A black-and-white version of Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley,” subtitled “Vision in Darkness and Light”, was released in select cities on January 14, 2022. It’s now getting a physical release.
Criterion has announced that they’ll be bringing the new black and white extended director’s cut of “Nightmare Alley” to 4K on October 28.
Last December, Del Toro had confirmed that he’s working on a remastered B&W “Nightmare Alley” extended cut, with added footage to his already overlong film. Turns out, it was for a Criterion release.
Furthermore, when one person mentioned how underrated “Nightmare Alley” was, Del Toro claimed the film’s commercial failure was because it “was released the week COVID Omicron surged — eliminating all adult box office, including us and other big releases.”
I have to admit having not seen the B&W version of ‘Nightmare Alley,’ so maybe it is an improvement? Have some of our readers watched it? What did you think?
In a 01.21.21 Los Angeles Times op-ed, Martin Scorsese urged audiences to give del Toro’s “disturbing and exhilarating” film a chance in theaters. The filmmaker elaborated that “Nightmare Alley” didn’t deserve the mixed reviews it received from critics, adding that it had “a special power and resonance” which left him to “wonder if there has been a real appreciation of Guillermo’s accomplishment.”
Reviews for “Nightmare Alley” were politely positive — 70 on Metacritic, 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and 7.0 on IMDB.
Netflix and Skydance Animation have also called it quits. The two sides announced Monday that they're ending the animated film deal struck back in 2023, framing it as a mutual decision.