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Cronos
[Blu-ray 4K]
Blu-ray ALL - United Kingdom - British Film Institute Review written by and copyright: James-Masaki Ryan (24th February 2025). |
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The Film
 "Cronos" (1992) Jesús Gris (played by Federico Luppi) is the owner of a small antique shop who comes across a small golden metallic device that was hidden inside an archangel statue. Unbeknownst to him, it is a five hundred year old mechanical device that can make a person immortal by attaching itself to the owner and purifying their blood. With its power, the elderly Jesús suddenly starts to feel invigorated, but at the same time he starts to develop a taste for blood. Meanwhile there is Dieter de la Guardia (played by Claudio Brook), an elderly rich industrialist who is in poor health and has been searching for the mythical device in order to regain his health. With a possible lead to the device, he sends his gruff and reluctant nephew Angel (played by Ron Perlman) to retrieve the artifact. Cronos was the first feature film by director Guillermo del Toro, who was 28 at the time of its release. Working on independent shorts and for Mexican television, he was able to express his love of creature effects and horror themes in small doses. "Cronos" includes vampire lore, science fiction, while also placing importance of character and melodrama for emotional depth. Quite a lot of work was placed on the device itself, with thirteen different versions being produced by Del Toro’s group of special effects artists, with each serving differing functions on screen. The illusion of editing made it look like it was a single complex ancient machine with intricate clockwork parts and detailed functions. Del Toro stated that unfortunately all thirteen props were stolen after production wrapped and none of them have ever resurfaced. The only known existing ones were remade using the original molds. A lot of time and money was spent on the creation of the devices, so there was not a lot to be spent on sets and other portions of the production. Sets such as the De la Guardia factory and the antique shop used existing locations without too much emphasis on set decoration. While it may seem off balance, the low budget film does look and feel like a living and breathing environment rather than a completely constructed one as seen in higher budgeted films, including some of Del Toro’s later works. Jesús’ home and his antique shop look like they have been around for decades and there are wonderful details to be found all over. On the other hand, De la Guardia’s home and industrial factory are the exact opposite. His room is like that of Howard Hughes, closed off from the rest of the world with lots of empty space and well organized. The same goes for the factory, which is spacious and menacing in size, yet it is also unclear what the factory is actually manufacturing. Del Toro has stated that it is never disclosed what they produce there, as it is completely unnecessary for the plot. Courtesy of cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, lighting the environments and giving them life is very important, and the visuals are captured wonderfully. It is visually a striking film while not being overly done with movement, but more with character and tone. "Cronos" can technically be seen as a vampire film. It has the elements of vampire lore with a character that feasts on blood, is weak against sunlight, and is immortal. Yet it is quite different as it explains the lore through mechanical and alchemic means, with a device that makes the person become a vampiric being, instead of a purely. It takes elements of vampire lore, mixes it with David Cronenbergian body horror, and also includes references to Christianity, with the story taking place around Christmas, the main character having a name similar to Jesus Christ, and his death and resurrection scenes. The cast of characters is quite small, but fascinating. Jesús lives with his wife Mercedes (played by Margarita Isabel) and their granddaughter Aurora (played by Tarama Shanath). There is no backstory explanation about her parents and their absence, and Aurora is a character that is seemingly mute as she doesn’t speak at all (though she does have a spoken line towards the end of the story). She is like the audience of the film an observer to the events that unfold, and has a close relationship with her grandfather, always by his side and even when his transformation begins, she is there to help him in whatever way she can. As for Jesús and Mercedes, they are a typical elderly couple, but things begin to change when he starts to feel invigorated with youth. Argentine actor Federico Luppi was an experienced actor with dozens of credits in Spanish language productions for nearly three decades at this time, and Isabel as well with more than two decades of work. Luppi is fantastic as the ageing and de-ageing grandfather, going through an existential crisis. He would later return in Del Toro’s next two Spanish language features, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth. He died on October 20, 2017 at the age of 81, after being admitted to the hospital after a fall at home and hitting his head. Mexican actor Claudio Brook is menacing even with his limited time as the sickly Dieter, still commanding force in his cold barren bedroom. With excellent command of both English and Spanish, Brook was already a veteran of film for the last forty years, in numerous Spanish language productions as well as some English language productions with his distinctive voice. In Cronos he uses both languages, as his character’s nephew played by Ron Perlman is an American. Brook passed away on October 18th, 1995, at the age of 68 from stomach cancer. The story of Perlman’s hiring is amusing. Del Toro was a major fan of Perlman’s and thought he would be perfect as the brutish nephew Angel. Perlman’s career was stalled after the cancellation of the “Beauty and the Beast” television series which typecast the actor. He accepted Del Toro’s offer after meeting the enthusiastic young director and reading the original script, but realized it was a Spanish language production after flying to Mexico for production. Del Toro was not at all surprised that Perlman’s Spanish was unusable, so they made his character speak English most of the time with a few lines of broken Spanish here and there. He brings fun to his thug character in a number of scenes and is not just a pure goon character carrying out his uncle’s deeds. Perlman’s career would find a bigger footprint from thereon in film, television, and voiceover work, and would later collaborate with Del Toro again in the Hellboy series, "Pacific Rim", "Nightmare Alley, and "Pinocchio". "Cronos" was produced independently on a small budget with financing coming from personal loans by Del Toro and grants by the Mexican government. Miniscule by Hollywood standards or even Mexican standards, it was not an easy sell as it did not fit in the mold of Latin American filmmaking, nor was it in the American taste. It had horror elements but was not in any sense a conventional horror. It had family melodrama as the core but it was not particularly family friendly. The producers took an incredible chance with the unconventional production, and it was first screened at the XXV Muestra Internacional de Cine in Mexico on November 27th, 1992. It was followed by international screenings in 1993 at Cannes, Moscow, Sitges, Toronto and more, with general theatrical screenings in Spain and Mexico in late 1993. It took critical notices around the world, with awards at the Guadalajara Film Festival, Havana Film Festival, Sitges Film Festival, the Saturn Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival. It was not a major hit theatrically due to the scattered theatrical distribution from country to country, and mostly playing on the independent circuit, though its high reputation led to Del Toro being able to direct in Hollywood where he has been able to craft his unique vision, from action films, animation, noir, horror, and mystery that has influenced a new generation of filmmakers and filmgoers. "Cronos" may have its flaws due to its limited nature as the scope is quite small, though it holds up extremely well even more than thirty years later and is an accomplished first feature by one of the most creative directors working today. Note this is a region ALL 4K UltraHD Blu-ray + region B standard Blu-ray set
Video
The BFI presents the film in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 2160p HEVC with HDR10 / Dolby Vision grading. The original 35mm camera negative was scanned and restored at 4K resolution in 2024 by L'Immagine Ritrovata and the BFI with the support of Cartier, with color grading supervised by director Guillermo del Toro. The restoration does an excellent job in terms of grain management, framing, stability, sharpness, and detail. The image is also very clean, without any instances of damage or debris to be found. The controversial issue though is the color timing, which is quite different from what previous home video transfers have looked like. Del Toro did state that the color red was very seldomly used, specifically being shown for blood for a fuller effect. This may have been taken too literally with the new transfer, by basically boosting blue and green hues for a cooler, colder color palate. Faces and details seem to be lacking warmth in comparison to older transfers on DVD and Blu-ray, and overall has a tone that is very different. The new color timing is consistent throughout, and while it might look excellent for new audiences, it will be a controversial take for previous fans. This seems to be a trend with certain filmmakers who have made visual tweaks with color timings for home video versions and 4K restorations, but Del Toro was not in this camp until now. As this new color timing was supervised by Del Toro, it would be interesting to hear why he decided to make the change. Again there are many positives to note, with the image quality being the best it has ever looked, and the HDR10 / Dolby Vision grading brings out the darkness and the hues to life extremely well. The film's runtime including the opening restoration text is 92:44.
Audio
Spanish/English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English voiceover introduction) Spanish/English LPCM 2.0 Stereo (with Spanish voiceover introduction) Spanish/English LPCM 2.0 Stereo (with English voiceover introduction) There are three audio options for the film, with a lossless 5.1 option and two uncompressed stereo options. The film was originally mixed in stereo as a bilingual film, with most dialogue being in Spanish and some portions being in English. The opening voiceover about the origin of the Cronos device was in Spanish originally, and there was an English narration version made for non-Spanish markets. Both voiceover introduction choices are available with the stereo options while the 5.1 remix has the English voiceover. The 5.1 track spreads out the music and effects cues very well, while dialogue is almost always kept in the center channel. Dialogue, music, and effects are well balanced throughout and there are no issues of hiss, pops, or other damage to note with a clear and clean audio track. The original 2.0 tracks are also excellent, both sounding rich and well balanced throughout without any damage to be heard. A solid job on the audio restoration. There are optional English (for Spanish dialogue), English (for Spanish dialogue and Spanish narration), English HoH (for English voiceover version), English HoH (for Spanish voiceover version) subtitles for the main feature. Basically all the bases are covered for listening to the English voiceover and Spanish voiceover (which are slightly different in terms of translation and with spotting), and giving hard of hearing options to caption the English dialogue sequences as well. All subtitle options are white in color, well timed, easy to read without errors.
Extras
This is a 2-disc set with the film on the 4K UHD with some extras, and the bonus Blu-ray holding the rest of the extras. Again, note DISC TWO is region B only. DISC ONE (Blu-ray 4K) (1) Audio Commentary with director Guillermo del Toro (2002) This archival commentary from Del Toro has him discussing about making a unique vampire based film, his Catholic upbringing, his relationship with his grandmother, about the characters in the story, information on the actors, working with a limited budget, the use of existing locations, and much more. Del Toro is always a delight to listen to and he has a lot of information to discuss here looking back at his feature ten years later. Note this was originally recorded for the US Lionsgate 10th anniversary DVD. in English DTS 2.0 without subtitles (2) Audio Commentary with producers Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall (2002) This archival commentary has Arthur H. Gorson and Bertha Navarro and Alejandro Springall discussing about their involvement with the film, the importance of the film for Mexican cinema, working with a limited budget, the international distribution, and much more. Navarro and Springall are recorded together and speak Spanish, while Gorson is interviewed separately and speaks in English. in Spanish/English DTS 2.0 with optional English subtitles for the Spanish portions (3) Audio Commentary with film historian Jason Wood (2025) This new and exclusive commentary is moderated by the BFI's Vic Pratt who talks with the BFI's Jason Wood about the film. Wood discusses about his initial viewing of the film, the recurring themes seen in Del Toro's works, the careers of some of the cast and crew, information on the production, comparisons to other non-traditional vampire films, the film's reception, and more. in English DTS 2.0 without subtitles Image Gallery (14:37) Presented here is a detailed gallery of behind the scenes photos, artwork, storyboards for both Cronos and Geometria, with text information written by Del Toro. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4 DISC TWO (Blu-ray) "Cronos - An Introduction by Guillermo del Toro and Olivier Père" 2024 interview (33:43) This new interview with Del Toro by French film critic Olivier Père has discussions about the melodrama aspect, the influence of his grandmother, difficulty making the film in Mexico, shooting on 35mm film, the casting process, and more. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "Geometria" 1987 short, completed in 2010 (6:27) A young boy (played by Fernando Garcia Marin is scolded by his mother (played by Guillermo del Toro's mother Guadalupe del Toro) for failing in Geometry class, so he decides to summon the devil in order to help him get a passing score. But due to the boy's lack of knowledge in simple geometry, the summoning does not go as he had hoped. This short film by Del Toro is visually heavily inspired by the works of Mario Bava and Dario Argento bold striking colors such as vivid purple and red, with gore effects in line with Lucio Fulci. Del Toro produced the short for around $2000 but always had some issues with the production in terms of editing and the music cues. In 2010 for its restoration, he was able to tweak the film as a new director's cut, which was slightly shortened and the music cues and voices changed (with overdubbing by Del Toro himself). The transfer looks very good with the colors looking excellent, great detail, though there are some speckles and other damage marks that can be found at times. The audio was entirely post-synchronized in 2010, and it is an odd sounding one with characters sounding cartoony rather than realistic, and it is quite different in tone compared to the original version of the short. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in Spanish/Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 with optional English subtitles 2010 interview with director Guillermo del Toro on Geometria (6:53) This interview with Del Toro has him discussing his early short film, with his Italian filmmaker inspirations, having his mother play a role, the use of make-up effects and his decision to revisit and re-edit the film many years later. Note this interview was originally available on the 2010 US Criterion Collection Blu-ray. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles BFI Screen Talk: Guillermo del Toro (2017) (74:28) This 2017 on stage interview has Del Toro interviewed by Mark Salisbury promoting his then latest work "The Shape of Water", though the conversation covers his life and his entire filmography. Talked about are his childhood, work as a film projectionist and critic, working on television productions, anecdotes on the making of "Cronos" and the difficulties he faced, subsequent work on his later bigger budget features and more. There are also some questions from the audience with Del Toro giving sound advice for aspiring filmmakers and actors, and much more. The conversation has also been embedded below, courtesy of the BFI. in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles "The Making of Cronos with Federico Luppi" 2003 featurette (5:25) Presented here is an archival featurette with an archival interview with Luppi discussing about the making of the film, the themes, the make-up effects, and his views on the project alongside behind the scenes footage and footage from the film. The featurette was originally produced by Lionsgate for their 2003 DVD release and has 2003 as the copyright date, though the Luppi interview itself looks to be from an older source, which is undated. in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, in Spanish LPCM 2.0 with optional English subtitles 2010 interview with director Guillermo del Toro (Optimum Releasing) (59:42) This archival interview with Del Toro is a lengthy one, in which he discusses about the making of "Cronos", vampire lore, influences on the effects and designs, body horror, about European horror films including Hammer Films, about the difficulties faced in financing and producing the film and much more. Note this was originally available on the UK Optimum Releasing Blu-ray release. in 1080i50 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 2.0 without subtitles 2010 interview with director Guillermo del Toro (Criterion) (17:36) This archival interview with Del Toro has him discussing about the themes of "Cronos", with the characters, the comparisons between the monsters shown in his films, behind the scenes information, and more. The interview is in English though the film clips are in Spanish. Note this was originally available on the US Criterion Collection Blu-ray. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 1.0 with optional English subtitles for the Spanish portions 2009 interview with cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (12:36) This archival interview has Navarro discussing about working with Del Toro, difficulties with lighting certain scenes, memories of the production, and more. Note this was originally available on the US Criterion Collection Blu-ray. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 1.0 with optional English subtitles for the Spanish portions 2009 interview with actor Ron Perlman (7:25) This archival interview with Perlman has him recalling about meeting Del Toro and the enthusiasm he had in wanting to cast him for the part of Angel, even though Perlman could not speak Spanish. It's a fun and great interview, with Perlman seemingly not knowing what he was getting into, but eventually becoming one of the key works that reinvigorated his career. Note this was originally available on the US Criterion Collection Blu-ray. in 1080p AVC MPEG-4, in 1.78:1, in English LPCM 1.0 with optional English subtitles for the Spanish portions US Theatrical Trailer (1:29) Although it is labeled the theatrical trailer, it seems to be the US home video trailer, which is presented without dialogue. in 1080i60 AVC MPEG-4, in 1.33:1, Music LPCM 2.0 with English text Booklet A 56 page booklet is included with the first pressing. First is the essay "For Me, It's Just More Pain: Contemplating Immortality in Cronos" by film critic Michelle Kisner on the theme of immortality seen through the two main characters. This is followed by a text interview with Del Toro conducted by Jason Wood entitled "The Origins of Horror and Cronos: A Conversation with Guillermo del Toro", which originally appeared in Wood's 2006 book "The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema". Next is "Mad About the Hellboy: Cronos, Guillermo del Toro and Ron Perlman" by Michael Leader (writer, curator and co-creator of the animation-focused podcast series Ghibliotheque) on the lengthy relationship between the director and the actor. Then there is "Fresh Blood: Vampire Cinema in the 1990s" by author Barry Forshaw on the revitalization of the genre. "The Patron Saints of Guillermo del Toro" is a lengthy work by writer Rich Johnson which looks at the numerous art influences on Del Toro's works. There are also full film credits, a 1994 review of the film written by John Kraniauskas for Sight and Sound, special features information, transfer information, acknowledgements, and stills. "Cronos" has seen numerous releases on DVD, Blu-ray, and now 4K UltraHD over the years. And while this new BFI release is very comprehensive in the extras department, there are some previously available extras that have not been ported to this release. On DVD, the US Lionsgate release had a "Director's Perspective" 2003 interview with Guillermo Del Toro. The 2-disc French release from Metropolitan Video has an exclusive interview with Del Toro and other featurettes. The UK Optimum Releasing DVD (and later upgraded Blu-ray) had an exclusive one hour interview with Del Toro, plus a short interview with Guillermo Navarro, both conducted in Spanish. In the US, The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray, and later 4K UHD, and while most of their extras have been ported to the BFI release, it exclusively contains the wonderful "Welcome to Bleak House" featurette, with Del Toro giving a tour of his home. Other notable clips: A clip of the 4K restoration, courtesy of the BFI A short interview clip with Ron Perlman for People Magazine French trailer for the 4K restoration
Packaging
The keep case is packaged in a slipcase which also includes a fold-out poster featuring the new artwork for the film and artcards. 
Overall
"Cronos" after all these years is still a unique vampire tale by Guillermo del Toro that is wonderfully creative even on a small scale and a low budget, proving the director's vision at a very early stage that is very relevant today. The BFI's 4K UltraHD release has an extremely lengthy set of extras and has a great transfer of the new 4K restoration, which does have some controversy due to its new and differing color timing, which was approved by Del Toro. Still comes as highly recommended. Note the BFI is releasing the film in two different sets, one with the 4K UltraHD and the bonus disc, and one with a standard Blu-ray and the bonus disc. Amazon UK Link (4K UltraHD Blu-ray) Amazon UK Link (standard Blu-ray) BFI Shop Link (4K UltraHD Blu-ray) BFI Shop Link (standard Blu-ray)
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