Cronos

[yoloswegmaster]

Oscar-winner Guillermo del Toro’s (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Shape of Water) directorial debut offers a unique take on the classic vampire story and went on to win the Critics’ Week award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1993.

When antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) discovers an ancient artifact in the form of a golden mechanical scarab, he is unaware of the power it holds. Whilst the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an extreme aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. Desperate to claim the device for himself, a dying millionaire (played by Claudio Brook) and his brutish nephew (Ron Perlman, Hellboy) are in hot pursuit.

Newly restored in 4K, the BFI is delighted to be bringing Cronos back to UK audiences, in an extras packed limited edition 4K UHD.

Extras:

Newly recorded audio commentary by Jason Wood
Audio commentary with Guillermo del Toro (2002)
Audio commentary with producers Arthur H Gorson and Bertha Navarro and co-producer Alejandro Springall (in English and Spanish with optional English subtitles)
Optional original Spanish-language voice-over introduction
Cronos - An Introduction (2024, 34 mins): director Guillermo del Toro in conversation with the former head of the Directors' Fortnight at the Cannes film festival and current managing director of Arte France Cinéma, Olivier Père (2024, 34 mins)
Geometria (1987, 7 mins): a short film by Guillermo del Toro about a young man who pays dearly to have his dreams come true
Guillermo del Toro on Geometria (7 mins): a short interview with the director about Geometria
BFI Screen Talk: Guillermo del Toro (2017, 74 mins): filmed around the release of The Shape of Water, the writer and director discusses his career with journalist, author and screenwriter Mark Salisbury and the BFI London Film Festival
The Making of Cronos: An Interview with Federico Luppi (2006, 5 mins): a short archival interview with the actor
Interview with the director (2010, 60 mins): an archival interview with Guillermo del Toro
Interview with Guillermo del Toro (2010, 18 mins): an interview with the writer and director
Interview with Guillermo Navarro (2010, 13 mins): an interview with the film’s cinematographer
Interview with Ron Perlman (2010, 7 mins): an interview with the actor who since Cronos has gone on to become one of Del Toro’s regular collaborators
Theatrical trailer
Stills gallery
60-page book featuring new essays by Michelle Kisner, Rich Johnson, Barry Forshaw, and Michael Leader. Also includes and edited version of ‘Guillermo del Toro: The origins of horror and Cronos’, an interview that originally appeared in The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema, by Jason Wood and an original Sight & Sound review by John Kraniauskas
Fold-out poster featuring the new artwork for the film

[MichaelB]

Full specs announced:

CRONOS
A film by Guillermo del Toro
Starring Federico Luppi, Ron Perlman, Claudio Brook

Released on Limited Edition BFI UHD and Blu-ray (2-disc sets), iTunes and Amazon Prime on 24 February 2025


Cronos, the 1993 directorial debut from Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, The Shape of Water), offers a unique take on the classic vampire story and went on to win the Critics’ Week award at the Cannes Film Festival. On 24 February 2025 the BFI releases this landmark Mexican horror film on Limited Edition UHD and Blu-ray. The film has been scanned and restored at 4K resolution using the original 35mm camera negative, with the supervision of director Guillermo del Toro, and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with original 2.0 stereo and 5.1 surround audio. A stack of special features includes three audio commentaries, a new filmed conversation with the director, and several interviews with cast and crew.

When antiques dealer Jesús Gris (Federico Luppi) discovers an ancient artefact in the form of a golden mechanical scarab, he is unaware of the power it holds. While the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an extreme aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood. Desperate to claim the scarab for himself, a dying millionaire (Claudio Brook) and his brutish nephew (Ron Perlman, Hellboy) are soon in hot pursuit.

To launch these home entertainment releases, CRONOS will be screened at BFI IMAX, Britain’s biggest screen, on Sunday 9 February at 2.30pm, preceded by a newly recorded introduction by Guillermo del Toro. Tickets are on sale now.

Special features
NB. The special features in the UHD set are presented on a Blu-ray disc. The Blu-ray discs are region B.
• UHD: Restored 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
• Blu-ray: Presented in High Definition
• Newly recorded audio commentary by Jason Wood
• Audio commentary by Guillermo del Toro (2002)
• Audio commentary with producers Arthur H Gorson and Bertha Navarro, and co-producer Alejandro Springall (2002)
• Optional original Spanish-language voiceover introduction
• Cronos – An Introduction (2024, 34 mins): director Guillermo del Toro in conversation with Olivier Père, the former head of the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival
• Geometria (1987, revised 2010, 7 mins): a short film by Guillermo del Toro about a young man who pays dearly to have his dreams come true
• Guillermo del Toro on Geometria (2010, 7 mins): an interview with the director
• BFI Screen Talk: Guillermo del Toro (2017, 74 mins): filmed around the release of The Shape of Water, the writer and director discusses his career with journalist, author and screenwriter Mark Salisbury at the BFI London Film Festival
• Making of Cronos With Federico Luppi (2003, 5 mins): an archival interview with the actor
• Interview with the director (2010, 60 mins): an archival interview with Guillermo del Toro
• Interview with Guillermo del Toro (2010, 18 mins): a conversation with the writer and director
• Interview with Guillermo Navarro (2010, 13 mins): a discussion with the film’s cinematographer
• Interview with Ron Perlman (2010, 7 mins): a conversation with the actor who, since Cronos, has gone on to become one of del Toro’s regular collaborators
• Trailer
• Image gallery
• 60-page book featuring new essays by Michelle Kisner, Rich Johnson, Barry Forshaw, and Michael Leader. Also includes an edited version of ‘Guillermo del Toro: The origins of horror and Cronos’, an interview that originally appeared in The Faber Book of Mexican Cinema, by Jason Wood and an original Sight & Sound review by John Kraniauskas; film credits and notes on the special features
• A set of four postcards featuring images from the film
• Fold-out poster featuring the new artwork by Clément Deneu

Product details – UHD
RRP: £34.99 / Cat. no. BFIB0009 / 15
Mexico / 1993 / colour / 93 minutes / English and Spanish language with English subtitles and optional descriptive subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.85:1 // Disc 1: UHD66: 2160p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit) and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio / Disc 2: BD50: 1080p, 23.98fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)

Product details – Blu-ray
RRP: £29.99 / Cat. no. BFIB1506 / 15
Mexico / 1993 / colour / 93 minutes / English and Spanish language with English subtitles and optional descriptive subtitles / original aspect ratio 1.85:1 // Disc 1: BD50: 1080p, 24fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit) and DTS-HD MA 5.1 audio / Disc 2: BD50: 1080p, 23.98fps, LPCM 2.0 stereo audio (48kHz/24-bit)

[thirtyframesasecond]

Haven't seen this for a long time, but I remember it being a great film, up there with the two Spanish Civil War films (and besides Mimic, I don't really have much time for GDT, he's capable of much better).

[nicolas]

My copy arrived and it’s a lovely release. Sturdy slip case like Seven Samurai with a keep case inside plus booklet and poster. Discs are a BD-66 for the film and a BD-50 with all the bonus stuff. Yes, DV is there and also three sound options (2x PCM 2.0 with the different narrations and 1x 5.1).

I also have the Criterion BD as part of their del Toro trilogy set but of course Cronos is the one I’ve never watched from that set. I’ve taken a look at the old HD master, which was supervised and approved by del Toro and DP Guillermo Navarro for comparison. I think this is a really good master for 2010 standards, not dull and digital-looking at all and the colors come through nicely. Detail is also not bad and particularly clipping in the highlights isn’t that big of a deal. So if anyone really despises the new grade, the Criterion BD is definitely watchable. (Audio however sounds worse to me on the Criterion. They "only" have 2.0 mixes and I believe they were mastered by Criterion.)

Back to the 4K: There’s no denying that the 4K master’s color scheme is significantly different compared to the HD one. First and foremost, the greenish hue we’ve seen in the trailer is NOT a blanket tint across the entire film. Yes, a colorist from Ritrovata did the work and their overlord Davide Pozzi was thanked but the grade was definitely fine-tuned to unknown specifications, be it simply del Toro’s wish or a photochemical source. In other words, a wider spectrum of colors is definitely evident and luminous too, such as orange, red and, surprisingly, "normal" blue.

So what about the greenish stuff? While I haven’t seen the entire film yet, I think I’ve seen enough to determine that they graded all the scenes that were originally shot "normally" (and graded that way in the 2010 HD master) to look green-ish as seen in the trailer and Criterion caps. I think the green (I’ll just call it that for easier writing) was introduced to serve as a sort of base color on which the rest of the colors could be built upon. This look feels in line with del Toro’s fairytale films as they’re usually not directly rooted in the "normal-looking" reality. In other words, the grade looks like it has a thought-out agenda behind it and not Ritrovata’s past sloppiness but it’s totally unknown if the green is what del Toro wants the film to look right now in 2025 (revisionist) or whether they actually used a previously approved source as a basis (restoration). Like with Arrow’s Cruising, a more detailed statement by the producers would’ve been wonderful to read here as the director- and DP-approved Criterion master looks that much different.

Someone on the other forum asked whether the green is actually noticeable in motion with HDR / DV on? Yes, it definitely is but not overwhelmingly so. We’re just meant to notice a different "base look" now. Even though the screenshots looked extremely green, I think Mean Streets isn’t the best example to compare as Scorsese & Schoonmaker didn’t really do something like del Toro here. They kept the colors largely identical but restored a more warm, film-like presentation whereas del Toro / Ritrovata calibrated further and reduced saturation.

The VDMS encode is very good, grain is fine and beautifully resolved. Per usual with them, minor chroma noise will surely creep into upcoming screenshots but in motion this is no problem at all.

The BFI audio mixes sound great to me. The 2.0 is detailed and dynamic and the same can be said about the 5.1, which opens up the soundscape, particularly the music, but in my mind it’s all faithfully done and I couldn’t detect anything egregiously revisionist and it also doesn’t sound echoey. Note that you can’t switch the audio mixes with your player while the film plays, neither with the pop up menu, nor your remote. You need to commit to one mix in the main menu before you play.

Subtitles are available in English and English SDH. Good news is that the non-SDH subs have full stops. Woo-hoo! (Forgot to check the SDH)

Extras are as in-depth as one can imagine, including many of Criterion’s extras they commissioned in 2010 for their BD.

In the end, unless you really like the look of the old master and are of the opinion that this has been the one correct look of the film, I don’t see any reason not to upgrade to the 4K.

[P-Rock]

This release is packed with extras, but I'd rather have Criterion's artwork.