How ‘Nightmare Alley’ led Guillermo del Toro back to the Oscars
If the dark mysteries of a 1939 carnival, as reconceived by Guillermo del Toro and Kim Morgan, can’t lure you to “Nightmare Alley,†then maybe the macabre production design or a rousing endorsement from Martin Scorsese might do it.
The draw for Times critic Justin Chang was Bradley Cooper, whose “moody, chilly beauty — to say nothing of the movie’s — keeps us glued as he strides away from the smoky ruin and makes his way by bus to a traveling carnival.â€
One of the last films to be released during the mania of awards season, “Nightmare Alley†overcame particularly poor box office to score four Oscar nominations — for best picture, cinematography, costume design and production design. Collectively, they point to a visual feast.
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Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara co-star in Guillermo del Toro’s bleak and luxuriant adaptation of William Lindsay Gresham’s previously filmed 1946 novel.
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‘Obviously, this past holiday season was a tricky moment to release any movie. But I also wonder if there has been a real appreciation of Guillermo’s accomplishment.’
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To follow up his Oscar win, Guillermo del Toro and partner Kim Morgan dove into a fresh version of noir classic ‘Nightmare Alley.’
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Guillermo del Toro and co-writer Kim Morgan on the small, important change they made from the ending of both the 1946 novel and 1947 film in their ‘Nightmare Alley.’
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‘You want to coordinate all these elements to create a balance between majesty and brutality,’ the director says of his noir thriller.
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Production designer Tamara Deverell knows how director Guillermo del Toro works. They don’t talk ideas; they draw them.
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That scene in the creepy fun house tells us more than we realized.
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With roles in ‘Nightmare Alley’ and ‘Don’t Look Up,’ the Oscar-winning actress is choosy about her directors.
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The actor plays two wildly different characters this season, in “Nightmare Alley†and “The Humans.â€
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Life is a cabaret, old chum — unless, that is, it’s a carnival show.
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Mystery and tension are in short supply in this promising yet unfocused world premiere.
