Episode 165 – Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone

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This time on the podcast, Scott is joined by David Blakeslee and Ryan Gallagher to discuss Guillermo Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone.

About the film:

One of the most personal films by Guillermo del Toro, The Devil’s Backbone is also among his most frightening and emotionally layered. Set during the final week of the Spanish Civil War, it tells the tale of a twelve-year-old boy who, after his freedom-fighting father is killed, is sent to a haunted rural orphanage full of terrible secrets. Del Toro expertly combines gothic ghost story, murder mystery, and historical melodrama in a stylish mélange that, like his later Pan’s Labyrinth, reminds us the scariest monsters are often the human ones.

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See Criterion’s Three Reasons:

Episode Links:

• The Devil’s Backbone (2001) – The Criterion Collection
• The Devil’s Backbone: The Past is Never Dead – The Criterion Collection
• The Devil’s Backbone (2001) – IMDb
• The Devil’s Backbone – Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
• Insects and Violence | Film | The Guardian
• The Film Temple: Guillermo Del Toro Roundtable #4 – The Devil’s Backbone
• Roger Ebert’s Review
• Devil’s Backbone: Guillermo Del Toro Reflects on His ‘Dearest Film’ | Hero Complex
• Vivisect the Director: Guillermo Del Toro and The Devil’s Backbone
• Guillermo Del Toro – Interview – The A.V. Club
• Speak of The Devil’s Backbone: Film Freak Central Interviews Guillermo Del Toro
• Guillermo del Toro’s Top 10 – Explore – The Criterion Collection
• Guillermo del Toro – DVD Picks – YouTube
• Title sequences from Guillermo del Toro films — Art of the Title
• Mondo has unveiled their prints for Guillermo Del… // CriterionCast
• Mondo Unveils Prints For Guillermo Del Toro’s Cronos And The Devil’s Backbone
• Juan Hugo Martinez | The Devil’s Backbone | Reelizer
• CriterionForum.org: The Devil’s Backbone Blu-ray Review
• Nerdist Podcast: Guillermo del Toro live from NYCC ’12 | Nerdist

Episode Credits:

• Scott Nye (Twitter / Battleship Pretension)
• David Blakeslee (Twitter / Criterion Reflections)
• Ryan Gallagher (Twitter / Website / Wish List)

Music from this episode is by The White Stripes and The Clash.