The most influential film directors of all time are recognizable from afar. You may not know the title or the plot, but if you find yourself watching one of their movies, you can probably guess who stands behind the camera. This cinematic identity is never achieved easily or fast, but some visionaries carry it as the trait that makes their creations unique. Guillermo del Toro is undoubtedly one of those filmmakers.
The Mexican director, creator of films like Hellboy, The Shape of Water, Pacific Rim, and Nightmare Alley, is a product of his influence. A horror fanatic and monster enthusiast, del Toro has been responsible for some of the most original studio films released in the past two decades. Critics love his filmmaking style, and in 2018, he won an Oscar that would confirm the industry's rare consideration of the weird but beautiful.
Considering his singular style, we compiled some of the best films del Toro has commented on over the years.
10 Blood Simple (1984)
In Blood Simple, Abby is a housewife trapped in an unhappy marriage. When she begins an affair with a bartender named Ray, a private investigator captures the encounter. Loren Visser works for Abby's husband, Julian, and when the man confirms the relationship, he commissions Visser to kill them.
The problem is that Visser may have an agenda of his own, and he begins an ordeal for Abby and Ray, who are unaware there's a mastermind at work. He won't stop until everyone pays their dues.
"A Perfect First Movie"
The first movie by the Coen brothers, Blood Simple is an unforgettable crime noir exceptionally written by two siblings who know their genre too well. The film is a critics' darling, holding a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Del Toro comments about it in his Guide to the Criterion Collection: "Blood Simple contains most, if not all, of the preoccupations the Coens will articulate throughout their career ... It's a perfect first movie." His latest film, Nightmare Alley, contains plenty of nods to the noir genre, and we're pretty sure Blood Simple counts as inspiration.
9 Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Eyes Without a Face
- Release Date
- October 24, 1962
- Director
- Georges Franju
- Cast
- Pierre Brasseur , Alida Valli , Juliette Mayniel
Georges Franju's Eyes Without a Face (or Les Yeux Sans Visage) is an unsettling horror movie about a surgeon who's trying his best to restore his daughter's face after she gets disfigured during a car accident. Dr. Génessier is desperate enough to remove the faces of young victims and try to graft them onto Christiane's. The girl, forced to wear a ghostly mask, discovers her father's actions and decides to do something about them.
"It Influenced Me a Lot"
The very divisive French-language film has been quite influential for modern filmmakers, who highlight Franju's idea of making the mask a strong feature beyond the story.
John Carpenter, John Woo, and, of course, Pedro Almodóvar (whose film The Skin I Live In is pretty similar) are some of the ones who have been vocal about it. Del Toro also uses the Criterion Guide to contribute: "[The main character is] like an undead Audrey Hepburn. It influenced me a lot with the contrast between beauty and brutality."
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8 Goodfellas (1990)
Goodfellas
- Release Date
- September 12, 1990
- Director
- Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas tells the story of Henry Hill Jr., the New York mobster who started to work with a prominent mobster family, and became a vital mafia figure between the '50s and the '80s. That is until he decided to become an FBI informant, and enter the witness protection program. Ultimately, he's responsible for bringing down the boss, Paulie Cicero, and his friend and partner, Jimmy Conway.
"Perfect in Every Aspect"
Based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi, Goodfellas, is Scorsese's best gangster film, which is highly regarded as one of the most important films ever made. The authenticity of the film is notable above everything else, and it's partly because Scorsese encouraged improvisation, and then rewrote with what he got.
During one of the Sight and Sound polls for the BFI, del Toro said Goodfellas is "a movie that can be rewatched endlessly and remain fresh and surprising. Perfect in every aspect, behind and in front of the camera."
7 Frankenstein (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
- Release Date
- November 21, 1931
- Director
- James Whale
- Cast
- Colin Clive , Mae Clarke , Boris Karloff , John Boles , Edward Van Sloan , Frederick Kerr , Dwight Frye , Lionel Belmore
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
1931's Frankenstein is the story of a mad scientist by the name of Henry Frankenstein who wishes to create a human being from scraps and by using electricity. With the help of his assistant, they dig up freshly-buried corpses, cut the good parts, and assemble them into a superhuman. Then, in the middle of a storm, Frankenstein uses lightning power to awaken the monster.
The problem is that Fritz, the assistant, damaged the last piece of the puzzle: a human brain from a doctor. Instead, the damaged brain makes the scientist's creation a monstrous and murderous monster that no one will be able to control.
"It Touches the Very Essence of What I Am and All That I Believe In"
James Whale's adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel was a groundbreaking film for Universal Pictures. Critics and audiences loved it, and it introduced Boris Karloff to the world as a horror performer capable of inducing nightmares in a reasonably compelling plot about "man playing God."
Del Toro is no stranger to monster movies, and as expected, Frankenstein has always been an inspiration: "Frankenstein is a film — and a tale — that touches the very essence of what I am and all that I believe in... Whale's superb eye and tonal command are matched by a Karloff performance that manages to transmit both fragility and power." He likes this one so much, he wished to remake, and del Toro's Frankenstein is currently in production.
6 8½ (1963)
8½
- Release Date
- February 13, 1963
- Cast
- Claudia Cardinale
8½ follows Guido Anselmi, an Italian film director who can't solve his latest episode of director's block. Hired to make a science fiction film, Anselmi decides to incorporate personal stuff in the movie, and when he hires a critic to review the script, the critic is not entirely happy. This sends the director on a spiral where he will question his marriage, his religion, and even his affair as he tries to regain the inspiration that once made him a notable filmmaker who could make honest films.
"8½ Speaks as Much About Life as It Does About Art"
Federico Fellini's comedy-drama is widely considered to be one of the finest films ever made. 8½ won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, and it's highly regarded as an influential autobiographical comment on auteurship and the line that divides art and self-awareness.
For the 2012 version of Sight and Sound, del Toro commented on the film: "A true classic has to be both intimate and universal. To speak about cinema through cinema requires a voice unwavering in its passion and purity. 8½ speaks as much about life as it does about art...A portrait of the teller and his craft."
5 A Ghost Story (2017)
A Ghost Story tells the story of a man and a woman whose marriage is going through a rough patch. When he dies in a tragic car accident, he "comes back" to our realm as a ghost. Any signs of passing on are immediately rejected by the ghost and he covers himself with a sheet.
The woman grieves, but ultimately, she moves on. However, the ghost of her husband can't cope. When she starts seeing another man, he does his best to spook them. Eventually, she decides to really continue with her life and moves out of the house they shared. The ghost remains and begins an unforgettable journey through time that will force him to accept his fate.
The Best Film of 2017
The very original film by David Lowery was not exactly a traditional ghost film. Even though critics loved it (it still holds a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), it failed to impress audiences because of its premise and how sober it felt. A Ghost Story is a contemplative story about loss and how love goes after the death of your loved one.
This unforgettable film explores what it means to transcend from the perspective of the definition of spirits and souls. Del Toro liked it so much that he put it in the top spot of his 2017 ranking.
4 Another Round (2020)
Another Round
- Release Date
- September 24, 2020
- Cast
- Mads Mikkelsen , Thomas Bo Larsen , Lars Ranthe , Magnus Millang , Maria Bonnevie , Susse Wold
In Another Round, four friends who also happen to teach in a school in Copenhagen gather and see their lives are extremely boring and pointless. Martin, Nikolaj, Tommy, and Peter, decide they need to try to make things more interesting, and they agree on proving a theory by psychiatrist Finn Skårderud: humans are born with a blood alcohol level deficiency, and in order to be more fun, one should always be a little drunk.
The four friends go on a rampage in which their lives change, but eventually, reality and tragedy strike.
The 2020 Danish-language drama was critically acclaimed when it was released, and it even won an Oscar for Best International Feature film, with director Thomas Vinterberg getting a nod for Best Director. It's undoubtedly a poignant and engaging take on what a midlife crisis means for men who find themselves to be too average.
Del Toro was very vocal about the film during a Q&A with Vinterberg and the film's star, Mads Mikkelsen: "It's extraordinary to see a movie that moves you, that affects you, the way this one did to me...The final scene is one of the most extraordinary things I've seen on film ever...It truly captures something that is lightning in a bottle."
3 Canoa: A Shameful Memory (1976)
Canoa: A Shameful Memory tells the story of five university employees who plan a hike to an inactive volcano in Puebla, Mexico. When they go through a small village located in San Miguel Canoa, they are attacked and captured by the locals.
As it turns out, the local priest, a right-wing extremist, convinces the locals the hikers are communists trying to kill him and that they should indulge in some lynching. The film is based on real-life events that took place in 1968, and it's eerily faithful to what actually happened.
"The Screenplay is One of the Most Brilliant Ever Written"
Felipe Cazals' film of 1976 is an unforgettable film experience from Mexico. Presented in a mockumentary format, Canoa: A Shameful Memory is a very underrated film. It still feels relevant because of its incendiary premise and how it's presented in a raw statement about politics and religion.
Del Toro highlights the risk of such a film in the middle of the '70s in Mexico: "Formally and thematically, it absolutely changes the game of what a Mexican movie was able to portray: it breaks with censorship, it breaks with formal rigidity and with what the state-funded cinema considered sanctionable."
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2 Los Olvidados (1950)
Los Olvidados, also known as The Young and the Damned, is a harrowing journey through the underworld of Mexico, where children grow up among crime, and every day represents a challenge. El Jaibo escapes from juvie and ends up reuniting with his gang. This begins a spiral of revenge and hate crimes that'll make you afraid of those who aren't supposed to be hateful. In the slums of Mexico, the laws are a suggestion, and survival of the fittest is the only thing to live by.
"Ruthless Dickens as Regurgitated by an Atheist"
Luis Buñuel's film is riveting and unique and will most likely make people uncomfortable. In the 1950s, poverty was something real but seldom discussed. And when the media showed poor people, they weren't exactly monstrous; they were poverty-stricken characters that could be anything but good. Buñuel's approach was against everyone's views and showed that being poor didn't mean you couldn't be a bad person.
Del Toro on Los Olvidados: "This example of the golden era of Mexican cinema packs a punch, never flinching in depicting innocence suffocating by rules and concrete buildings."
1 The Night of the Hunter (1955)
The Night of the Hunter follows a serial killer and preacher called Harry Powell who finds out his cellmate stole a whole lot of cash in the heist for which he ended up in prison. Powell gets released (he had been imprisoned for car theft), and decides to pose as a charming man interested in Willa, the thief's wife and the mother of the children who know where the money is hidden.
Powell's mission to retrieve the money fails as his cover is blown. He murders Willa, and the children escape and end up in the care of a courageous lady who will stand up to anyone who threatens the kids.
"It Truly Made Me Weep in Awe"
Charles Laughton's 1955 crime noir is one of the most interesting films of the decade. Famous for its visual style, reminiscent of the expressionism used in European silent cinema, The Night of the Hunter wasn't well-received back in the day, and Laughton retired after only making one film. However, the film has been revised and is now considered a near-perfect thriller with a memorable villain.
Del Toro comments: "The movie contains some of the scariest things I've ever seen...The hair floating in the water, I've been trying to do that for 25 years." The director adds: "[Charles Laughton] understood beauty and horror at the same time. A perfect first movie."
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