Pan's Labyrinth [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray] [2006]

For a long time I looking forward this movie in a new technology, thanks Bestbuy because you always are already for yours customer. This is an excellent opportunity to watching an incredible movie and have a good time together with my family too. Your stores are in our communities for give us enjoyable time for everyone.

This was a blind buy for me. Was blown away how good this looked and story. Magical movie that is well done. Highly recommended.

To start, Pan's Labyrinth is my favorite movie for a multitude of reasons. For example, it balances spectacle with realism; therefore, it grounds itself in the simplicity of its storytelling. Furthermore, it accurately depicts the violence of war, and the true casualties therein, which are children, or their innocence. Lastly, it does all this whilst maintaining a fantastical and mysterious overtone, masterfully overlaying fantasy with reality in a subtle way. With all this being said, my review of this product is based solely on this remaster; here is my take on that front. As a movie ages, naturally certain technical aspects will stand the test of time and others will not. Pan's Labyrinth is no exception to this rule. Seeing as a majority of the shots are based on practical effects, it still looks amazing. However, there are some scene that did not age as well, such as some CGI shots of their practical counterparts. Be that as it may, this master has sharpened the image substantially, and given it better colors. To the benefit of the viewer, colors are not overdone. In fact, the best addition to the colors is actually in the shadows -- all the original filters and coloring remain relatively untouched, save for this one aspect. As such, we are given an end product that looks and feels like the original, but with the added contrast and wider color gamut. Moving on, there is also the newly remastered audio to talk about. Not only were they able to create clearer audio, but they've somehow added more depth to it overall. Scenes that take place in the woods have more depth to them and better seperation -- it sounds more alive. If you have a surroundsound system, the audio will certainly take full adventage of it. Quite literally, it feels as though you are there with the characters, hearing what they would hear as they should be hearing it. The audio on this edition ultimately adds another level of realism to the film that many didn't realize was missing. Overall, this is a faithful remaster done with a sublime attention to detail and appreciation for the original. Nothing ever detracts from this masterpiece; on the contrary, it only adds to one of the best cinematic experiences of all time. This edition is a must have for all movie collectors, and it surely will not disappoint.

This is what I consider to be one of the best fairytales of my generation. Big claim, huh? Well to me, I found the director did a wonderful job weaving the dark fairy tale setting with the grim reality of living in an oppressive state (both literally and mentally). You know it is an engaging movie when you reach the end credits and you're like "what? 2 hours has passed already?!" Part of this has to do with the beautiful imagery, color palette, and expert use of cgi that director, Guillermo Del Toro, chose for this movie. If you have seen any other Del Toro movies such as Crimson Peaks, the Devil's Backbone, Cronos, Hellboy, or the Shape of Water, you know that Del Toro is a master craftsman at telling intimate stories that will resonate with you long after the credits roll. This 4k release comes highly recommended!

I own both the 4K version and Criterion BluRay. Many fans prefer the Criterion disc over this one, since Guillermo supervised the mastering of it. IMO, the Criterion version is a little too colorized for my taste, and I prefer the more natural coloring of the 4K disc and slight improvement in picture sharpness. I also think the Atmos audio track on the 4K disc is a bit more immersive than the Criterion.

Pan's Labyrinth was the first film in Spanish of Guillermo del Toro's that I saw & I was both terrified at some moments & blown away by at others. I had previously seen Mimic and Hellboy and thoroughly enjoyed those and since then I have seen all of his films. He is a very talented artist, designing settings, characters, monsters, etc. on every film that he directs. My favourites are the films in his Trilogia De Guillermo Del Toro, Cronos, The Devil's Backbone & Pan's Labyrinth. These are Essential Viewing for any fans and should be watched prior to Del Toro's English language films because they are so much better!

It has a uniqueness and interesting quality that makes it a great movie to watch.

I bought this after seeing a lot of people talk about it online and not having much information other than that. I had no clue the entire movie was in Spanish. Thankfully I can read, because this was a great movie! Highly recommend if you are into horror & fantasy.