Cronos: Criterion Collection – Blu-ray Review

The Film:

Today, Guillermo del Toro is considered one of the best storytellers in film. What he does with a mixture of live action and special effects is really ahead of its time. One just has to look at his recent films like HELLBOY, it’s sequel and the Oscar nominated PAN’S LABYRINTH. Every filmmaker has a beginning, and del Toro’s was 1993′s CRONOS. CRONOS is an interesting film to say the least. Del Toro has put together one of the most interesting vampire movies to date. In most vampire films you know what you are to expect. A vampire has two long teeth that will suck blood to survive. Here, there are no long teeth. To stay alive the blood of the vampire must be sucked by an insect looking mechanism. It is very hard to take an idea that is as old as a vampire and make it your own. Here del Toro not only makes it his own, but he makes you forget that you are watching a vampire movie.

CRONOS tells the story of Jesus Gris (long time del Toro collaborator Federico Luppi), an antiques dealer, who lives with his wife Mercedes (Margarita Isabel) and granddaughter Aurora (Tamara Shanath). One day Gris comes across a small, gold mechanism within a statue in his store. He starts to clean off this mechanism and winds it up. As he holds it, legs come out of it and it resembles an insect. The legs of the gold insect stab into his hand. He is able to remove the insect, but something has happened to Gris. Later in the night Gris is in his kitchen, and starts to fiend for something like an addict. What Gris realizes that he needs is the mechanism. He gets it and puts it back on his hand to drink his blood.

Gris isn’t the only one that wants the gold bug. Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook), a tycoon dying of cancer, wants it. He knows about the history of the mechanism, and how an alchemist in the 1500′s built it to give eternal life to the person that uses it. Since he is dying of cancer, de la Guardia send his nephew, Angel (Ron Perlman) to fetch it for him. Angle is reluctant since he wants his uncle to die so he can inherent Dieter’s empire. Obviously Gris doesn’t want to give up his newfound tool and de la Guardia will stop at nothing to get the bug to save his life.

CRONOS is a typical debut feature. A lot of the symbolism and ideas that del Toro would use in his later films can be seen in this movie. del Toro has shown a love for bugs through many of his films, most notably in MIMIC. CRONOS isn’t dripping with the kind of effects that del Toro would become famous for in HELLBOY or PAN’S LABYRINTH, but the make-up effects are amazing. As Gris is becoming more and more vampire like, he starts to shed his skin like a snake. There is a great scene that is reminiscent of James Woods sticking his hand in his stomach in David Cronenberg’s VIDEODROME. The acting is very good, but also a little hokey at times, especially by Brook and Perlman. Del Toro explains this in his commentary that is on the disc, but it can be a little campy at times. Luppi is wonderful and heartbreaking as the lead. The story itself is a wonderful idea that is original, which can’t be said much today. Del Toro has turned into one of the best directors and storyteller around, and this movie laid the groundwork for that legacy. One of the things that takes away from the movie is the fact that both Brook and Perlman speak English and Spanish. It’s not a bad thing when they are speaking to each other, but when they are interacting with Spanish speaking characters, they will say something in English, get an response in Spanish and then respond in Spanish. It’s not something that totally ruins the movie, but it’s a choice that would be interesting to find out about.

Overall, this is a very good movie, with an interesting story and some very good acting. If you are a del Toro fan, this movie is a must have for your collection. If you are only a casual viewer, then it’s certainly a rental.

The Blu-ray:

Audio/Video

The audio is clean and sounded great coming through my home theater system. It isn’t as bombastic as some of the newer films out today, but it was good enough for me. The video’s 1.78.1 wide-screen transfer is gorgeous. The colors are crisp and the blacks don’t bleed in.

Special Features

Commentaries: There are two commentaries on this disc and both are worth listening to. One features Guillermo del Toro flying solo and the other features the film’s producers.

Geometria: A short Spanish language film that is well worth watching.

Welcome to Bleak House: A tour of del Toro’s house and a look at the wonders within its walls.

There are also a series of video interviews, trailers, and more.

The Film: Rating:

The Blu-ray: Rating: