The Devil's Backbone (Criterion Collection) R

What is a ghost?
106K ratings
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Format:  DVD  (2 Discs)
item number:  37GQV
Brand New

DVD Details

  • Number of Discs: 2
  • Rated: R
  • Run Time: 1 hours, 48 minutes
  • Video: Color
  • Encoding: Region 1 (USA & Canada)
  • Released: July 30, 2013
  • Originally Released: 2001
  • Label: Criterion Collection

Performers, Cast and Crew:

Starring , , , &
Directed by
Screenwriting by , &
Produced by &
Director of Photography:

Entertainment Reviews:

Certified Fresh92%

TOMATOMETER
Total Count: 119

Upright89%

AUDIENCE SCORE
User Ratings: 35,041
Rating: 3/4 -- Guillermo Del Toro's The Devil's Backbone is a really cool ghost story with an extraordinary human and political dimension. Full Review
New York Daily News
Oct 15, 2014
...Del Toro keeps things tense and, most importantly, keeps you guessing....Del Toro has crafted a creepy, lyrical movie that surges between unspeakable brutality and heart-bruising sentiment...
Total Film
Dec 1, 2001
You may find that images from this movie clamber back into your memory weeks after you see it, and give your spine a chill. Full Review
Baltimore Sun
Oct 7, 2013
...Richly atmospheric....Del Toro builds excitement, dread, and melodrama in equal layers...
Entertainment Weekly
Dec 7, 2001
A microcosm, that is like a small war, combining living and dead, resentments, betrayals and revenge in an exceptional way with an impeccable cast. [Full review in Spanish] Full Review
Excelsior
Oct 31, 2016
Rating: 7/10 -- Although spooky, The Devil's Backbone becomes weighed down by perhaps one too many subplots. Full Review
Under the Radar
Sep 8, 2014
Rating: 9/10 -- The Devil's Backbone truly is a masterful film, one rife with both symbolism and story. This is a poetic piece of cinema that manages to expose the horrors of war through the lens of fantasy. Full Review
Starburst
Jul 24, 2017

Product Description:

During the Spanish Civil War, newly orphaned Carlos is taken to a school for the children of those who died fighting against fascism. He is given the bed that formerly belonged to Santi, a boy who recently died during an attack in which a bomb dropped, landing in the school's courtyard undetonated, a reminder of impending danger. As the amputee headmistress (Marisa Paredes, ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER) and the embittered caretaker, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), engage in a love affair, the headmistress' cuckolded husband, the impotent but benevolent school doctor (Frederico Luppi) sits by passively. Meanwhile, after Santi's ghost repeatedly reveals itself to Carlos, another student spooks Carlos with a dark secret about the boy's death. War surrounds the school, violence infests it from within, and Carlos sets out to avenge the death of Santi.

Taking on themes such as the brutality of war and the loss of innocence, Guillermo del Toro's (MIMIC) film skillfully combines elements of war, gothic horror, melodrama, and adventure to create a work that functions as both a genre film and a politically resonant piece of nostalgia. THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE uses history as a means of transforming what would otherwise be a routine ghost story into a powerful and affecting statement.

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Product Info

  • Sales Rank: 25,595
  • UPC: 715515107815
  • Shipping Weight: 0.26/lbs (approx)
  • International Shipping: 2 items

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