Part of Weekend Classics
Guillermo del Toro made an auspicious and audacious feature debut with CRONOS, a highly unorthodox tale about the seductiveness of the idea of immortality. Kindly antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) happens upon an ancient golden device in the shape of a scarab — and soon finds himself the possessor and victim of its sinister, addictive powers, as well as the target of a mysterious American named Angel (a delightfully crude and deranged Ron Perlman). Featuring marvelous makeup effects and the haunting imagery for which del Toro has become world-renowned, CRONOS is a dark, visually rich, and emotionally captivating fantasy.
Restoration Credit:
Supervised and approved by director Guillermo del Toro, the new 4K restoration of CRONOS was undertaken by Les Films du Camélia in collaboration with BFI at L’Immagine Ritrovata with the support of Cartier and was created from the 35mm original camera negative. The 2.0 surround soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm magnetic soundtrack by the Criterion Collection.
“CRONOS acts as a fascinating introductory course on del Toro the humanist, someone wholly concerned with juxtaposing symbols of innocence (children, fairy tales) with the horrors of the adult world (war, greed), all while finding the dark comedy underneath the madness.” —Glenn Heath Jr., Slant Magazine “A macabre body-horror comedy, perhaps more intriguing than frightening, with a hint of steampunkiness…. A distinctive authorial signature, the work of a very individual film-maker.” —Peter Bradshaw, Guardian “A forebear for the future of del Toro’s influence…. The real monster of CRONOS Is the normal man who chooses to be one, driven by materialistic and earthly passions of greed and selfishness. That sort of horror is a lot more introspective and messier to dissect, but much like other films in Guillermo del Toro’s oeuvre, CRONOS is all the more existentially horrifying the longer it sits with you.” —Leigh Monson, Substream Magazine
