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Special Features
- Brand-new director-supervised HD transfer
- Deleted scenes with optional director commentary
- Making-of documentary
- Director's thumbnail track
- Excerpts from director's notebook
- Conceptual art galleries
- Storyboard thumbnail comparisons
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Seething passions, wandering ghosts, and an unexploded bomb fill this beautifully filmed tale of war and suspense. Though The Devil's Backbone was advertised as a horror movie in the States, it's really more of a drama that happens to have ghosts in it. During the Spanish Civil War, young Carlos is abandoned at a completely isolated orphanage. The tensions therein have been building for years, exacerbated by the unexploded bomb resting menacingly in the courtyard. Bullies scheme, tempers flare, and a ghost that visits Carlos's bed seems to be the key to it all. The movie is full of excellent performances, especially by Marisa Paredes as the gruff-but-kind headmistress, Eduardo Noriega as the handyman with secrets to keep, and Federico Luppi as the benevolent professor who likes to keep deformed fetuses in jars. A rich, satisfying drama with some good, spooky fun thrown in. --Ali Davis
Product Description
THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a stylish and unpredictable supernatural chiller from director Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Blade 2) which deftly mixes horror, suspense and dark humor. Twelve-year-old Carlos is the latest arrival to Santa Lucia School, an imposing stone building that shelters the orphans of the Republican militia and politicians during the last days of the Spanish Civil War. Carlos gradually uncovers the dark ties that bind the inhabitants of the school: hidden riches, sexual intrigue and the restless ghost of a murdered student. Presented by Pedro and Agustin Almodovar (All About My Mother) and starring Marisa Paredes (The Flower of My Secret), Federico Luppi (Men with Guns) and Eduardo Noriega (Open Your Eyes), THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a richly atmospheric, genuinely thrilling ride in the tradition of The Others and The Sixth Sense.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
67 of 71 people found the following review helpful
By BD Ashley
Format:DVD
"What is a ghost? A tragedy condemned to repeat itself time and again? An instant of pain perhaps. Somthing dead which still seems to be alive. An emotion suspended in time. Like a blurred photograph. Like an insect taped in amber".
It is this rumination which opens THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, a ghost story set during the Spanish Civil War directed by Guillermero Del Toro (Mimic, Blade 2) and presented by Pedro Almodovar.
Carlitos is an orphaned 12 year old who is sent to a boarding school that shelters orphans during the last days of the war.
One unwelcome occupant is the ghost of a murdered boy, called "The One Who Sighs" by the other pupils. Carlitos is unlucky enough to come face to face with the hideously disfigured apparition one night where as a dare, the other boys send him downstairs to get some water; but for some reason he ends up in the slug infested basement; where "The One Who Sighs" dwells in a pool conveniently located there.
The movie gets its title from the name given to the deformed spine of dead foetuses, which is preserved in alcohol by an ecentric teacher. The alcohol is then sold in town and touted as a "cure all" remedy...BR>THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a horror thriller that takes its time getting started, but once it does it makes Hollywood's regular crop of horrors look anemic. Scary, stylish and twisty (in addition to twisted) THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE doesn't undermine the viewer's intelligence either. This is a must see for horror fans and film buffs.
Extra features on the DVD include a doco about the making of the movie, trailers, storyboard comparisons and commentaries by Del Toro and the cinematographer.
It is this rumination which opens THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, a ghost story set during the Spanish Civil War directed by Guillermero Del Toro (Mimic, Blade 2) and presented by Pedro Almodovar.
Carlitos is an orphaned 12 year old who is sent to a boarding school that shelters orphans during the last days of the war.
One unwelcome occupant is the ghost of a murdered boy, called "The One Who Sighs" by the other pupils. Carlitos is unlucky enough to come face to face with the hideously disfigured apparition one night where as a dare, the other boys send him downstairs to get some water; but for some reason he ends up in the slug infested basement; where "The One Who Sighs" dwells in a pool conveniently located there.
The movie gets its title from the name given to the deformed spine of dead foetuses, which is preserved in alcohol by an ecentric teacher. The alcohol is then sold in town and touted as a "cure all" remedy...BR>THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE is a horror thriller that takes its time getting started, but once it does it makes Hollywood's regular crop of horrors look anemic. Scary, stylish and twisty (in addition to twisted) THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE doesn't undermine the viewer's intelligence either. This is a must see for horror fans and film buffs.
Extra features on the DVD include a doco about the making of the movie, trailers, storyboard comparisons and commentaries by Del Toro and the cinematographer.
43 of 48 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Like del Toro's "Pan's Labyrinth" which has made huge waves in the non-Hollywood world, "The Devil's Backbone" is not easily categorised. Ghost story? yes, but much more. Picture of the scary tensions in Spain in the early days of the Civil War? yes, but more. Wonderful tale of how a group of children mature amid disaster and tragedy and come to be almost their own family, to replace the ones they never had or are separated from? Yes, but more. Rich in symbols and allegory...yes, but...
The richness of what T.S.Eliot called the "objective correlative" gives one that sense of underlying depth. For instance, there's the huge unexploded bomb stuck in the middle of the school courtyard. What is it but a metaphor for the hidden ghastly secret that waits to explode and reveal the reason for the mysterious ghost of the boy Santi? We only find out Santi's story near the end. Then there's the Devil's Backbone itself - in reality a congenital deformity where the spine is exposed, but spooky-looking in the sample floating in a jar of preservative - doesn't Jacinto exactly match that name? An irredeemable core of evil, like a Shakespeare villain or the Captain in Pan's Labyrinth. del Toro doesn't want to claim that there's something good in everyone: he says no, some characters are just irreversibly turned to the dark side, the very backbone of evil.
Then there's the subtle end-to end connections that add more richness. In the early scene of the school classroom, the children are shown the picture of a mammoth and the teacher makes the point that in these days the creatures were so big and strong that the hunters could only succeed by working closely together as a group.... Read more ›
The richness of what T.S.Eliot called the "objective correlative" gives one that sense of underlying depth. For instance, there's the huge unexploded bomb stuck in the middle of the school courtyard. What is it but a metaphor for the hidden ghastly secret that waits to explode and reveal the reason for the mysterious ghost of the boy Santi? We only find out Santi's story near the end. Then there's the Devil's Backbone itself - in reality a congenital deformity where the spine is exposed, but spooky-looking in the sample floating in a jar of preservative - doesn't Jacinto exactly match that name? An irredeemable core of evil, like a Shakespeare villain or the Captain in Pan's Labyrinth. del Toro doesn't want to claim that there's something good in everyone: he says no, some characters are just irreversibly turned to the dark side, the very backbone of evil.
Then there's the subtle end-to end connections that add more richness. In the early scene of the school classroom, the children are shown the picture of a mammoth and the teacher makes the point that in these days the creatures were so big and strong that the hunters could only succeed by working closely together as a group.... Read more ›
23 of 25 people found the following review helpful
By Eric McCalla
If you have seen the trailers for The Devil's Backbone, and you were intrigued enough to see the movie, you won't be disappointed. The trailer only scratches the surface of the film's context and message, which is unusual in that it doesn't give away the film's most important moments (like many of today's movie trailers out of mainstream Hollywood.)
The many themes presented in the movie (war, love, loss, greed, death and revenge) are visited upon us in very subtle ways. It is hard to describe how the filmmakers have done it, without giving away the plot's clincher. The story unfolds slowly at first, drawing a very somber picture of life during the Spanish Civil War in a remote orphanage.
On a technical level, the special effects serve to heighten the emotional and psychological tension as the story progresses. This is a ghost story in more than one way: not only that of a child who appears from the beyond, but also of the metaphorical ghost of war that hangs over not only the orphans, but of all those who are struggling to survive through it. There is a great sense of despair and deprivation that is felt throughout all the characters' actions and emotions. This is not a particularly violent war film physically, but more one psychologically that IMPACTS you very deeply after you have had time to think it through.
Marisa Paredes' performance is far and away one of the most compelling this year. It would be nice to see her get some recognition state-side for her contributions to the cinema. Overall, the entire cast is excellent and the production as well as the screenplay are first-rate.
VERY highly recommended!!
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
What is a ghost? There are so many in this movie. There is an actual ghost, a boy cloaked in bloody water, swimming through the orphanage where the action takes place. There is an old doctor in love with a woman whom he reads poems through the wall and whom he doesn't have the courage to touch. There is a principal of the orphanage who is saving the gold for the cause she doesn't even believe in any longer. There is a caretaker, "a prince without a kingdom," who is barely living in the present, concentrating on the past. All of them are frozen in time, none are truly there - and all are thrown into action by the force of history that doesn't stop ticking, like the bomb in the yard, who some believe is still going to detonate.
Guillermo del Toro lets us feel the history as it's happening, through the eyes of the boys growing up in the time of Spanish Civil War, when the airplanes are flying dangerously low. They are the best actors in this movie, each giving a terrific performance. Through their actions, they literally mature before our very eyes.
For those who are looking for a little more, you will find it... there was something for everyone: a warped love story or two, a truly frightening ghost, a mystery waiting to be unraveled and a wrongful death waiting to be avenged. For most of the movie, I was glued to my seat, breathless with either fear or worry for the characters - something I hadn't experienced for some time while sitting in the movie theater.
See it... it's worth the subtitles.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very entertaining
Strange video that keeps you watching till the end. I only wish the dialouge was in English. Other than that I recommend it.
Published 11 days ago by Thomas Stankard
5.0 out of 5 stars
good one
good movie to own. Guillermo del Torro is someone i follow. he never falls short of making movies that are very touching, deep and powerful, they make u think. Read more
Published 29 days ago by Grisell Fumero
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent film.
This is in my top ten favorite films. So well done and deeply moving. I am happy I own it now.
Published 1 month ago by Dawn Bing
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another great film made in Spain by Mexican dir. Guillermo del Toro is...
Starring charming Spanish actress Marisa Paredes and Spain's young heart-throb Eduardo Noriega, with Federico Luppi, EL ESPINAZO DEL DIABLO tells the story of students and faculty... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ronald Schwartz
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just a Ghost Story...
Perhaps Guillermo Del Toro's finest film to date, rivaling his other horror masterpiece Cronos, in style, substance and subtext, The Devil's Backbone must be viewed for what it is:... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Galo Romero
4.0 out of 5 stars
A new kind of ghosts
Amazing movie from Guillermo Del Toro, with astonishing performances and a beautiful cinematography. It's a chilling thriller that in the end works as a drama. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Edus
5.0 out of 5 stars
Scary
The Devil's Backbone was a scary movie. Although there are no real special effects the story line and images will make you scared.
Published 5 months ago by verleatha hill
4.0 out of 5 stars
Well done . . .
I enjoyed this movie very much, and I am quite critical about movies generally. The story makes sense, the ghost sequences are believable and realistic in special effects, and the... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Salmon
5.0 out of 5 stars
More Than Just a Ghost Story
To call this a ghost story is to do it injustice. It is much more than that. It is a glimpse into live during the Spanish Civil War. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Hard To Find Music and Movies
4.0 out of 5 stars
Has nothing to do with Pans Labrynith
I read somewhere that this movie was a prequal, or continuation of some sorts of Pans Labrynith, I can assure you this has absolutely nothing to do with Pans Labrynith, this movie... Read more
Published 10 months ago by PARISRUNWAY
