Cronos (1993)

Director:

Guillermo del Toro

Writer:

Guillermo del Toro (screenplay)

Release Date:

May 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery

Plot:

A mysterious device designed to provide its owner with eternal life resurfaces after four hundred years, leaving a trail of destruction in its path.

Plot Keywords:

Eternal Life | Antique Dealer | Invention | Tycoon | Aging

Awards:

21 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Federico Luppi	...	Jesus Gris
Ron Perlman	...	Angel de la Guardia
Claudio Brook	...	De la Guardia
Margarita Isabel	...	Mercedes
Tamara Shanath	...	Aurora
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Tito
Mario Iván Martínez	...	Alchemist
Farnesio de Bernal	...	Manuelito
Juan Carlos Colombo	...	Funeral Director
Jorge Martínez de Hoyos	...	Narrator (voice)
Luis Rodríguez	...	Buyer
Javier Álvarez	...	Bleeding Man
Gerardo Moscoso	...	Drunk
Eugenio Lobo	...	Stoned Man
Adriana Olivera	...	Tango Student
Clementina Rojas	...	Tango Student
Tzinia Salgado	...	Tango Student
Luis de Icaza	...	Tango Student
Jorge Bolada	...	Tango Student
Ignacio Raiz Oviedo	...	Tango Student
Napo	...	Mimo (as Francisco Sánchez)
Laurencio Cordero	...	Watchman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guillermo del Toro	...	Man Walking Dog (uncredited)

Directed by
Guillermo del Toro

Writing credits
Guillermo del Toro		(screenplay)

Produced by
Rafael Cruz	....	associate producer
Arthur Gorson	....	producer
Francisco Murguía	....	co-producer
Bertha Navarro	....	producer
Bernard L. Nussbaumer	....	co-producer
Julio Solórzano Foppa	....	associate producer
Alejandro Springall	....	co-producer
Jorge Sánchez	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Javier Álvarez

Cinematography by
Guillermo Navarro

Film Editing by
Raúl Dávalos

Production Design by
Tolita Figuero

Art Direction by
Brigitte Broch

Costume Design by
Genoveva Petitpierre

Makeup Department
M. Carrajal	....	makeup artist
Rigo Mora	....	special makeup effects artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Batan Silva	....	assistant director (as Sebastián Silva)
Joaquin Silva	....	second assistant director

Art Department
María Figueroa	....	art designer
Gilberto Avina Gomez	....	art apprentice
Gilberto Aviña Gomez	....	art department
Jorge Siller	....	art apprentice (uncredited)

Sound Department
John Asman	....	sound re-recording mixer
Fernando Cámara	....	sound engineer
David E. Fluhr	....	sound re-recording mixer
George R. Groves Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric A. Norris	....	sound effects editor
Santiago Núñez	....	cable person
Randal S. Thomas	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Laurencio Cordero	....	special effects (as Laurencio 'Chovy' Cordero)

Visual Effects by
William Koshowany	....	optical line-up

Camera and Electrical Department
Carlos Silva	....	electrician swing

Editorial Department
Jennifer Dolce	....	first assistant editor
Phyllis Housen	....	assistant editor
Paul O'Bryan	....	associate editor
Chuck Winston	....	color timer

Other crew
Pablo Buelna	....	location manager
Mariana Gironella	....	script supervisor
Norberto Nava	....	security coordinator

Thanks
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	....	special thanks
Lance Bird	....	special thanks
James Cameron	....	special thanks
Alfonso Cuarón	....	special thanks
Alex del Toro	....	special thanks
Emilio Echevarría	....	special thanks
Robert Littman	....	special thanks
Emilio Navarro	....	dedicatee
Carlos Slim	....	special thanks (as Ing. Carlos Slim)

Production Companies

• CNCAIMC
• Fondo de Fomento a la Calidad Cinematográfica
• Grupo Del Toro
• Guillermo Springall
• Iguana Producciones
• Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE)
• Servicos Filmicos ANC
• Universidad de Guadalajara
• Ventana Films (as Venta)

Distributors

• October Films (1994) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Cineplex Odeon Films (1993) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Alliance Atlantis Home Video (2003) (Canada) (DVD)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1994) (Canada) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Lions Gate Films Home Entertainment (2003) (USA) (DVD)
• MCA (1994) (Canada) (VHS)
• MCP Sound & Media AG (2006) (Germany) (DVD)
• Metropolitan Filmexport (France)
• Nelonen (1999) (Finland) (TV)
• Prime Films S.L. (Spain)
• Vidmark Entertainment (1994) (USA) (VHS) (laserdisc)
• Warner Home Video (1996) (Germany) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Dolby Laboratories  sound mix

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for horror violence and for language

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | UK:18 | USA:R | Germany:16 | South Korea:12 | Spain:18 | Denmark:16 | UK:15 (re-rating, 2010) | Singapore:NC-16

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

CNCAIMC

Trivia:

Director Trademark: [Guillermo del Toro] [insects]The cockroaches in the statue and the Cronos Device.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jesús searches for Aurora after she has taken the Cronos, as he walks through two doors, he stops. Behind him, reflected in the glass of the door, is crew and equipment.

Quotes:

Narrator:[over the opening sequence] In 1536, fleeing from the Inquisition, the alchemist Uberto Fulcanelli disembarked in Veracruz, Mexico. Appointed official watchmaker to the Viceroy, Fulcanelli was determined to perfect an invention which would provide him with the key to eternal life. He was to name it...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in A Night at the Movies: The Horrors of Stephen King (2011) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Die Schöne Müllerin

Fresh, original horror film

I can't think of many 90's films that will be remembered as classics of the horror genre, this film is an exception.

When you think of Mexican horror, you no doubt think of the El Santo Vs. the Aztec Mummy type films made in the 60s, don't get me wrong, I like them too. In interviews, director Guillermo Del Toro has said that his influences come more from American and British horror (such as the classic Universal and Hammer horror films) than from Mexico's horror tradition. Still, the film does have a distinctly Mexican sensibility, especially with it's abundance of Catholic imagery.

First time director Del Toro, cinematographer Guillermo Navarro (who would go on to do great work for Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, among oth ers), and production designer Tolita Figuero create a very unique, interesting look for the film.

All of the actors are great, especially veteran Argentinian actor Federico Luppi, who plays the main character Jesus Gris, and Luis Bunuel's favorite Mexican actor Claudio Brook, who plays Dieter De La Guardia. What really makes the film for me is it's quirky sense of humor and odd characterizations, I found scenes toward the middle of the film to be hilarious. The effective, subtle, score by Javier Alvarez also adds to the mood of the film.

The film also manages to be a very different kind of vampire story than usual, It makes me think a little bit of the "Wurdulak" segment of the great Mario Bava's film Black Sabbath. Vampire films of late have become very tiresome, it's nice to see someone take a different approach.

I think Guillermo Del Toro is a talent to watch for.