Guillermo del Toro is one of the most beloved and idiosyncratic filmmakers working today. From The Shape of Water, his movies have expertly woven social commentary into fairy tales. Despite having a unique visual style, del Toro hasn’t let himself get pigeonholed in one particular genre. He’s made superhero movies, monster movies, sci-fi spectacles, a haunted house movie — there’s no limit to the stories this brilliant visionary can tell.
As a lifelong cinephile, del Toro has been inspired by all kinds of movies in his approach to filmmaking. So, here are 10 movies that influenced the work of Guillermo del Toro.
Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)
The initial concept for The Shape of Water grew out of Guillermo del Toro’s childhood viewings of Creature from the Black Lagoon. He always wanted Kay Lawrence and the Gill-man’s romance to work out, so he wrote a movie in which it did.
Del Toro was in talks to remake Creature from the Black Lagoon from the Gill-man’s perspective before branching off and writing an original story based on these ideas.
Nosferatu (1922)
F.W. Murnau’s German Expressionist horror classic Nosferatu has been a prominent influence on Guillermo del Toro’s approach to filmmaking. He once described the film as “a symphony of perfect visual storytelling.”
Del Toro has said that Nosferatu and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1932 gem Vampyr are “the two pillars for every vampiric film ever made.” He says the difference is that Dreyer’s film deals with the spiritual, while Murnau’s film deals with more tangible evils.
Beauty And The Beast (1946)
The most famous adaptation of the its woefully misguided live-action remake), but Guillermo del Toro’s favorite is Jean Cocteau’s 1946 take. He has called it “one of the most magical films ever made,” mentioning it as a prominent influence on The Shape of Water.
Del Toro loves fairy tales — many of his movies fall into that category — and what he ires about Cocteau’s film is that it’s “in love with the sublime, sophisticated, Freudian quality that a fairy tale really has.”
Modern Times (1936)
Although some of his movies have comedic moments, Guillermo del Toro is not known for making comedies. And yet, he was heavily influenced by Charlie Chaplin’s groundbreaking comedy classic Modern Times.
According to del Toro, Chaplin demonstrated his “absolute command of the cinematic medium” when he wrote, directed, scored, and starred in this movie.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
Del Toro counts Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Francis Ford Coppola’s sumptuous big-screen adaptation of the literary classic, among his favorite films. On Twitter, del Toro described it as “a most beautiful, sensuous horror film imbued with fairy tale atmosphere and images.”
Drenched in color, Coppola's gothic visual style clearly influenced the look of del Toro’s romantic haunted house chiller Crimson Peak.
Ran (1985)
Guillermo del Toro has made no secret of the fact that Akira Kurosawa is one of his favorite filmmakers. In particular, he points to Ran, Kurosawa’s breathtaking cinematic take on King Lear.
Del Toro explained, “Kurosawa’s being one of the essential masters is best represented by [Ran], one of his most operatic, pessimistic, and visually spectacular films. How he managed to be both exuberant and elegant at the same time will be one of life’s great mysteries.”
Frankenstein (1931)
The filmmaking of Guillermo del Toro has been hugely influenced by James Whale’s 1931 screen adaptation of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. The movie is sympathetic toward its monster, with a performance by Boris Karloff that, in del Toro’s words, “manages to transmit both fragility and power.”
Frankenstein isn’t a movie that del Toro takes lightly; Ian McKellen’s performance as Whale in the biopic Gods and Monsters.
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Ingmar Bergman’s existential masterpiece The Seventh Seal is a favorite of Guillermo del Toro’s, but not for the reasons you’d think.
He actually likes the movie for its comedy: “I am often surprised at how the humor and comedic elements in The Seventh Seal seem to be overlooked in favor of its reputation as a quintessential ‘serious’ art film.”
The Night Of The Hunter (1955)
If the del Toro style had to be summarized, it would be about finding the beauty and humanity in dark horror stories. According to del Toro, Charles Laughton’s The Night of the Hunter was one of the “supreme works” that interested him in this style.
The movie was so darkly themed, yet so beautiful that it “truly made [del Toro] weep in awe.” The Night of the Hunter is best known for Robert Mitchum’s sinister portrayal of a minister-turned-serial killer.
Godzilla (1954)
Del Toro’s homage to the kaiju genre, Godzilla.
Godzilla was Japanese cinema’s sci-fi-tinged response to the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This use of genre thrills to convey social commentary can be seen to have influenced all of del Toro’s finest work.
