I am trying to find the release date for the movie Pan's Labyrith. I have seen two different release dates and don't know which one is accurate. I hope I haven't already missed it.

quote:

Originally posted by Rainmaker:
I am trying to find the release date for the movie Pan's Labyrith. I have seen two different release dates and don't know which one is accurate. I hope I haven't already missed it.

That's because there were two release dates in the USA for Pan's Labyrinth [El Laberinto del Fauno]. First was 15th October 2006 at the New York Film Festival. Second was the public release on 29th December 2006. It is on limited release at present.Over its opening weekend it took just $779K (but what would you expect if you chose 29th-31st December for that ? )

Sounds worth a view. It was well received at the Cannes Film Festival, where it received 22 minutes applause.

I actually went to a preview screening of it. I warn you not to go in expecting a fantasy movie. It's reality with some fantasy. The movie was okay, but except for the Pale Man (what little we saw of him), I thought the fantasy really wasn't that imaginative. So don't expect imaginative either. Just expect a well-blended fantasy-drama with good cinematography. Some awesomely realistic gore scenes, too.

I went to see Pans's Labyrinth last night with my 17 year old daughter.
I let her choose what we went to see, and I have to say she has made some great choices lately. ( She rented Little Miss Sunshine on DVD last week, and it was excellent ).

I agree with you jusork, don't go to Pan's Labyrinth expecting a fantasy movie. It's a story with Spanish subtitles and takes place during the Spanish Revolution.

The juxtaposition of fantasy, that only the little girl, Ofelia, can see and the harsh reality of the war is fascinating.

There are some extremely violent scenes, but contrast these with the innocent childlike fantasy world of Ofelia, and the movie works well. Stunning cinamatography and a breathtaking score too.

I have never been a fan of Guillermo del Toro's work; I didn't care for "HellBoy," and I was probably one of the few that didn't enjoy "Blade". However, this film is absolutely beautiful.

Here's a link to the official website

I plan on seeing sometime this weekend. Be interesting to see what they do with the Spanish Civil War.

I thought it was great but ultra violent... like violence that you've never seen before on film. It isn't really about the Spanish Civil War juan, I mean, I know a little about the Spanish Civil War and this was definitely a setting for a story about power, corruption and evil rather than any historical account superimposed over fantasy. The fantasy portions were very interesting to me, I have to differ sharply with jusork and say that I thought it was a very creative use of fantasy within a story. And the fantasy portions were executed really well as a little girl's escapist dreams. It was different than anything I've seen.

I would not go with anyone that is faint of heart to see this one (nor anyone that doesn't like subtitles), there are some scenes that I wish I could forget but they will forever be etched on my brain. The general in the story is a man of absolute violence and hate.

All in all it was in my opinion a great film.

I do think it's imaginative the way it juxtaposes with the real world and plays against the real people and situations, although they didn't seem to inherently have anything to do with each other, which isn't necessarily bad. It's just the fantasy that I don't think is that imaginative. She's given typical tasks like retrieving some magical object, she can create doorways, mythical creatures, a prophecy, a kingdom, an innocent girl finding that she's something more than just a girl, all while overcoming obstacles of evil. It's mostly borrowed classic elements from various fantasy stories. Again not bad, but not that imaginative (except for the Pale Man). And for the blending, I might've called it, maybe creative. I'm not sure, my memory of the details of that is fading.

The other Del Toro movie that a number of people seem to have respect for is called The Devil's Backbone. It's also the Spanish civil war with some fantasy. Check it out maybe.