I
know it sounds ridiculous to say this, but THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE
($20) is a genuinely haunting ghost story. Directed and co-written by
Guillermo del Toro, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a smaller, and more
personal supernatural film, the just seems even more beautifully realized
than his big budget Hollywood movies. Set during Spanish Civil War of the
1930s, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE takes place in a decimated private
school run by its headmistress Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and Professor
Casares (Federico Luppi). Now serving as an orphanage, the school houses a
small group of boys that lost their parents to the war. Carlos (Fernando
Tielve) is the latest arrival at this refuge that has an unexploded bomb
in the middle of its courtyard as a grim reminder that, although the
actual war is far removed from the school, death is ever present.
Another
grim reminder of death is the ghostly apparition of Santi (Junio Valverde),
the spirit of a murdered boy that walks the school corridors and tries to
make contact with Carlos. Although very much alive, a despicable handyman
named Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega) haunts the school by day working to patch
up the aging facilities, while his nights are spent searching a cache of
gold that he believes is hidden somewhere on the grounds of the school.
After repeated encounters with Santi and a rather grim, otherworldly
warning, Carlos comes to understand what the spectral boy wants and how
his fate is intertwined with the other boys at the school.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 widescreen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is a great looking transfer that produces
a sharp and very nicely defined image. Colors appear bold and rich in
bright sunlight, and very nicely saturated under interior lighting. Flesh
tones appear natural, except those that are necessarily supernatural.
Blacks are inky, whites are clean, plus the picture has excellent contrast
and very fine shadow detail. The film elements appear very clean, and
there is little by way of an overtly noticeable grain structure. Digital
compression artifacts are never a cause for concern.
THE
DEVIL'S BACKBONE comes with a truly fine sounding Dolby Digital 5.1
channel Spanish language soundtrack. Instead of being highly directional
and showy, this soundtrack produces a great deal of creepy atmosphere that
greatly enhances the key spectral appearances. Of course, directional
effects are well implemented when required, but atmosphere takes president
over a WOW factor. Dialogue sounds clean and natural, although I am in no
position to judge intelligibility of the Spanish being spoken. The bass
channel is very solid and gives a necessary depth to the sound effects and
music. Speaking of the music, Javier Navarrete’s suitably atmospheric
score is rendered with an excellent sense of presence. No other language
tracks are provided, but English subtitles have been included.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a nice complement of supplements. Starting
thing off, director Guillermo del Toro is on hand to provide a highly
informative and interesting audio commentary. A Director’s
Thumbnail Track is provided on a subtitle channel, which
synchronizes the director’s original drawings to the sequences in the
film that he was pre-visualizing. Que Es Un Fantasma:
The Making of The Devil’s Backbone is a serious twenty-seven
minute program (broken up into six parts) that looks at the various
elements of the film’s production. Four Deleted Scenes are
provided on the DVD, and while the material is interesting enough, none of
it warrants being cut back into the film. The Thumbnail/Storyboard
Comparisons provides a visual progression of various sequences-
from del Toro’s crude drawings, to polished storyboards, and finally the
completed film. Several Still Galleries, plus previews for THE
DEVIL’S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, and DARKNESS FALLS close
out the extras.
THE
DEVIL’S BACKBONE is a haunting, character driven ghost story that
strikes a real emotional cord. Columbia’s Special Edition DVD looks
great, sounds just fine and packs on some very nice extra features. If you
like a good ghost story, or are fond of director Guillermo del Toro’s
work, then you should definitely check out THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE.
Recommended.
I
know it sounds ridiculous to say this, but THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE
($20) is a genuinely haunting ghost story. Directed and co-written by
Guillermo del Toro, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a smaller, and more
personal supernatural film, the just seems even more beautifully realized
than his big budget Hollywood movies. Set during Spanish Civil War of the
1930s, THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE takes place in a decimated private
school run by its headmistress Carmen (Marisa Paredes) and Professor
Casares (Federico Luppi). Now serving as an orphanage, the school houses a
small group of boys that lost their parents to the war. Carlos (Fernando
Tielve) is the latest arrival at this refuge that has an unexploded bomb
in the middle of its courtyard as a grim reminder that, although the
actual war is far removed from the school, death is ever present.
Another
grim reminder of death is the ghostly apparition of Santi (Junio Valverde),
the spirit of a murdered boy that walks the school corridors and tries to
make contact with Carlos. Although very much alive, a despicable handyman
named Jacinto (Eduardo Noriega) haunts the school by day working to patch
up the aging facilities, while his nights are spent searching a cache of
gold that he believes is hidden somewhere on the grounds of the school.
After repeated encounters with Santi and a rather grim, otherworldly
warning, Carlos comes to understand what the spectral boy wants and how
his fate is intertwined with the other boys at the school.
Columbia
TriStar Home Entertainment has made THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE available
on DVD in a 1.85:1 widescreen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is a great looking transfer that produces
a sharp and very nicely defined image. Colors appear bold and rich in
bright sunlight, and very nicely saturated under interior lighting. Flesh
tones appear natural, except those that are necessarily supernatural.
Blacks are inky, whites are clean, plus the picture has excellent contrast
and very fine shadow detail. The film elements appear very clean, and
there is little by way of an overtly noticeable grain structure. Digital
compression artifacts are never a cause for concern.
THE
DEVIL'S BACKBONE comes with a truly fine sounding Dolby Digital 5.1
channel Spanish language soundtrack. Instead of being highly directional
and showy, this soundtrack produces a great deal of creepy atmosphere that
greatly enhances the key spectral appearances. Of course, directional
effects are well implemented when required, but atmosphere takes president
over a WOW factor. Dialogue sounds clean and natural, although I am in no
position to judge intelligibility of the Spanish being spoken. The bass
channel is very solid and gives a necessary depth to the sound effects and
music. Speaking of the music, Javier Navarrete’s suitably atmospheric
score is rendered with an excellent sense of presence. No other language
tracks are provided, but English subtitles have been included.
Full
motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's interactive
menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a nice complement of supplements. Starting
thing off, director Guillermo del Toro is on hand to provide a highly
informative and interesting audio commentary. A Director’s
Thumbnail Track is provided on a subtitle channel, which
synchronizes the director’s original drawings to the sequences in the
film that he was pre-visualizing. Que Es Un Fantasma :
The Making of The Devil’s Backbone is a serious twenty-seven
minute program (broken up into six parts) that looks at the various
elements of the film’s production. Four Deleted Scenes are
provided on the DVD, and while the material is interesting enough, none of
it warrants being cut back into the film. The Thumbnail/Storyboard
Comparisons provides a visual progression of various sequences-
from del Toro’s crude drawings, to polished storyboards, and finally the
completed film. Several Still Galleries, plus previews for THE
DEVIL’S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, and DARKNESS FALLS close
out the extras.
THE
DEVIL’S BACKBONE is a haunting, character driven ghost story that
strikes a real emotional cord. Columbia’s Special Edition DVD looks
great, sounds just fine and packs on some very nice extra features. If you
like a good ghost story, or are fond of director Guillermo del Toro’s
work, then you should definitely check out THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE.
Recommended.
