The Devil's Backbone (Special Edition) (DVD)

To accompany the release of Hellboy on DVD Columbia TriStar has put together a special edition of The Devil's Backbone, a film Guillermo del Toro wrote and directed and released back in 2001. The film won a handful of awards, but I had never even heard of it until now and I must say that I am glad that I did.

I just published my review of the Hellboy DVD but I held a few things back for this one, since this film impressed me so much and holds to what del Toro is all about and that is visual storytelling, and this DVD and his commentary emphasize that.

The Devil's Backbone is about 12-year-old Carlos who is the most recent addition to Santa Lucia School, which serves its purpose by sheltering the orphans of the Republican militia and politicians during the last days of the Spanish Civil War.

Through Carlos' experiences in the massive stone structure he learns of all the school's secrets including the restless ghost of a murdered student.

Although I didn't get what I was expecting from this movie, I really liked this film. I was thrown off by the title, considering it has so little to do with the story line, and it implies I am about to get into some sinister horror flick, when what you really get is what del Toro describes as a "gothic romance."

Guillermo del Toro is a master of visual storytelling as he showed us in Blade II and Hellboy, and this film is no exception as the look and feel of the film say just as much as the dialogue. He is able to get so much out of set designs, and colors and lighting that it really adds to his film's overall presentation and the special features prove that.

While I am never really a fan of deleted scenes the ones included on this disc are important to listen to with Guillermo's commentary as learn just how demanding of perfection he is and how he explains his distaste of just focusing the camera on two people talking. It is all telling of why you get the films from him you do.

"The Making of The Devil's Backbone" feature is just shy of 30 minutes and a perfect length as it gives you insight into the production and each character and the actor who played them. Then of course the large amount of views given on del Toro himself.

Del Toro's visual style lends well with his recent films and to this film as well, which is why several of his storyboards and the early concept art are made available for you to check out on this DVD while you are watching the movie itself or as standalone features.

I haven't seen the first version of this DVD release but I do know the commentary is different on this one as Guillermo just rambles on from subject to subject, sometimes talking about what is on the screen and sometimes just going off on his own tangent. It is good stuff and worth checking out if you have the time.

I do know that the first release did have a Making-of featurette and storyboard comparisons, but I do not know if they were the same as this one, but this new release has a new HD film transfer that looks absolutely great so if you have an old copy and want an upgrade or if you simply want a good movie definitely check out The Devil's Backbone.