Babel (2-Disc Collector’s Edition) [$34.99]
Pan’s Labryinth (2-Disc Platinum Series) [$34.98]
DVD versions of Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro’s award-winning films are no doubt already part of many a fan’s collection. But to really win that special someone’s gratitude this holiday season, buy them these particular editions. The in-depth “making of” and “interviews” extras with the directors, actors, writers and technicians convey stories of patience, endurance, perseverance, intellect and imagination. Indeed, these admirable qualities of the human spirit emerge just as undeniably strong in the telling of the extras as they do in these beautiful films. Heart-swelling factors aside, it’s also just really cool to learn how Babel spanned those huge geographic and linguistic chasms to so captivatingly interweave such complex yet basic human stories. It’s a pleasure to learn not only about the degree of mental muscle that went into the epic storytelling of Pan’s Labryinth, but also the fantastical special effects, not least the physical endurance required of the man beneath the latex, who made that haunting, paradoxical fawn a permanent presence in our dreams.
