As a huge fan of Guillermo del Toro’s cinematic work I have acquired most, if not all of the making of books for his films, including Pacific Rim, Pan’s Labyrinth, Crimson Peak, The Shape Of Water, so any new addition to the collection naturally piques my interest.

This particular book delves into the making for one of the director’s earlier works The Devil’s Backbone ( the film was released in 2001, but this publication is a fairly new one dated November 2017 ), a spiritual companion film to Pan’s Labyrinth that shares similar themes and is also set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War. See also – Trilogía de Guillermo del Toro – Criterion Blu-ray

Structured in a similar fashion to his other making of books, this volume includes a good mix of production stills, storyboards as well as Guillermo del Toro’s own conceptual sketches. Complementing the images are detailed interviews with Del Toro as well as key artistic personnel like DP Guillermo Navarro and composer Javier Navarrete.

(above & below) Guillermo del Toro’s highly impressionable concept sketches are always one of the highlights in his books. Definitely check out his Cabinet of Curiosities art book, which collects sketches from many of his projects.

The Devil’s Backbone isn’t my favourite Del Toro film ( I can’t quite decide on any single one ), but all his movies bear the same hallmarks – beautiful cinematography, production/set design, art direction. These Making Of books offer great insights into Guillermo del Toro’s influences and his distinct style of filmmaking, and I highly recommend it to fans of his work and aspiring filmmakers alike.

P.S The author of this book Matt Zoller Seitz has also written several other excellent books on films, including The Wes Anderson Collection and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

“Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone″ book details :

– Dimensions – 9.2 x 0.8 x 11 inches
– Hard cover, 160 pages
– Full color

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