BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered review by Alex!!!
Guillermo del Toro’s 1992 film Cronos is a Mexican Horror/Drama that provides a unique interpretation of a classic vampire tale. Starring Federico Luppi as the main protagonist “Jesus Gris”, the elderly owner of an antiques store in which he stumbles upon a device hidden among his inventory. That device being “The Cronos Device”, created hundreds of years earlier by an Alchemist with the intention of restoring youth to whomever uses the device.
BFI’s restoration work on this iconic film is absolutely spectacular, scanned from the original 35mm camera negative and much of the restoration process overseen by del Toro to fully capture his original vision in stunning 4K. I was one of the lucky few who got to immerse themselves in the film at the BFI IMAX theatre in Waterloo, I must say it was a stunning way to fully appreciate the film’s restoration and overall watch the film for the first time.
From my point of view as a first time watcher, I found the film to be a refreshing take on the classic vampire story. While I did a bit of research before viewing it was rather brief as I wanted to leave it as a surprise, needless to say I rather enjoyed it. The acting from the supporting roles were also great, I particularly noticed the artistic choice to keep the character of Aurora silent (played by Tamara Xanath). I feel that it works rather well and does not detract from her roles within the film itself, in this case her actions and body language were more than adequate to portray the characters feelings in the scenes.
I also enjoyed viewing a film meant for a different culture to mine, I mostly stick to films aimed towards an English speaking audience, in my eyes this film was a breath of fresh air. While I may have missed some culture specific references and dialogue due to translations it did not at all detract from my enjoyment of the plot. I did appreciate the small bits of English dubbing from time to time, but I am also thankful that a large portion of the film was kept to it’s original language to properly convey the setting and the subtitles were more than adequate.
The film’s status as a classic speaks for itself and I would definitely recommend giving it a watch.
Available on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K 24/2/25 (15) 4 Stars
Youth #Gottit View:
We all love Guillermo del Toro and his beautiful/sensitively dealt with way of storytelling. But Cronos was where it all began and if you’ve never seen this film – it genuinly is one of all time must see horror movies from recent years. This new 4K restoration is something very special and guarentees Cronos will be loved by many generations to come. Highly Recommended!!!
BFI – Cronos 4K Remastered review by Con CLICK HERE!!!
