Pan's Labyrinth (1 Viewer)

[Chris Moe]

I am not denying that it's a special movie, I loved the movie and plan on buying it. A couple of scenes just took me off guard and surprised me. Not in a bad way, I just didn't see it coming. That's about all I am trying to say here, I wasn't turned off by the brutality, I just didn't expect it and it shocked me. In fact the brutality of a couple scenes really helps the movie and does in fact make it a special movie, I love it when movies don't pull any punches.

I haven't seen it since the first couple weeks it was released in the theaters so my memory was fuzzy on what the implement was that was used.

 

[Ravi K]

I'm glad I bought this DVD. What a GREAT movie. I haven't seen anything like it. I only wish I hadn't missed it in the theaters.

I had two problems with the video transfer, though.

1) Blacks were not quite black throughout the entire film. I don't know if it was intentional, but it looked weird.

2) Like this thread mentions, the picture switched to interlaced towards the end.

 

[Kevin M]

Certainly not Grimm's Fairy Tales.

 

[Bo_Darville]

i don't believe its quite that special, and it wasn't a successful fantasy movie all around, at least not financially ($37m us box office, comparable to Krull adjusted for inflation). what surprised me most, as i said before, was how little of the storyline was related to fantasy. the trailers tried to make this out to be LOTR-type fare; instead this was closer to Jacob's Ladder.

as far as the brutality, i believe it was more a case of a wannabe director (hellboy, need i say more?) trying to compensate for shortcomings in the special effects department (i once again present exhibit 'a' - the bullfrog). you can see he was definitely going for "shock" effect, and yet other posters can't fathom that myself and others were actually "shocked" by it (which i just find "strange/weird/whatever" -- whatever dude). the most brutal scenes seemed random and out of place, especially since none of the acts were actually witnessed by ofelia (which at least would have provided the backdrop for her need for escapism). it was brutality for brutality's sake, unlike, say, saving private ryan, where the brutality of war gave a deeper appreciation and empathy for the characters and what they went through.

overall, a pretty good movie, which i enjoyed (B+). but i'm not going to call it one of the greatest fantasy movies of all time, and i don't think the brutality elevates it to that status either.

 

[Kevin M]

Let's see....

Production Budget: $19 million
Domestic Total as of May. 20, 2007: $37,579,971
Foreign: $43,485,964
Worldwide: $81,065,935

Not too bad for a low(er) budget foreign film with Spanish subtitles.

 

[TonyD]

Bo, true, but one can't just go by whats in the trailer anymore, or ever really i guess.

the trailers for bridge to taribithia made that out as another lotr too.
but again, far from it.

 

[AaronMan]

Bo, I think we'll just have to agree to disagree. After reading some of Chris's comments, I think he and I are sort of on the same page. At least we both think its a pretty darn good film and think the level of violence serves the film's story.

They make trailers to try to fit every demographic. I've seen tear-jerker dramas made out to look like comedies. Studios have been using trailers to manipulate people into seeing films for years, if not decades, so the practice is not new. It is deceptive, but usually the trailers are handled by the marketing department, not by the director. And they always include the rating at the end of the trailer. When I noticed it was rated R, I decided to look it up online (what a concept!) to get a little more information about it. Then when I saw it in the theater, I was shocked by the depiction of violence. But I knew what I got myself into--an R rated film. The warning label was clearly marked on the poster, the previews, etc. There have been countless movies where I've been mislead by the trailers. However, I don't blame the movie, I blame the marketing people.

I wasn't a fan of Hellboy or Blade 2, but those were big budget Hollywood popcorn movies that were most likely under a big studio microscope. Pan's Labyrinth was obviously a labor of love for Del Toro, and had complete creative control over it.

Correct me if I'm wrong, and I'm sure you will, it seems to me you were very offended by the violence. On the other hand, Chris, while also shocked by it, was only shocked within the context of the story.

And as Kevin pointed out, its box office totals aren't too shabby. And DVD sales are going to make it even more profitable.

 

[Ray H]

Personally, I never got the LOTR vibe from the trailers. As far as I remember, despite the presence of a little girl, it all looked pretty dark, mysterious (probably because foreign movie trailers tend to avoid showing dialogue), and a bit frightening. I distinctly remember the "fairy tale for adults" vibe. Granted, I think one could've gotten the impression that it would be more fantasy world oriented, but certainly nothing to suggest a grand fantasy adventure. I think it was probably due to reviews or something else that I really got the real vibe for the movie - Spanish Civil War and all. I don't quite remember why, but I wasn't really shocked by the violence. I guess I expected a level of sadism from the villain and knowing the director and that the film was rated R, I figured they would push it. But for whatever reason, none of it really left me with the feeling that it was excessively violent. I don't know, maybe I was just watching a lot of violent films when I first saw it. I picked the DVD up last Tuesday, but still haven't gotten around to rewatching it. When I do, I'll see how it holds up.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

So I finally watched this on the weekend and found it utterly breathtaking. Yes, it is violent, but not surprisingly so, given the historical context in which the film is placed. The violence is shocking, but again, that has a lot to do with the film itself; we have a tendency to shy away from the evil that men do in defence of a political agenda, and this film does not shy away from it.

My 12 year-old daughter wanted to watch it, but I wouldn't let her. I think you have to be quite a bit older than 12 to fully appreciate this film.

 

[Kevin M]

So now Del Toro is a "wannabe" director?
Well I & few others obviously disagree with pretty much every point you made in that post (yes, including the Bullfrog...I had no problem with it), however I might point out that this is a thread discussing the DVD and not the film itself, THIS IS THE MOVIE THREAD (over in the movies section) discussing the film itself where you will find some who agree with your opinion and many others who don't.


BTW, I have had a cash shortage until a few days ago so I finally was able to try & pick up the two disc SE....out of three Walmart's, four Bestbuy's & two Target's I found exactly ZERO copies available...sold out everywhere in my area, very odd for a foreign film with no English dub in this area I can tell you.
Well, thank you Amazon, it arrived in two days.

 

[Bo_Darville]

. ^^^^^ note: this is a context reference ^^^^

 

[Ray H]

What's wrong with the bullfrog scene? Looked fine to me (or so it didn't stand out for me to remember anything particularly wrong with it).

 

[AaronMan]

Wow...

 

[Kevin M]

I'll be happy to discuss this film over in the Movies section with you Bo, this section is about the DVD release and I will not go off topic again.

If you decide to do so then I'll talk to you there.

 

[Stephen_J_H]

Boy, am I glad I missed that!