| Music:
|
Javier Navarrete
|
| The
Review: |
Set after the Spanish Civil War
in 1939, the creepy thriller “The Devil’s Backbone” relates
the story of 10 year old Carlos (Tielve) the son of a war
hero who is abandoned by his tutor at an isolated orphanage.
Run by Doctor Casares and the kindly headmistress (Parades),
Carlos discovers that there’s something amiss at the orphanage
right away. The place is haunted by the ghost of a boy who
we discover is named Santi. Santi latches onto Carlos constantly
appearing to him and predicting that they’re all going to
die. Whether that’s tied to the unexploded bomb left over
from the Civil War in the orphanage courtyard or to something
that else that might yet happen to the residents is left unexplained
by Santi. Santi won’t rest until Carlos uncovers who murdered
the other boy. ***
Del Toro’s stylish, intelligent
thriller has many things in common with “The Others” and “The
Sixth Sense” (movies which came out after this film. Del Toro’s
film was written nearly originally written over twenty years
ago as his thesis for film school but remained unproduced
due to some issues del Toro had with the script), it’s actually
a superior to both those films. Be warned that the film is
in Spanish with English subtitles so if you’re not a fan of
foreign films and hate reading subtitles, I’d recommend watching
something else. If you hate the frequently bad dubs of foreign
films with poorly done English soundtracks, you’ll be happy
with the fact that the film is kept intact. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
Boasting
a wonderful new high definition transfer, the rich vivid colors
of Del Toro’s film have never looked better on DVD. Del Toro’s
meticulous attention to the visual details of his film and the
beautiful cinematography of Guillermo Navarro comes to life
in this finely detailed DVD. The rich, spooky score by Navarrette
sounds marvelous here. Clearly great care was taken in bringing
the modern day classic film to DVD. --- |
| The
Extras: |
Haunted
by the ghosts of other deluxe DVD’s, “The Devil’s Backbone”
delivers a number of great new features on this edition. We
get a great storyboard to film comparison that also includes
some of Del Toro’s thumbnail sketches as well compared side-by-side.
The 27 minute documentary on the making of the film covers
everything from conception through the post-production of
the film. It can be viewed either all at once or in segments.
We also get deleted scenes with optional commentary. We also
get a conceptual art gallery. The “Director’s Thumbnail Sketchbook”
unfortunately doesn’t live up to its potential. The images
are small and when you click on them to make them larger,
they’re blurry. Also, since their written in Spanish and there’s
no translation, it might be a bit of a problem for fans of
the film who don’t read the language. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
Del Toro’s
commentary track is both entertaining and informative providing
fascinating tidbits about the making of the film. He also relates
some very entertaining stories about the conception, production
and reception of the film. |
| Final
Words: |
A beautifully
done movie that has been enhanced by a great, new high definition
transfer, “The Devil’s Backbone” remains a compelling film full
of fascinating, rich images and strong performances. One of
Del Toro’s best films, “The Devil’s Backbone” has plenty of
new great features making this worthwhile for fans of this offbeat
and original ghost story. |
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