The Devil's Backbone

Starring:Marisa Paredes, Eduardo Noriega (II), Federico Luppi, Fernando Tielve, ÃÃ±igo GarcÃ©s, Irene Visedo, JosÃ© Manuel Lorenzo, Francisco Maestre, Junio Valverde, Berta Ojea, Adrian Lamana, Daniel Esparza, Miguel Ortiz, Juan Carlos Vellido, Javier GonzÃ¡lez (IX), VÃctor ElÃas, JosÃ© Luis Torrijo, Ãlvaro Vega, Jonas Batlecas, Daniel CuÃ±o
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Seething passions, wandering ghosts, and an unexploded bomb fill this beautifully filmed tale of war and suspense. Though The Devil's Backbone was advertised as a horror movie in the States, it's really more of a drama that happens to have ghosts in it. During the Spanish Civil War, young Carlos is abandoned at a completely isolated orphanage. The tensions therein have been building for years, exacerbated by the unexploded bomb resting menacingly in the courtyard. Bullies scheme, tempers flare, and a ghost that visits Carlos's bed seems to be the key to it all. The movie is full of excellent performances, especially by Marisa Paredes as the gruff-but-kind headmistress, Eduardo Noriega as the handyman with secrets to keep, and Federico Luppi as the benevolent professor who likes to keep deformed fetuses in jars. A rich, satisfying drama with some good, spooky fun thrown in. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews:

kiddie movie.......2007-06-26

gave it 5 stars -this is a great movie But for kids between 12-16yrs old.

Best Ghost Story In A Long Time.......2007-06-26

This movie was simply riveting. Beautifully acted and filmed, believable. It was intelligent, touching, and at times truly spooky. I was impressed, and I'm about as jaded as a horror fan can get. Best of all, this was neither creampie fluff like the run of the mill boring torture flicks coming out of Hollywood these days, not was it a pure jump here scream there funhouse ride like most of the current flavor of Japanese Horror. This was a darn fine movie, intelligent, rich, mesmerizing and with a plausible plot, believable characters, and a satisfying ending. Good stuff.

Eerie and enjoyable.......2007-06-12

I truly enjoyed this movie. I think the acting is quite good and the movie is definately worth watching.

wrong region.......2007-06-10

I was not actually able to see this film because the small print on the back of the cassette says it can not be played outside of the USA and Canada and as I live in Great Britain the film was of little use to me.

I was not able to print the returns labels from Amazon at the time the time of logging in and when I tried to re visit the returns page again, Amazon claimed I had nothing valid to return. I am therefore left with a dvd that I cannot use.

Subsequent emails to and from Amazon ensued with the company telling me that they do not recognise me e mail address yet I am sent e mails advertising their store.

What a poor show Amazon.

A disappointed customer.

The best ghost I've seen........2007-06-07

This fantasy/thriller is a companion to Cronos and more popularly Pan's Labyrinth. It shares a common sequence that the director Guillermo Del Toro explains as his rhythm to a movie. As did Hitchcock in his films, creating a rhythm by showing early in the story a deliberate number of memorable scenes and then using those replicated instances in the same exactness for another purpose, therefor setting up a repitition that makes it more meaningful and significant. We see this many times, and he is not limited to only mimicing Hitchcock. All of his movies are filled with homages to cinema greats. A small line from a Terrance Malick film here, and a more obvious homage to John Ford, mirroring his tortured landscapes in The Grapes of Wrath for the outdoors of his ruined Spanish school yard. Del Toro takes the time to guide you through his style in his colorful and insightful commentaries. A favorite feature of mine, because it teaches you about the movie process and of his thought process. And you get to know the man, he has a great sense of humor. Guillermo loves taking a hollywood instrument, such as ghost in the dark, and unbreakable lighting schemes, and to his own enjoyment breaks those unsaid laws, by showing ghosts in broad daylight, and by giving you sharp contrasts in colors. Such as having a metal blue night, yet a warm, sensual withindoors color in sharp contrast. And he does it in such a way as to be genuin, never tinsely. I appreciate his hard work, and his passion has a way of touching others. A splendid Artist who focuses on Spanish history and social politics; and juxtaposing these very serious topics with fantasy, and somehow, it indescribably gives the fantasy world more credibility.

Pan's Labyrinth (Two-Disc w/16-Page Behind-the-Scenes Booklet)

Average customer rating:

Pan's Labyrinth (Two-Disc w/16-Page Behind-the-Scenes Booklet)

Manufacturer: New Line Home Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Video prologue by Guillermo Del Toro
Commentary by director Guillermo Del Toro
The Charlie Rose Show featuring director Guillermo Del Toro
4 Featurettes
Director's Notebook

ASIN: B000QVFMUQ

Product Description

Limited Edition contains an Exclusive 16-Page Behind-the Scenes Booklet.

Average customer rating:

kiddie movie
Best Ghost Story In A Long Time
Eerie and enjoyable
wrong region
The best ghost I've seen.

The Devil's Backbone
Starring: Marisa Paredes , Eduardo Noriega (II) , Federico Luppi , Fernando Tielve , and Íñigo Garcés
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video

General | Indie & Art House | Stores | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $14.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Pan's Labyrinth (New Line Two-Disc Platinum Series)
Mimic
Hellboy (Director's Cut)
Volver
Cronos

ASIN: B000066C6I
Release Date: 2002-06-25

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

kiddie movie.......2007-06-26

gave it 5 stars -this is a great movie But for kids between 12-16yrs old.

Best Ghost Story In A Long Time.......2007-06-26

Eerie and enjoyable.......2007-06-12

I truly enjoyed this movie. I think the acting is quite good and the movie is definately worth watching.

wrong region.......2007-06-10

The best ghost I've seen........2007-06-07

L'Echine du Diable (Original Spanish Version with English Subtitles)

Average customer rating:

STYLISH SPANISH GOTHIC...

L'Echine du Diable (Original Spanish Version with English Subtitles)

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

General | Foreign & International | Stores | DVD | Video
ASIN: B000BTLPRW

Product Description

It is 1939, the end of three years of bloody civil war in Spain, and General Franco's right-wing Nationalists are poised to defeat the left-wing Republican forces. A ten-year-old boy named Carlos (Fernando Tielve), the son of a fallen Republican war hero, is left by his tutor in an orphanage in the middle of nowhere. The orphanage is run by a curt but considerate headmistress named Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and a kindly Professor Casares, both of whom are sympathetic to the doomed Republican cause. Despite their concern for him, and his gradual triumph over the usual schoolhouse bully, Carlos never feels completely comfortable in his new environment. First of all, there was that initial encounter with the orphanage's nasty caretaker, Jacinto, who reacts even more violently when anyone is caught looking around a particular storage room the one with the deep well. Second, and more inexplicable, is the presence of a ghost, one of the former occupants of the orphanage named Santi. Not long after Carlos' arrival, Santi latches onto Carlos, badgering him incessantly at night and gloomily intoning, "Many of you will die." As if that wasn't enough to keep the orphanage's occupants in an unrelenting state of terror, there's the un-exploded bomb that dominates the orphanage's courtyard, still ticking away; With the orphanage left defenseless by its isolation, and the swift progression of Franco's troops, the ghost's prediction seems depressingly accurate. Nevertheless, with every step of the plot, it becomes apparent that the ghost's predictions as to who (or what) will die, the real source of danger and even the definition of death itself may be more ambiguous than first thought.

Customer Reviews:

STYLISH SPANISH GOTHIC..........2006-12-23

Well directed by Guillermo Del Toro, this is a stylish, Spanish gothic film with remarkable performances by the entire cast. The entire film takes place during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s in a remote, ramshackle school in the middle of nowhere that houses boys who have been displaced by the war. Many of them are orphans. An unexploded bomb, courtesy of the fascists, lies half buried in the courtyard of the school, a stark reminder of what is happening beyond the boundaries of this isolated spot.

One such boy, Carlos (Fernando Tielve), who is unaware that his father was killed in the war, is brought to the school by his tutor and left in the care and custody of its one legged headmistress, Carmen (Marisa Paredes). A Leftist, she is a passionate woman who has been funding the Left in its losing battle against the fascists. Cesares (Federico Luppi), one of the professors at the school, is a kindly, older man who befriends the bereft and bewildered Carlos. He is also an incurable romantic, in love with and devoted to Carmen, yet too much of a gentleman to consummate his passion for her. She. too, however, has a secret passion, and it is not him.

As the new kid on the block, Carlos attracts the attention of the school bully, Jaime (Inigo Garces), but manages to hold his own against the bigger and older boy. It is just as well, as there is something else going on at the school that demands both their attention. It seems that Santi (Junio Valverde), a boy who has been classified as missing, is eerily making his presence felt. Moreover, the school handyman, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), the handsome "prince without a kingdom", much like the devil himself, appears to be up to no good, while Conchita (Irene Visedo), the school's young housekeeper, has set her cap for him.

Amidst the war, the haunting, and the destructive violence of Jacinto, Carlos unexpectedly comes of age. Jaime, who is part of Carlos' rite of passage, matures into a natural leader. What they must face together will ultimately bind them in friendship. This is a complex, multi-layered film, dealing with themes of anger, betrayal, greed, love, and hate, all of which are played out and lead to the stunning climactic ending.

Marisa Paredes gives a rich, three dimensional performance, as Carmen, a woman who is tired by the ongoing civil war and who finds herself questioning the leftist cause, the very cause that she financially supports, while harboring a secret passion. Federico Luppi imbues his character, Cesares, with a depth of emotion that simmers just below the surface, as well as with an old-fashioned grace that is touching. Eduardo Noriego, as Jacinto, gives an emotional portrayal of evil, yet manages to infuse a certain poignancy in his character. The children all give very good performances. This deftly directed, well acted film is worth watching.

The DVD offers a widescreen version of the film with first rate audio and visuals. Along with a commentary by the director and the cinematographer, it offers an interesting featurette on the making of the film from the point of view of the director, Guillermo Del Toro. This is a DVD well worth having.

Average customer rating:

STYLISH SPANISH GOTHIC...

The Devil's Backbone

ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

DVDs Under $9.99 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

Butterfly

ASIN: B000CH6GW2

Product Description

Customer Reviews:

STYLISH SPANISH GOTHIC..........2006-05-28

Well-directed by Guillermo Del Toro, this is a stylish, Spanish gothic film with remarkable performances by the entire cast. The entire film takes place during the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s in a remote, ramshackle school in the middle of nowhere that houses boys who have been displaced by the war. Many of them are orphans. An unexploded bomb, courtesy of the fascists, lies half buried in the courtyard of the school, a stark reminder of what is happening beyond the boundaries of this isolated spot.

One such boy, Carlos (Fernando Tielve), who is unaware that his father was killed in the war, is brought to the school by his tutor and left in the care and custody of its one legged headmistress, Carmen (Marisa Paredes). A Leftist, she is a passionate woman who has been funding the Left in its losing battle against the fascists. Cesares (Federico Luppi), one of the professors at the school, is a kindly, older man who befriends the bereft and bewildered Carlos. He is also an incurable romantic, in love with and devoted to Carmen, yet too much of a gentleman to consummate his passion for her. She. too, however, has a secret passion, and it is not him.

As the new kid on the block, Carlos attracts the attention of the school bully, Jaime (Inigo Garces), but manages to hold his own against the bigger and older boy. It is just as well, as there is something else going on at the school that demands both their attention. It seems that Santi (Junio Valverde), a boy who has been classified as missing, is eerily making his presence felt. Moreover, the school handyman, Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega), the handsome "prince without a kingdom" much like the devil himself, appears to be up to no good, while Conchita (Irene Visedo), the school's young housekeeper, has set her cap for him.

Amidst the war, the haunting, and the destructive violence of Jacinto, Carlos unexpectedly comes of age. Jaime, who is part of Carlos' rite of passage, matures into a natural leader. What they must face together will ultimately bind them in friendship. This is a complex, multi-layered film, dealing with themes of anger, betrayal, greed, love, and hate, all of which are played out and lead to the stunning climactic ending.

Marisa Paredes gives a rich, three dimensional performance as Carmen, a woman who is tired by the ongoing civil war and who finds herself questioning the leftist cause, the very cause that she financially supports, while harboring a secret passion. Federico Luppi imbues his character, Cesares, with a depth of emotion that simmers just below the surface, as well as with an old-fashioned grace that is touching. Eduardo Noriego, as Jacinto, gives an emotional portrayal of evil, yet manages to infuse a certain poignancy in his character. The children all give very good performances. This deftly directed, well-acted film is worth watching.

Average customer rating:

kiddie movie
Best Ghost Story In A Long Time
Eerie and enjoyable
wrong region
The best ghost I've seen.

The Devil's Backbone [Region 2]
Starring: Eduardo Noriega (II) , Marisa Paredes , Federico Luppi , Fernando Tielve , and Íñigo Garcés
Director: Guillermo del Toro
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Science Fiction & Fantasy | Genres | DVD | Video