The Shape of Water - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

The Shape of Water

Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
Guillermo Del Toro has finally done it. He’s pulled in an award for best director AND best picture on the same film. It’s been a long time coming as the man has put out an INCREDIBLE body of work over the years, and he was long due for movies like Pans Labyrinth and The Devil’s Backbone. However, I’m not so sure that The Shape of Water should have won this year (a year with an absolutely mind blowing array of incredible pictures like Dunkirk, Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri, I, Tonya and several more). It’s a GOOD movie, and one that deals with interesting takes on social issues inside of a Creature from the Black Lagoon veneer, but also one that is not AS good as many of the competitors. It’s almost like a repeat of Scorsese winning for The Departed, in that the Oscar staff decided it was time for him to win, even though the film presented at the awards may not be the best of his work (or the best of the competitors either).

The Shape of Water is given a VERY interested, and complex, look into romance and traditional fairy tales. Borrowing heavily from The Creature from the Black Lagoon (a confirmed concept, as Del Toro has said several times that he was inspired by the film, and ultimately crafted into his modern take on the horror/romance subtext in the film), we have a typical tale of a “monster” in the public eye, conflicting with the monster of the heart. Elisa Esposito (Sally Hawkins) is a mute woman working as a cleaning lady at the Occum government facility. While things are hush hush, she and another cleaning lady by the name of Zelda (Octavia Spencer) just go about their daily lives of scrubbing toilets. That is until the day that the two are called into a top secret section of the facility to clean up a whole mess of blood. There Elisa comes into contact with the newest governmental study project. An amphibious creature that has been captured from the deep and is being experimented upon (who actually bears a striking resemblance to Hellboy’s Abe Sapien, and is actually played by the same actor, which makes the resemblance even more eerie).

Elisa’s sympathetic bond to the creature grows day by day, as the two form a sort of relationship based upon her kindness to it (which usually involves the mute girl’s gifts of hard boiled eggs). However, her efforts may be thwarted, as the head of the facility, one Richard Strickland (Michael Shannon), has more sinister plans for the beast. Torturing it nearly to death to find out its limits, the rage filled man unleashes pain and suffering in a way that Elisa just can’t ignore. Utilizing the help of her elderly ward Giles (Richard Jenkins), Elisa comes up with a way to sneak the “monster” off of Occum property, and away to her apartment where she strives to keep it alive and safe, all the while allowing her emotional bond to the creature to deepen in a way that she never thought possible.

The Shape of Water is truly one of the best crafted film of the year in many respects. The visuals are lush and teeming with beauty, as Del Toro infuses the film with a heavy green hue that almost completely dominates the film. This seems to have been done on purpose, as there are shades of green EVERYWHERE (chewing gum, cars, jello, the ambient wall colors), with only minimal splashes of red (which seems to symbolize moments of love or pain). The harsh sterility of the Occum complex and the dusky walls of the 1960s America is almost oppressive and overbearing, with the only moments of softness and comfort being the inner apartment where Giles and Elisa reside. In this, I COMPLETELY understand why critics were raving over the film. It’s easily one of the most beautiful and intricately designed films I have ever seen.

Del Toro also does a magnificent job at reinventing the monster wheel, while keeping it so comfortably similar. He utilizes the idea of the “monster within” to make it VERY clear that its not what’s on the outside that matters, but rather what is on the inside that makes someone the monster (I won’t spoil who the comparison is to the LITERAL monster and figurative one, but it shouldn’t be that hard to figure out), but also incorporates a sexual romance that is almost shocking in how foreign it seems to viewers. If you think about it, the concept is literally littered throughout monster movie history (Creature from the Black Lagoon and the like), as well as science fiction, but it’s the almost blatant way that Del Toro goes about it that is so different (families be warned, there is several scenes of nudity meant in a sexual way, but they are fairly brief and not overly explicit). On one hand Del Toro knocks it out of the park. The sci-fi/horror section of the story where we ave figurative vs. literal monster is done so incredibly well that you can barely pull your eyes from the screen. It may be cliched in the genre, but he does it so seamlessly along with the haunting fantasy realism that the Spanish director is known for, that you just can’t help but love every minute. On the other hand, he pulls a swing and ALMOST misses the mark with the romance. Blending in a subtle romance of Elisa and the monster was a clever move, and done well in many places, but I have this feeling of something being lacking on my first viewing. I couldn’t place it, but on my second viewing of the film (Blu-ray this second time) it finally clicked. While I could see the relationship growing between the two, it was one of curiosity and friendship. The romance side of it just felt so sudden and under developed that the “clicking” of the two is just a bit awkward and rushed. Had another 20 minutes of time been spent developing that aspect of their relationship I would have seen it as a bit more believable. But as it stands, that is one of the few weak spots in the film and was the breaking point in the decision to make this a 4/5 rated film.




Rating:

Rated R for sexual content, nudity, violence and language




4K Video: Video:

I did say above that The Shape of Water deserved every accolade it could for visuals, and I wasn’t lying. Del Toro has always had a very colorful and surreal look to his films, but he outdoes himself in this instance. Desaturating most primary colors, the Spanish director uses copious swathes of greens (in many different shades), to promote his film’s mood. Deep and murky greens in the creature’s lair. Soft teal of Strickland’s car, and even the outside world has a very light green tinge to it. Spurts of red and blue come out in times of love or great emotion, but most of the time the film’s oppressive green hue acts as a thick and heavy blanket over the movie. Blacks and dark scenes are jaw dropping, with exquisite shadow detailing and almost no signs of crush (a few flickers here and there). The 4K UHD disc shows off some amazing use of HDR, giving those blue and green colors that much more visceral saturating levels, and the 4K resolution really makes for one of the better looking UHD discs (even though this is another 2K master).










Audio:

20th Century Fox has included the same 5.1 DTS-HD MA track for both the Blu-ray and the 4K UHD, so owners of a single format need not worry about “losing out” when it comes to next gen audio tracks usually being forced onto 4K only. Even though I would have liked an Atmos track, this 5.1 mix is perfectly fine. Employing a very wide and spacious sound stage, The Shape of Water is consistently engaging and encompassing throughout. Little drips of water splash across the back of the room, as do mild echoes from the concrete chamber that the monster lives in. Screams and ambient background noise utilize the surround speakers with ease, and the dialog stays firmly planted in the center of the room. LFE is rich and full, adding weight and intensity to the more action oriented sequences, or some punch in the score, but otherwise it remains fairly mild. That’s not a knock on the bass, as it is most certainly well done and given a good presence, but just stating that this is not a movie that requires constant pounding bass to be good.











Extras:

• A Fairy Tale for Troubled Times
• Anatomy of a Scene: Prologue
• Anatomy of a Scene: The Dance
• Shaping the Waves: A Conversation with James Jean
• Guillermo del Toro's Master Class
• Theatrical Trailers

Final Score: ​

The Shape of Water is a fascinating film (albeit one that is definitely in the R-rated category), and makes for a wonderfully entertaining watch. I honestly wanted to have it be the BEST picture of the year, but I personally feel several others overshadowed it enough to make it lose some of the luster of the title “Best Picture”. Del Toro created an adult fantasy/horror/romance that really works on many levels, and gives us some of the best visual stimulation and amazing performances of the year. I had a great time watching this movie over multiple viewings, as it opens up so much more on the 2nd and 3rd time around. Some of the subtext is a bit heavy handed, while others is delicate and barely noticeable until you look at it from a different perspective. While not the perfect movie I was hoping for, The Shape of Water is a good R-rated fantasy and earns the mantra of one of the most polarizing blockbusters of the year.




Technical Specifications:

Starring: Doug Jones, Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon
Directed by: Guillermo Del Toro
Written by: Guillermo Del Toro, Vanessa Taylor
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Spanish, French DD 5.1
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Rated: R
Runtime: 123 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: March 13th, 2018

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Good Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I will check this movie out.

 

[Jeff S]

Excellent review. I am really interested in seeing this soon. I like Del Toro and think this will be a good watch.

 

[JBrax]

I picked this up yesterday and am hoping to find time to watch it today. I’ll be going in fairly blind because I really have no clue what to expect. All I know is it beat out 3 Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri and I was blown away by it. That was a GREAT movie!

 

[Michael Scott]

I wouldn't expect to be wowed by this one as much as Ebbing IMO.. I hate to say it since I LIKED The Shape of Water, but Ebbing was just a superior movie

 

[JBrax]

Hmm, ok. Maybe I should have watched in reverse order.

 

[Michael Scott]

I'ts not that Shape isn't a good movie. It really is, and it has the most unique and beautiful cinematography of the year by a good margin. It's just that the story isn't AS good as some of the competition. Personally, I'm likening it to Scoresese winning for The Departed years ago. It wasn't his best work, but I think the Academy Awards figured that it was time Del Toro had a win under his belt. (although I think there were some socio-political reasons as well, which will be made clear when you watch the movie).

Still, shape is a bizarre fantasy with socio political elements woven in in a heavy R rated setting, making it one of the standout films of the year just be uniqueness alone. I just didn't want you to go in thinking it was the bestest of the best because of it's "Best Picture" rating (and this is of course nothing but my OPINION)

 

[JBrax]

I’ll keep that in mind and thanks again for all of your reviews. They’re a valuable resource for us movie nuts! Have you by chance seen Wonder? I loved it and am surprised it didn’t get a sniff with nominations.

 

[Michael Scott]

sadly I haven't had a chance to see Wonder yet

 

[Asere]

The Shape of Water was excellent. I enjoyed the chemistry between the monster and the lady. The acting was great and a solid screenplay. I'm glad I bought it.
Thanks for the review.

 

[Michael Scott]

Glad you liked it asere

 

[JBrax]

Sadly I didn’t get a chance to watch it today.