Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's magnum opus fairy-tale for adults, released

Pan’s Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) Released: October 11, 2006 Studio: Warner Bros. Genre: fantasy/monster/foreign Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 37.63 Worldwide: 83.85 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Guillermo del Toro Screenwriting: Guillermo del Toro Starring: Sergi López, Maribel Verdú, Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Ariadna Gil, Álex Angulo Review: Pan’s Labyrinth is director/screenwriter Guillermo del Toro’s “magnum opus,” SF “the essence of the filmmaker distilled down to a single film.” SF It is a “fairy tale for grown-ups, as pull-no-punches brutal as it is gorgeously, baroquely fantastical.” E18 “There’s an earthy, primal feel to his fairy-world here, alien and threatening rather than gasp-inducing and ‘magical.’” E18 It is a “poignant, visually stunning dark fantasy about the loss of innocence set during the Spanish Civil War.” SF The story “follows a young girl who escapes her grim and death-filled reality by entering a world of magical creatures and wood fairies. del Toro doesn't sugarcoat or hide anything, paying as much attention to crafting a stunning magical world with stunning creature designs as he does to portraying the grim and violent reality of fascist Spain. Tying the fantasy to real-life horrors is the core of what makes this such a brilliant film, as it grounds both storylines, making reality feel fantastical, and fantasy feel real.” SF “This is in no small part thanks to the gorgeous visuals that realize del Toro’s vision to life, particularly the titular faun and the repulsive Pale Man, creating two memorable characters that will forever haunt your dreams — while the haunting score helps realize a world that is as beautiful as it is eerie.” SF Sources: E18 Empire (3/20/2018). “The 100 Greatest Movies” SF SlashFilm.com (5/23/2023). “Top 100 Movies of All Time”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Oscars: Wins: 3 – Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Makeup Nominations: 6 – including Best Original Screenplay, Best Foreign Film, Best Original Score Lists: Hall of Fames: Experts’ Picks: Genre Lists: First posted 6/10/2023; last updated 3/5/2025.

 

The Searchers released 50 years ago today

The Searchers Released: May 13, 1956 Studio: Warner Bros. Genre: Western Box Office (numbers in millions) Domestic: 10.90 Worldwide: ? Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: ? Worldwide: ?

Directing: John Ford Screenwriting: Frank S. Nugent, Alan Le May Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Natalie Wood, Henry Brandon Review: The Searchers, based on the novel by Alan Le May, is “a complex, epic, ‘psychological’ Western story” FS set in the Old West in the post-Civil War era. Glenn Frankel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who wrote The Searchers: The Making of an American Legend, says the movie “is perhaps the greatest Hollywood film that few people have seen.” MSN “Nobody made westerns better than John Ford, and he never made one better than this.” TV He “had been making westerns for almost four decades before he acknowledged the racism inherent in cowboys vs. Indians and directed his masterpiece,” RS “which is miraculously purified of its racist furies in a final moment of epiphany.” T95 It was “beautifully filmed in his most popular locale, Monument Valley.” FS In “the role of his career” RS John Wayne “as the flawed hero” TV “turns in a deceptively simple performance” TV which is “by turns explosive and melancholy,” TV that would forever define his swaggering macho style.” TV He is Ethan Edwards, an Indian-hating Civil War Confederate veteran, who spends five years in pursuit of his teenage niece, Debbie (Wood). She was kidnapped by Chief Scar (Brandon) who led a Comanche Indians massacre of a frontier family. On his journey to track down and kill the chief, Edwards “is accompanied by half-breed adopted nephew Martin Pawley (Hunter), who is equally determined to save the girl.” FS The movie is “a pilgrimage into the dark heart of an outsider” TV as Edwards is plagued by the thought of his niece being raped by savages and doesn’t know if he wants to rescue or kill her. “Few film images are more haunting than that of Wayne standing alone in a doorway, cut off from his family by torments he can’t define.” RS Sources: FS Filmsite.org “100 Greatest Films” MSN MSN Entertainment (7/19/2018). “100 Best Movies” by Shahnaz Mahmud RS Rolling Stone (12/30/1999). “100 Maverick Movies of the Last 100 Years” T95 Time Out (1995). “Centenary Top One Hundred Films” TV TV Guide (August 8-14, 1998 issue). “50 Greatest Movies on TV and Video”

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Genre Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 0 Nominations: 0 Other Lists/Honors: Critics’ Picks: Leslie Halliwell/John Walker Leonard Maltin Martin Scorsese First posted 9/3/2019; last updated 6/6/2023.

Brokeback Mountain loses Best Picture Oscar to Crash

Brokeback Mountain Released: December 9, 2005 Studio: River Road Entertainment, Focus Features Genre: romantic drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 83.03 Worldwide: 178.04 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Ang Lee Screenwriting: Larry McMurtry, Diana Ossana Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, Michelle Williams, Linda Cardellini, Anna Faris, Randy Quaid Review: Brokeback Mountain is a “2005 neo-Western romantic drama” WK adapted from a 1997 short story by Annie Proulx. “Its plot depicts the complex romantic relationship between two American cowboys, Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, in the American West from 1963 to 1983.” WK The story starts in 1963 when Ennis (Ledger) and Jack (Gyllenhaal) are hired as sheep ranchers in Wyoming. Jack makes a pass at Ennis one night after they’ve been drinking and Ennis eventually becomes receptive. He insists, however, that it was a one-time thing. The two move on. Ennis marries Alma (Williams) and they have two daughters. Jack marries Lureen (Hathaway) and they have a son. Jack and Ennis get together over the years for private fishing trips and when their marriages disintegrate, Jack tries to convince Ennis that they should build a life together. Cinematically, “the landscapes astound. The woods and mountains of America’s West convey a sense of serenity, as well as an air of promise.” HC The relationship between Jack and Ennis seems to be comprised of “aggression, conflict, and confused passion” HC without “any significant emotional or interpersonal growth.” HC Sadly, these are men locked into worlds of silent masculinity that keeps them from expressing themselves with complete honesty. The film generated several controversies. While the movie is now seen “as a turning point for the advancement of queer cinema into the mainstream” WK it faces criticism and censorship from conservative media outlets at the time. It was also considered a shock when it lost the Best Picture Oscar to Crash, which has now become infamous as one of the least-deserving wins in Oscar history. Sources: HC The Harvard Crimson review by Julia J. Hynek WK Wikipedia

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Genre Lists: Eras: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 3: Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score Nominations: 8: Best Picture, Best Actor (Ledger), Best Supporting Actor (Gyllenhaal), Best Supporting Actress (Williams), Best Cinematography Lists: Hall of Fames: First posted 3/5/2025.