Pans Labyrinth (Blu-Ray) (2006)

"...swift and accessible entertainment, blunt in its power and exquisite in its effects.  A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"Literally and figuratively marvelous, a rich, daring mix of fantasy and politics.  J. Hoberman, The Village Voice
"A critic trots out the word "masterpiece" at his own peril, but there it is.  Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
"...a fairy tale for adults that is violent, sometimes shocking, yet utterly engrossing.  Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
"...like no movie you've seen before, a haunting mixture of horror, history and fantasy...  Liam Lacey, The Globe and Mail
"On the same altar of high fantasy as The Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly
"A brilliant work of the imagination capable of truly seizing and igniting our fantasies.  Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
"The best film of the year.  Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

Editor's Note Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a thrilling, violent fairy tale set in post-Civil War Spain. Ivana Baquero stars as Ofelia, a young girl who moves with her mother, Carmen (Ariadna Gil), into the home of Captain Vidal (Sergi López), in an abandoned mill in the middle of dark, dangerous woods. Vidal is leading his team of soldiers against resistance fighters--and he will do whatever is necessary to kill every last one of them. As Vidal bosses around the pregnant Carmen, a flying creature leads Ofelia through a garden labyrinth and into an underground cave ruled by Pan (HELLBOY's Doug Jones), who believes that Ofelia might be the lost princess of this strange yet magical place. To prove she is royalty, Ofelia must complete three tasks, each more difficult and terrifying than the previous one. Meanwhile, Vidal is becoming more and more paranoid, torturing and murdering seemingly at will. Del Toro (THE DEVIL'S BACKBONE, HELLBOY, CRONOS) creates a marvelous battle between good and evil, between heroes and villains, in both the real world aboveground and the mystical land below. Baquero gives a compelling performance as the terrorized Ofelia, who is befriended by Mercedes (Maribel Verdú), a woman who harbors some secrets of her own. Stellar production design, superb special effects, and a stirring score by Javier Navarrete add to the scary fun. Selected as the closing-night entry in the 2006 New York Film Festival, PAN'S LABYRINTH is a captivating story that is not for the squeamish.

	Ariadna Gil
	Ivana Baquero
	Maribel Verdu
	Sergi Lopez
	Belen Atienza - Executive Producer
	Bernat Vilaplana - Editor
	Eugenio Caballero - Production Designer
	Guillermo del Toro - Director
	Guillermo del Toro - Writer
	Guillermo Navarro - Cinematographer
	Javier Navarrete - Original Music By
	Victor Albarran - Producer

Rolling Stone
"For horror that fries your nerves and fires your imagination, Guillermo del Toro is the hellboy of choice." 09/07/2006 p.122

Box Office
3 stars out of 5 -- "In his highly atmospheric film, Del Toro extracts some excellent performances, especially Lopez, who makes his character a monster with some human qualities..." 09/01/2006 p.108

Total Film
4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n exquisite, dark carnival destined to unspool again and again through troubled brains on many a sleepless night." 12/01/2006 p.32

Sight and Sound
"[Del Toro] is not only a skilled director mining a rich vein in fantasy/horror; he is an artist full stop....Not only del Toro's best film, but also his most demanding and accomplished..." 12/01/2006 p.67-8

Premiere
4 stars out of 4 -- "Del Toro handles this rich narrative in a way that goes far beyond mere deftness -- this is incredibly passionate filmmaking..." 01/01/2007 p.46

Entertainment Weekly
Included in Entertainment Weekly's "Top 10 Films Of The Year" -- "[A] supple mix of magical realism and surreal movie-technique magic." 12/29/2006 p.102

New York Times
"If this is magic realism, it is also the work of a real magician....[Del Toro is] a thoroughgoing cinephile, steeped in classical technique and film history." 12/29/2006 p.E1

Film Comment
Ranked #15 in Film Comment's "20 Best Films Of 2006." 01/01/2007 p.36

Rolling Stone
4 stars out of 4 -- "Del Toro never coddles the audience. He means for us to leave PAN'S LABYRINTH shaken to our souls. He succeeds." 01/25/2007 p.78

Movieline's Hollywood Life
"[A] most original picture that is at once a political melodrama, a poignant family drama and a macabre fairy tale." 01/01/2007 p.97

Ultimate DVD
5 stars out of 5 -- "[B]oth a mystical fairy tale and a brutal commentary on the horrors of war....There's no disputing the sheer beauty of del Toro's masterpiece..." 05/01/2007 p.100

ReelViews 9 of 10
One of the most anticipated releases of the 2006 holiday season is the latest offering from Mexican director Guillermo del Toro, whose previous credits include The Devil's Backbone, Blade 2, and Hellboy. With Pan's Labyrinth, del Toro opens a landscape where gothic fantasy elements are infused into the real-life horrors of the second World War...The term "fairy tale" can be used to describe Pan's Labyrinth, and references to The Wizard of Oz are not out of place. However, these should not go along with the expectation that this is a kid-friendly movie, because it is not. It contains scenes of graphic violence and images that will cause all but the most stalwart children to have nightmares...However, the lack of family friendliness does not diminish what del Toro has achieved with this magical motion picture. - James Berardinelli

Reel.com 10 of 10
With Pan's Labyrinth, Mexican filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro has created a kind of companion piece to his excellent and eerie 2001 ghost story, The Devil's Backbone. It's a fairytale itself, and also a terrifying story of a child caught in circumstances beyond her control. And for Del Toro, it's simply a glorious achievement, an irresistible and affecting mixture of horror, fantasy, history, and drama...Lately, Del Toro has been working more in Hollywood, helming Blade II and Hellboy. He will soon be back behind the camera to shoot Hellboy 2, and he has a whole slate of projects that he's involved with, including an adaptation of Roald Dahl's The Witches. It's so excellent that he took a break from that commercial work to make this obviously personal movie. His deep connection to the film touches every frame; it's a labor of love that marks the finest film of his career to date, and one of the very finest movies of 2006. - Pam Grady