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The Golden Labyrinth
The Golden Labyrinth is the first comprehensive study of the films of Guillermo del Toro. Extensively researched, and presented in an entertaining and readable fashion synonymous with Noir Publishing, The Golden Labyrinth covers all del Toro s work to date, but goes further, covering their inspirations, genesis, and production. Going further than a typical film book, The Golden Labyrinth explores such diverse inspirations as the work of the alchemists that inspired the Cronos Device of del Toro s full-length debut, the terrible events of the Spanish Civil War that underlay some of his most critically acclaimed work, and the Celtic mythology that provides the beating heart of Hellboy II, to name but three. Del Toro is the future of 21st century fantasy film, with the forthcoming production of the Peter Jackson produced The Hobbit, del Toro will become the North Star that future filmmakers will follow. Yet despite the enormity of the project, del Toro still has several diverse projects in development, as both producer, and writer/director. While Hollywood contents itself with endless recycling of ideas long worn out, del Toro s only problem is so many ideas, not enough time to make them all. Inspired by his upbringing in Mexico, and by the stories told to him by his grandmother, del Toro is first and foremost a master storyteller, whether as writer, director, artist or producer, he serves his inner muse, not caring about box office returns (and thus, ironically, producing them). But, as with his films, there are further depths to the man, for he uses his films not to escape from our reality but to make sense of it.
255 pages, Paperback
First published September 15, 2009
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 31, 2015
This was another of my book festival finds - a fascinating book - but more on that in a minute - the book itself is rather dated now having been printed in 2009 and covers the films from Cronos to Hellboy II The Golden Army. I would be very interested in seeing this book was updated to cover the latest additions to del Toro's CV.
The book however is a fascinating read- each chapter is effectively covers a film, first introducing the storyline in an abridged form. The chapter then goes on to talk about the influences del Toro had in wiring and creating the film and then it goes on to discuss the various aspects which have become part of the film, if you like the messages and metaphors that have been woven in.
I find this fascinating as not only am I a huge fan of his work and love the films discussed, but I also find it fascinating the influences that went to shaping the man and what amazing pieces of trivia, folklore and literature have stuck with him to the point where they are now embedded in his films.
One slightly negative thing about the book is that at times it can be too full of praise for del Toro - yes the man is a creative genius, whose creativity knows no boundaries, but the writing does at times take it a little too far and becomes to saccharine sweet even for my tooth. Thankfully these instances are few and far between and as such can be quickly over looked and ignored.
This book is a treasure trove of information not only on the films but on the man himself - I can see myself wanting to return to this book and read up more on the drive and inspirations he draws from. True there is only so much more you can learn about a film however I suspect there is still a lot more to learn from Guillermo del Toro and quite a few surprises along the way too.
The book however is a fascinating read- each chapter is effectively covers a film, first introducing the storyline in an abridged form. The chapter then goes on to talk about the influences del Toro had in wiring and creating the film and then it goes on to discuss the various aspects which have become part of the film, if you like the messages and metaphors that have been woven in.
I find this fascinating as not only am I a huge fan of his work and love the films discussed, but I also find it fascinating the influences that went to shaping the man and what amazing pieces of trivia, folklore and literature have stuck with him to the point where they are now embedded in his films.
One slightly negative thing about the book is that at times it can be too full of praise for del Toro - yes the man is a creative genius, whose creativity knows no boundaries, but the writing does at times take it a little too far and becomes to saccharine sweet even for my tooth. Thankfully these instances are few and far between and as such can be quickly over looked and ignored.
This book is a treasure trove of information not only on the films but on the man himself - I can see myself wanting to return to this book and read up more on the drive and inspirations he draws from. True there is only so much more you can learn about a film however I suspect there is still a lot more to learn from Guillermo del Toro and quite a few surprises along the way too.
February 21, 2019
This book is divided in chapters, one for each film. This chapters are also divided in three parts: First a really detailed film summarie. Then an historical fact, biography or information about a related subject, and finally a film analysis, with actor/director/producer comments.
Now, for me, the first part, is unecessary. I recommend just see the movie, because is much more enriching.
Second part, is really interesting, but the third part is what i was looking for when i bought the book.
The BAD thing of the book: It is full of misspellings, duplicate lines or even paragraphs, and the worst, a couple of pages (perhaps 15-20) are so full of textures and text, that you can barely read.
So, I recomend this book only if you are a truth fan of the director's work. Otherwise, there exist much better books about Guillermo del Toro, that can be easier to enjoy.
Now, for me, the first part, is unecessary. I recommend just see the movie, because is much more enriching.
Second part, is really interesting, but the third part is what i was looking for when i bought the book.
The BAD thing of the book: It is full of misspellings, duplicate lines or even paragraphs, and the worst, a couple of pages (perhaps 15-20) are so full of textures and text, that you can barely read.
So, I recomend this book only if you are a truth fan of the director's work. Otherwise, there exist much better books about Guillermo del Toro, that can be easier to enjoy.
December 3, 2018
The Golden Labyrinth imitates a SparkNotes style where the author 'summarizes’ each film using ~9 pages of messy dialogue quotations and then provides 9-17 pages of typo-riddled analysis.
This book is a reminder of why you should read books before you buy them for your friends or for a library.
Did anyone proofread Steve Earles’ manuscript before it was published?? It's a terrible, hot mess. Colored text columns are seemingly used at random, and on page 67 the editor/publisher hasn’t even bothered to make sure that the images in the column space are centered. (One of the images needs to be lowered and the second image hangs outside the column space by ½ inch.) I have no idea how this author determines when to separate lines or paragraphs, because he doesn’t use them to indicate speakers in dialogue but he also employs many single sentence ‘paragraphs’ throughout the book. More importantly (and beyond the glaring typos), this books is also difficult to read because the author writes in a clunky style and frequently inserts his opinions in places where he should be sharing facts. And despite the massive number of quotes in the book, there are no footnotes or citations.
I imagine that Noir Publishing doesn’t check on their authors much, as suggested in Earles’ dedication on the copyright page that thanks Andy Black “for being everything a good editor and publisher should be, supportive without being intrusive, a gentleman.” I also imagine they're not too picky about quality, since they are still selling the book on their website and presumably still making money off of it. (Shame on them for selling such unfinished and unprofessional material.)
Since I suffered through part of this book and misery loves company, here are some examples of this awful book for your reading 'pleasure' (term used loosely):
“He was also exposed to the magic of cinema at an early age, which is as it should be!” (page 9)
“He went on to studied special effects and makeup with legendary SFX artist Dick Smith (The Godfather, The Exorcist, Altered States, Amadeus).For ten years he was dedicated to this work through his Necropia company where he supervised special effects make up for several films, including Bandidos, Caitia, Cabeza de Vaca, Mentrira Piadosas, Dollar Mambo, and more than twenty episodes of La Hora Marcada, three of which he wrote and directed.” (page 10)
“He once wished he could have made double the film's he has, be careful what you wish!” (page 11)
“He got terrified by the make-up that was created for Warren Oates in that episode, and he went to bed really scared. His older brother put two plastic fried eggs over his face and his mother’s stocking over his head and crept into Guillermo’s room, further scaring him.” (page 11)
“As Gris unwraps a recent acquisition, a statue of an archangel, a man comes into shop, observes Gris unwrap the statue, and then leaves. It's the statue we saw in the alchemist's workshop.” (page 13)
“Wearing a face mask, surgical gloves and slippers, Angel enters a bizarre room, full of suspended archangels wrapped in plastic (clearly his uncle has been searching for a particular archangel for a long time. He wheels in a breakfast tray for his uncle, Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook). A breakfast of pills.” (page 13)
“Mimic opens by establishing it’s Manhattan location, then by telling it's back-story over a collage of press-cuttings and images of insects.” (page 40)
“She’s commemorating a sad moment, he date tried to spike her drink.” (page 41)
“Mimic was personally the most unhappy experience of Guillermo’s creative career. His darkest cinematic period. The proverbial long dark tequila of the soul.” (page 49)
This book is a reminder of why you should read books before you buy them for your friends or for a library.
Did anyone proofread Steve Earles’ manuscript before it was published?? It's a terrible, hot mess. Colored text columns are seemingly used at random, and on page 67 the editor/publisher hasn’t even bothered to make sure that the images in the column space are centered. (One of the images needs to be lowered and the second image hangs outside the column space by ½ inch.) I have no idea how this author determines when to separate lines or paragraphs, because he doesn’t use them to indicate speakers in dialogue but he also employs many single sentence ‘paragraphs’ throughout the book. More importantly (and beyond the glaring typos), this books is also difficult to read because the author writes in a clunky style and frequently inserts his opinions in places where he should be sharing facts. And despite the massive number of quotes in the book, there are no footnotes or citations.
I imagine that Noir Publishing doesn’t check on their authors much, as suggested in Earles’ dedication on the copyright page that thanks Andy Black “for being everything a good editor and publisher should be, supportive without being intrusive, a gentleman.” I also imagine they're not too picky about quality, since they are still selling the book on their website and presumably still making money off of it. (Shame on them for selling such unfinished and unprofessional material.)
Since I suffered through part of this book and misery loves company, here are some examples of this awful book for your reading 'pleasure' (term used loosely):
“He was also exposed to the magic of cinema at an early age, which is as it should be!” (page 9)
“He went on to studied special effects and makeup with legendary SFX artist Dick Smith (The Godfather, The Exorcist, Altered States, Amadeus).For ten years he was dedicated to this work through his Necropia company where he supervised special effects make up for several films, including Bandidos, Caitia, Cabeza de Vaca, Mentrira Piadosas, Dollar Mambo, and more than twenty episodes of La Hora Marcada, three of which he wrote and directed.” (page 10)
“He once wished he could have made double the film's he has, be careful what you wish!” (page 11)
“He got terrified by the make-up that was created for Warren Oates in that episode, and he went to bed really scared. His older brother put two plastic fried eggs over his face and his mother’s stocking over his head and crept into Guillermo’s room, further scaring him.” (page 11)
“As Gris unwraps a recent acquisition, a statue of an archangel, a man comes into shop, observes Gris unwrap the statue, and then leaves. It's the statue we saw in the alchemist's workshop.” (page 13)
“Wearing a face mask, surgical gloves and slippers, Angel enters a bizarre room, full of suspended archangels wrapped in plastic (clearly his uncle has been searching for a particular archangel for a long time. He wheels in a breakfast tray for his uncle, Dieter de la Guardia (Claudio Brook). A breakfast of pills.” (page 13)
“Mimic opens by establishing it’s Manhattan location, then by telling it's back-story over a collage of press-cuttings and images of insects.” (page 40)
“She’s commemorating a sad moment, he date tried to spike her drink.” (page 41)
“Mimic was personally the most unhappy experience of Guillermo’s creative career. His darkest cinematic period. The proverbial long dark tequila of the soul.” (page 49)
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews