Guillermo del Toro: Film as Alchemic Art

by Keith McDonald, Roger Clark

A critical exploration of one of the most exciting, original and influential figures to emerge in contemporary film, Guillermo del Film as Alchemic Art is a major contribution to the analysis of Guillermo del Toro's cinematic output. It offers an in-depth discussion of del Toro's oeuvre and investigates key ideas, recurrent motifs and subtle links between his movies. The book explores the sources that del Toro draws upon and transforms in the creation of his rich and complex body of work. These include the literary, artistic and cinematic influences on films such as Pan's Labyrinth , The Devil's Backbone , Cronos and Mimic, and the director's engagement with comic book culture in his two Hellboy films, Blade II and Pacific Rim . As well as offering extensive close textual analysis, the authors also consider del Toro's considerable impact on wider popular culture, including a discussion of his role as producer, ambassador for 'geek' culture and figurehead in new international cinema.

Genres: Film

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 27, 2014

About the author

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Reviews

[Tom]

Excellent book. I particularly loved the first section which focused on del Toro's influences and fan as filmmaker. McDonald and Clark's book exemplifies how biographical experience can shape a filmmaker's body of work. Though Crimson Peak and The Shape of Water were released after McDonald and Clark's book, you can clearly see del Toro's thematics and signature traits in both films.

[Kyle Burley]

3.5
A bit dry and academic but, still the best, and most complete, analysis of Del Toro's oeuvre to date.